Four [reflecttion] Decades After Milgram, We’re Still Willing to Inflict Pain

The article discussed about a psychological experiment done by a Yale professor. In the conclusion, the author asserted:
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29mon3.html?_r=1



"The results of both experiments pose a challenge. If this is how most people behave, how do we prevent more Holocausts, Abu Ghraibs and other examples of wanton cruelty? Part of the answer, Professor Burger argues, is teaching people about the experiment so they will know to be on guard against these tendencies, in themselves and others.

An instructor at West Point contacted Professor Burger to say that she was teaching her students about his findings. She had the right idea — and the right audience. The findings of these two experiments should be part of the basic training for soldiers, police officers, jailers and anyone else whose position gives them the power to inflict abuse on others."

So i want to reuse this concept, or quotation
Society is my concentration, and education is my primary concern. Well, if that is the case, can i say, the best way to help people to know why they are entitled by me as "unproductive" is to tell them. To let modern men see my point of view on current society. Indeed, this needs futhur research.
Research expand to many fields, such as philosophy, Christianity, education, virtue, worldview, culture geography...etc.

tradition

In such turbulent times, one can become dispirited by the presence of economy. If depression is defined as a, deep and long recession period, and anyone under the age of 75 cannot recall it, then we are surely in one now. However, I believe no matter whatever the circumstances might be, we should never lower or exchange our values and beliefs. There are two reasons: first, tradition is what makes human beings distinct, and second, values are the foundation of a moral and stabilized society.

After a long period of discovery, scientists have finally concluded that tradition is the only factor, which separates human beings from the other animals. From radiocarbon dating, a method that is used to determine the age of a material, scientists have also discovered the first possible sign of religion appeared about a hundred thousand years ago. In other word, since a hundred thousand years ago, our ancestors have already recognized the essentiality of value and belief. No other animal on earth has such incredible ability.

Secondly, values are what make a society stabilized. Value is the kind of attitude we have doing things. For instance, my personal values are: persistence, hard work, compassion, and openness. Therefore, all my actions will comply with my values. No matter how many times or how harsh people criticize me about my writing skill, I will just keep trying, because one of my personal values says “persistence”.
In conclusion, our ancestors once thought those teachings as the most valuable things for mankind. However, modern men are pushing them farther and farther away from their daily life. The decision we make today will impact us tomorrow, and next generation’s culture will be build upon our generation foundation.

My father and I

Obama once said to Men’s Health magazine, “every man is either trying to live up to his father’s expectation, or make up his father’s mistake.” I grew up watching my father franchising his company. He is an entrepreneur, a diligent one, and from him you can understand how devoted a man can possibly be. And at the end, my father influenced my life the most.

For the last nineteen years, I had little childhood memories with my father. He is a busy man, and there is no weekend for him. Moreover, since he loved his company so much, when the company was rebuilt, he even gave himself an additional "office" with a bed, television, bathroom, and even a kitchen. And the reason: “just don’t want to drive at 2 o’clock in the morning.”

My mother and grandparents raised me. They told me stories about him. Stories of how he overcame difficulties. When he first started the business, it was not doing so well. Two month later, the company was already in debt. Additionally, since he was so far away from home, and cannot afford a train ticket, he was forced to sleep on the park bench for weeks. To me, he is just the same as the “Wall street legend”-Chris Gardner.

When I was eleven years old, dad took me to fishing one day. On the way, he asked me the question, “What is the meaning of life?” I thought about it for a second, and said, “I don’t know. What is it dad?” he looked at me in the eye, smiled, and said, “ Son, that is the only question I cannot answer for you. You have to find out by yourself.”

Since then I have been on the journey of seeking wisdom. After years, from schooling to Bible studying, the meaning of my life is very similar to my father: to be a good man whom does good things to others-provide services and establish values to the society. Like what Albert Einstein said, “try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value."

Culture Value

In these turbulent times, it's easy to become dispirited by the country's present circumstances. Workers are losing their jobs, students are no longer able to afford tuition and banks are facing insolvency. Despite these problems, our essential personal beliefs and values should never be exchanged or lowered. In time the economy will recover; however, the next generation's traditions, values and beliefs will be built upon our present foundation.

After more than fifteen hundred thousand years of human evolution, human brain has tripled in size. The brain has gained a new part called prefrontal cortex. This new structure allows human beings to rationalize things, in other words, like a time stimulator. Religion is therefore invented: a set of practices or beliefs, which answer questions that relate to life, death, and nature. From radiocarbon dating, a scientific method used to determine the age of a substance, geologists discovered the first appearance of possible signs of religion was about one hundred thousand years ago. That is to say, since one hundred thousand years ago, human beings have understood the potentiality of worldview.

Because of culture diversity, different countries may have different holidays. For instance, in United States, the New Years Day is on the first day of the year; however, in China, since their ancestors left them with a different calendar, the Chinese New Year is in the middle of February.

Holidays may be celebrated differently, but they all are created with underline message: New Years Day-the preciousness of time, Martin Luther King’s day- the value of freedom, and Thanksgiving Day-the importance of gratitude. However, modern men are misinterpreting the definition of holiday. Holiday is no longer a day for personal reflection but a day to seek personal pleasure.

This culture is corrupting, and the next generation is receiving wrong messages.
When the news is filled with, violence, crime, hatred, and homosexuals, what has this generation been doing? Writers, scientists, and philosophers are longer the engine of society; instead, Hollywood celebrities, NBA basketball players, and American Idols finalists have been most people’s everyday life focus. Students, the next generation, are spending everyday watching television or surfing on the Internet. Most importantly, the goal of human life shifted from, wisdom to money.

In conclusion, our ancestors thought that culture values and beliefs were the most precious thing for mankind. Indeed, it teaches people a way to live a life with meaning and engagement. Unless people start to understand the real problem in society, one day, human beings will be facing the danger of massive destruction.

The Value of Relationship

Time has changed. With the improvement of technologies, people’s life is no longer measured in hours or minutes but in terms of seconds. For many parents in the U.S., the total amount of time they spend everyday driving to work, answering clients phone call, and responding to emails are twice as much, compare to the amount of time they spend with their children.

I believe that no matter whatever the family condition is, parents should take the most responsibility for raising their kids, and there are two primary reasons: first, it complies with traditional and cultural value, and second it increases the level of intimacy between parents and kids.

After many years of scientific research, sociologists have come to the conclusion that, culture is the only factor that separates human from other species. Different people may have different cultural background, in other words, different beliefs and practices. However, there is one statement all societies agree with: a stabilized society begins in a home, and in the house it all start with the teachings and the disciplines of a child.

By combining both western and eastern religions, the serious argument for parents to be actively involved in this crucial process (raising their child) can be more sufficiently emphasized. In the Holy Bible, the Koran, or the Hebrew Bible, they all defined what a family is-a father, a mother, and a child. The most important duty for the parents is to instruct their kids and teach them the truth. In eastern countries, the mission of raising a child is described as the most difficult task. Moreover, it can be only accomplished when both the mother and the father execute it together. For instance, Taoism’s Yin and Yan, Hinduism’s Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Yet, each part may have different missions or attitudes, however, they only work when the two pieces are united. Our ancestor once thought that these teachings were the most precious things for mankind. Our culture, however, is pushing them farther and farther away from our everyday lives.

Secondly, I believe the psychological feeling of comfort and familiar for a child when they are with their parents are essential. Animal Psychologist and human psychologists once did an interesting experiment together. Scientists want to know if monkeys and humans are going to react similarly, when they face a sudden change of people and environment.

Scientist first started with monkeys. They randomly selected thirty monkeys from zoos across the nation, they gathered them up, and placed them into an empty classroom. After just minutes, monkeys recognized the differences of environment and people; as a result, they all became exhilarated. Scientists recorded monkeys jumping from chair to chair, and shouting to each other as greetings.

However, when scientists did the same thing to human beings, the outcome was completely the opposite. Since each of them have never met each other, so people’s tone, voice, diction, and even behavior started to alter because of external factors. For some people, they even placed themselves into a defensive position. From this experiment, psychologists have concluded that, humans are a very distinct species, unlike other species human are the only mammal, which opposes any change, even if the change is small. Therefore, kids will react differently with different intimacy levels. For instance, a child may feel completely normal to go to supermarket shopping or go watch a movie with his mother, but feel bizarre or even scared to conduct exactly the same activity with his father.

In conclusion, this is my fourth year to be in this country. Indeed, this country has great health insurance and other offers for people who are retired; however, senior citizens usually do not get the respect they deserve from junior group. Much of the reason why this is beginning to happen is because of the devaluation of cultural values, and parent’s failure of understating and applying the correct teaching and discipline to their kids. When everyday people are worrying about their banking account, can this society move any further?

The Best Learning Is Active Learning

At age of five, Albert Einstein’s father, Hermann Einstein, gave Albert a compass as a birthday gift. Unlike other boys, who might have tossed the compass aside in minutes and moved to things that seemed more interesting. Einstein had the compass in his hand for months. He investigated and questioned this strange object, asking his parents’ questions like, “ Why the arrow always points to the north?”

Since his parents were normal working-class people, they were not able to give little Albert a good explanation; however, that did not stop him from trying to find out the reality. Those questions later became gunpowder of Einstein’s journey of scientific discovery.

After more than 50 years of devotion in science and contribution to the society, Einstein has become one of the most influential people. All parents wish their newborn to acquire Einstein’s intelligence. A child’s learning style becomes a crucial factor.

I believe the best way for children to learn is by active learning, and there are two primary reasons: first, it will keep the child focused and engaged during the learning process, and second, it will help the child to develop an attitude and personality that best suits the needs of current society.

When describing a child, “energy” and “curiosity” are the two most common adjectives people would use. Indeed, everything around a kid is a question mark. Although, having the motivation for discovering and investigating are good. But for educators, with all the attractions from the natural environment, keep a child’s focus during early education period becomes a big challenge.

Schools have been using active learning method since 1600s-the first establishment of institutions. By letting children learn things step-by-step, will not only keep them focused, but also allow the instructors to evaluate student’s overall performance. That is also why homework is invented. Teachers assign after schoolwork to students in order to minimize the temptation from external factors. And as time progress, once the student reaches to higher education level like college, the importance of homework and examinations are reduced. Because by then, schools are expecting students to have already developed some productive learning habits.

Secondly, active learning will also impact a child’s development of attitude and personality. In 21st century, with the invention of Internet and improvement of technologies, corporations are shifting from local to global. Companies are seeking better employees, workers who are passionate, hardworking and courageous.

However, all those traits the corporate demands are all sub-products of this long-term active learning process. In high school, students are required to write research papers in English and science classes. The school encourages students to choose a topic that would raise their interests; however, the focus here is neither understanding the material that is being investigated nor producing a ten page well written paper. The factual purpose of this exercise is first, to let students be passionate in researching and investigating, and second, to construct a mind-set of risk taking, hardworking, and persistence—to students unconsciously.

In conclusion, yet, there are many parents who prefer a more passive learn style, learning by watching and listening. However, when comparing the benefits a child would receive in the future, active learning is more beneficial. It will not only help a child to become rigorous and hard working, but also develop a personality that most suits 21st century companies demand.

MIT Vs. Berkeley

The transition between high school and college is like liftoff-the roaring thrill of the first booster rocket those lunches the great adventure of life. United States of America, the Mecca of education, where great universities and unlimited opportunities gathers. Unlike any other country, even if one failed in high school, one is always given a second chance by starting the higher education in local community college, and once the student realized the importance of education, in another words, the value of knowledge, there are always great universities that awaits him. For a college student whom majors in business management and administration field, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California-Berkeley are two great choices for higher education. Even thou these two schools provides similar education quality, the student body and social environment are very different from each other.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the nucleus of east cost engineering, science, business, and mathematics. New York Times newspaper acknowledges the school as, “the ultimate place for information overload, endless possibilities and expanding your horizons.” Indeed, with sixty-three MIT related Nobel Prize Winners, the school obtains some of the most creative minds in United States. Additionally, the school focuses on providing an education to students that combines both academic study and real time discovery. Moreover, since MIT is a private institution, class size is small, fewer than ten students. The student faculty ratio is about seven to one, in another words, each student can accesses to their professors easily.

Undoubtedly, under such altruistic environment, life in MIT is no fun. For every high school students who wishes to attend MIT, the school expects every candidate to be creative, hard working, problem solving, and most importantly, be able to manage and prioritize daily affairs. For instance, during academic semesters, on weekdays especially, every student needs to spend about eight hours per day studying. An undergraduate asserts, “ It may seem… like there is no life outside the problem sets and studying for exams, but with good time management skill or the ability to survive [a] lack of sleep, there are always things you can do on campus.”

Besides all the opportunities the school provides and the workload that is beyond comfort level, MIT is a school made up with engaging people. Although one forth of its student-body does look like Albert Einstein, the rest of them seem to be ‘ordinary’ student. Although, each student’s interests may vary from athletic activity to building robots, but there is one thing all students have in common—creative and hard working. Simultaneously, the school environment is enriched by different ethnicity, culture, language, and religion. With three hundred and thirty organizations, twelve media organizations, sixty-four ethic, language, and internal student organizations, thirty religious organizations…the school promises to every student “ No matter what your culture, interests, or background, you will find an open door at MIT”

Similarly, in spite of the differences of location and weather in winter, University of California-Berkeley’s academic is just about as challenging as MIT. At Berkeley students are offered with a wild variety of undergraduate courses and research opportunities. Additionally, the university library holds more than nine million books volumes, ninety thousand current serial publications, and sixty-four thousand videos. Most importantly, the school gives their students freedom for discovery and investigation. Professor Yellen from Hass School of Business comments, “research allows student to pursue their interests, to learn new things, to sharpen problem solving skills, and to challenge themselves in new way.”

However, University of California—Berkeley is a public university, and it is using a very different admission system. With more than twenty three thousand undergraduate students, more than ninety percent of lectures in Berkeley are held in large lecture halls-more than a hundred students. An undergraduate student emphasizes, “ If you walk into a lecture hall and you had to group people into what ‘crowd’ they were in high school, it would be near impossible.” Moreover, yet Berkeley has more than three hundred organizations, but many students still felt disconnected from the social scene. An undergraduate once stated in Los Angles Times newspaper, “students live up to hours away via car or BART, since high rent prices in the city of Berkeley force many out of the city’s limits. If kids don’t find a niche in some group or activity, they end up completely lost for a social life.”

Finally, University of California-Berkeley has a very special admission system. At Berkeley the school considers academic GPA, application essay, rigor of secondary school record and state residency as the most important factors. In comparison, the admission office in MIT considers character, personal qualities as the most important factor, and then it is academic GPA, class rank, extracurricular activities, interview and recommendation. As a result, with forty one percent of Asian, thirty two percent of White, eleven percent of Hispanic, and three percent of African American, Berkeley does not hold a diverse education environment,

In conclusion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California-Berkeley are two great universities. However, different students with different personalities may make different choices. MIT creates a hand-on learning environment, while Berkeley lets their student to be independent, and learn things on their own.

you

You changed me
It is you who lights the fire in me.
It is you who allows me to see the power of knowledge and the beauty of God
It is you who constantly forgives me.
It is you who allow me to see the power of knowledge.
It is you who is always there whenever i need you
It is you
It is you
I don't know what to say
But thank you!

The loss of Integrity

Society needs schools in order to function. First you have to understand that school is not a place that is going to give you skills or experience in your future career. If materialism or getting rich is all you want, the best suggestion I cam give you is dropout right now and start working, so when you are 30 or 40, you are the one who has a lot of experience and ideas. There is a penalty; you will be a living-dead. You will lose your spirit of life, you will be called as a person who exists, but not a person who lives.
Let us return to that question: “what is school really?” My own definition is this: a school is a place where ideas gather, remarkable and landmark ideas; some of those ideas are discovered by generations; some of those ideas are discovered with tears. Scientists, writers, mathematicians devoted their whole life into a certain area of study, and we are honored to read, study, analyze, and understand their works.
The thing is, there are too many people who want to be a member of the living dead. United States has lost its sense of value. Writers, thinkers, philosophers have lost the identity they used to have sixty years ago. With the rise of China and India, more and more people will lose their jobs, the gas prices keep increasing, and your life will not be happy one.
Apparently the citizens of the United States are not reflecting on what they have done, identifying their position, and predict their future. World War II and the Cold War have made the United States the most dominate country in the world. Economy and education are the two dominating influences known in the world. But right now, on the economy side, the United States is declared to be in recession; moreover, on the education side, students are no longer motivated to learn, but instead they will do whatever is necessary to get them into a career based on college.
So citizens, you have a choice, you can wait for the depression or some other major crisis that to happen in the next forty to fifty years, and then start to think, or maybe you want to start now.

The corruption

Society needs schools in order to function. First you have to understand that school is not a place that is going to give you skills or experience in your future career. If materialism or getting rich is all you want, the best suggestion I cam give you is dropout right now and start working, so when you are 30 or 40, you are the one who has a lot of experience and ideas. There is a penalty; you will be a living-dead. You will lose your spirit of life, you will be called as a person who exists, but not a person who lives.
Let us return to that question: “what is school really?” My own definition is this: a school is a place where ideas gather, remarkable and landmark ideas; some of those ideas are discovered by generations; some of those ideas are discovered with tears. Scientists, writers, mathematicians devoted their whole life into a certain area of study, and we are honored to read, study, analyze, and understand their works.

The thing is, there are too many people who want to be a member of the living dead. United States has lost its sense of value. Writers, thinkers, philosophers have lost the identity they used to have sixty years ago. With the rise of China and India, more and more people will lose their jobs, the gas prices keep increasing, and your life will not be happy one.
Apparently the citizens of the United States are not reflecting on what they have done, identifying their position, and predict their future. World War II and the Cold War have made the United States the most dominate country in the world. Economy and education are the two dominating influences known in the world. But right now, on the economy side, the United States is declared to be in recession; moreover, on the education side, students are no longer motivated to learn, but instead they will do whatever is necessary to get them into a career based on college.
So citizens, you have a choice, you can wait for the depression or some other major crisis that to happen in the next forty to fifty years, and then start to think, or maybe you want to start now.

Effect of air pollution

Effect of Air pollution

November 2, 2008. 7 a.m. Beijing, Tiananmen Square, a photo was taken. In the picture, students dressed in uniform were walking to school on the sidewalk, bicycles and cars were roaring on the street. It is a new day—peaceful, but not beautiful. It has been two week since the last encounter of blue sky. For local residences, they have already gotten used to wake up every morning seeing a layer of smog[ground layer ozone] above them. And for people who work, they have to wear air mask, so to avoid dusts in the air. At night, for children who grew up in the city, rarely have any chance to encounter stars. This is just one out of thousands of example of what air pollution has done to us. In addition, air pollution are not only changing our lifestyle, but harming our health as well. All the illness that is caused by air pollution is categorized into two major groups—short-term and long term health problem.

Young children and elder people are often health victims of air pollution. Human body needs oxygen to do two things: deliver blood cells and keep heart beating. However, because of air pollution, each time people breath, they not only breathe in oxygen but a certain amount of carbon dioxide as well. As a result, people may develop symptoms such as, burning eye, coughing, and chest tightness. Moreover, since exercise requires faster and deeper breathing, it may make the symptoms even worse. And that is why there was a big controversy about Beijing air quality before 2008 Olympic begun.
Air pollution can cause long-term illness as well. Moreover, those symptoms are more harmful. Illness such as, respiratory disease, lung cancer, and heart disease are commonly caused or triggered by air pollution. In addition, in highly polluted areas, children can be sick more often, and elder people may have difficulty breathing. Compare with short-term health affect, long-term health problem are developed over time. Therefore, it is necessary to have a clinical examination with the doctor every year.
In short, air pollution has been a serious environmental problem the world is facing today. Carbon dioxide, methane, and sulfur dioxide are not only dangerous but also poison. In many countries such as, China or India, doctors have already begun filing many series illnesses that were caused by air pollution. On the whole, people have to take immediate action to protect environment—reduce the amount of production of greenhouse gases. We are not only doing it for ourselves, but for our offspring as well.

Pearson higher education--writing rewards

(1) What is your favorite part of your town or city? Write an essay explaining why that place is special, using illustrations and observations to support your views.

(2) Write an essay describing an experience or event that changed your life. What happened? Why is the experience significant and special? Include vivid details to support your views.

(3) Write an essay explaining why so much attention is focused on celebrities. List some specific reasons.

(4)Write an essay classifying the different types of challenges faced by today’s college students. Ensure that each category is distinct. Use illustrations and examples to define each category.

(5) Write an essay defining “beauty.” You can think about physical beauty, internal beauty, a beautiful place, and so on. Define what beauty means to you. Use specific examples and details to support your definition.

(6) Compare two different attitudes towards global warming. Think about the reasons some people feel it’s a natural occurrence and others feel that it’s man-made. In your essay, illustrate your points with specific examples. Do some research and include quotations from reputable sources.

(7) Write an essay explaining the steps people should take when choosing a career. Use illustrations and observations to support your views.


(8) Write an essay defining what it means to be successful. What does success mean to you? How do you succeed or plan to succeed in your own life?

(9) Argue for or against the belief that government officials should be held to a higher legal standard and face more severe penalties when they commit a crime. Cite specific points and examples to support your view.

(10) Write an essay listing the ways in which your efforts to reduce your carbon footprint have affected your daily life. Please be specific.

(11) In an essay, list the steps one would take to purchase music from the iTunes™ Music Store.

(12) Write an essay illustrating how the Internet has been either beneficial or harmful in a specific area of society. As examples (these topics are neither required nor suggested), write about how the Internet has made research much easier for students, how the Internet has given predators easy access to minors, how the Internet has led to dangerous attention-getting antics.

(13) Write an essay arguing that professional athletes should or should not be tested for performance enhancing substances. Use illustrations and observations to support your views.

Cause of air pollution

Begin with industrial revolution; the air quality has been worsening. New technologies were invented, and our life quality has been improving. But at the same time, the amount of carbon dioxide that was produced has imbalanced the earth’s natural cycle. Today, after three hundred years of “human invention”, we have caused the issue of air pollution, and it has become a global environmental issue. While the problem is caused by many factors, but human beings are still responsible for the two dominate causes: extravagant use of electricity and produce of greenhouse gas.
People rely on electricity in order to complete everyday life affairs. The importance of electricity in our life is the same as the importance of water for fish to survive. Life would be a disaster without electricity. However, the problem is, residence in United States has been using electricity excessively. Compare with European country, each year, an average American family needs 50,000kWh more of electricity; besides, European country depend more on alternative energy sources—wind energy, nuclear energy, solar-power—than traditional energy sources—coal, oil and natural gas. More than 70% of U.S. electricity comes from traditional energy, in contrast, 78% of France electricity comes form nuclear energy, and 98% of Norway’s electricity comes form hydroelectricity. All in all, United States has become the biggest producer of greenhouse gas for decades.
Another important cause of air pollution is the production of carbon dioxide from vehicles. For people In Los Angles, it has been part of our culture to remember to check highway traffic status every morning. According to a document from Exxon/Mobile in February 2005, United States uses 370 million gallon of gasoline daily; such huge number can fill up 16,758 Olympic pools. Furthermore, the total number of automobile in U.S. is still increasing at an extremely fast rate. From 2005~2007, the amount of cars have increased from 62 million to 76 million. With such large number, it is important for consumers to start consider purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles.
Altogether, air pollution is a series environmental issue the world is facing today. Although, there is many other causes as well, for example, oil refining, waste deposition, and burning woods. However, in contrast with the amount of human greenhouse gas production, the amount of greenhouse produced by those activities is still a small number. Therefore, the best way to solve air pollution issue is by changing our daily lifestyle: use alternative transportation whenever possible—train, subway, and bus; acquire energy sufficient product—hybrid vehicles, compact fluorescent light bulb; recycle reusable product—plastic bag, paper product, water bottle. Because we all know big success is made up with baby steps.

A easy way to understand what is happening with U.S. economy

A year ago, there were rumors about the mortgage rate. The Federal Reserve heard about it, but ignored the issue. Two month later, Alan Greenspan noticed the housing bubble, but still did nothing. As a result, today, many U.S. corporations, which were once the icons of this great country’s economy, are at the edge of bankruptcy. For the first time in U.S. history, a one trillion dollar bailout plan was designed and legislated in congress. From the increase of oil price to the decline of stock market, people all over the country have been affected by this economic crisis. Compare with previous economic disaster like the Dot-Com boom, what is happening now is very complicated and mysterious. The disaster are caused by many different factors, and in this paper, two major factors will be shown.
The first factor is misunderstanding of the fundamental idea between risk and yield. There are many investment choices such as: CDs, stocks, government bonds, corporate bonds, and mutual funds, but the percentage of return varies by its level of uncertainty. For example, the yields for treasure bonds are about 4%, while the yield for the corporate bonds are about 9%; however, the chance for you to lose all your money in corporate bond are much greater than government bond.
So what happens to banks is, let’s say, a person deposited a hundred dollar in a local bank for 3% interest rate. The bank has to keep five dollar because the Federal Reserve requires it, but they borrowed your other ninety-five dollar for other investment like real estate or corporate bonds or stocks. When the economy situation is solid and stable then the bank is running smoothly. But if the market falls, even just a little bit, the bank can be in big trouble because they invested by borrowing your money. And that is exactly what happened with Lehman Brothers. The largest bankruptcy in world history, $663 billion in asset, and at the end $611 billion (97%) is borrowed money.
The second major factor is the increase failure of risk management for both banks and the government. It is the basic of investment states: under any circumstances, an investment institution [banks] should have a plan that can survive the worst possible situation. However, many corporations concentrated on the market and forgot about this important concept; consequently, in the past 6-month, Freddy Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG have lost about $1 trillion dollar that is about 7% of country’s GDP.
On the other side, government also did many things wrong. A year and half ago when the country’s housing market was creating new records everyday, and people started to use retirement or education saving for real-estate investment, the government did not do anything with the interest rate. The reason why is because during the time the engine for U.S. economy was the housing market. However, when they finally decided to take action, they raised it sharply, which caused banks lost billions of dollars in three month. At present moment, everyday the Bush Administration is putting up new incomprehensive, indirect, and flawed legislation, and it is no surprise to see most U.S. citizens not happy about the one trillion-dollar bailout plan.
When Henry Paulson was being asked by the media, “who is responsible for all this?” He was not able to provide an answer. Some say it was originally caused by the pressure from European banks reform, while others say it is a crisis that are caused by events that don’t happen at the same time very often. But one thing is clear–this has changed our lifestyle. Many people are struggling with its 401K-retirement plan, while others are having trouble affording tuition. If we compare the economic crisis to what happened to Thailand and Korea during 1997~1998, this is still a minor problem. American should have faith in its country. This recession can be like the Internet bubble in 1990 (we all thought the stock price was going to zero, but it recovered quickly). Stock market will do what it always does, be patient, time will cure the scare.

What is the biggest environmental problem in your country? What caused it? And how do you think the problem could be solved?

The week before 2008 China Olympic began, Beijing’s air pollution problem was all over the media; as a result, athletes from different countries started to worry if the air quality were going to affect their game performance. For instance, when the U.S. Olympic team landed in Beijing International Airport, some athletes were even wearing air-masks. For decades air pollution has been one of the biggest environmental issue for People Republic of China. And unless the country starts to take immediate action, sooner we will all feel the affect.

After China entered the World Trade Organization, China’s economy has been increasing dramatically. By providing cheaper human labor to the world market, it has attracted many businesses to produce its product in China. For example, Nike Corporation’s headquarter is located at East Huckaback, Spain. However, all of its shoes and cloth are produced from Guangzhou, China; as a result, more factories were built in the cities and along the river. After seven years China has became a powerful country. Its economic power was quoted by New York Times as “the most massive and rapid redistribution of the earth’s resources in human history.”

However, such position comes a price: one fourth of its country is in desert, three forth of its forest disappeared. Factory waste such as lead or sulfur dioxide hovers most cities. Toxic material such as sulfur dioxide caused acid rain, and it has already been damaging forests and watershed in Korea and Japan. Residence pours trash into the Yellow river and China Sea has caused fish to die-off. And according to a projection, the number of cars on Chinese road will grow from 2 million to 130 million in the next 20 years—that is 3 times more than the total vehicles in United States.
Trying to solve China’s air pollution issue is very difficult. China has 13 billion of people, and an average Chinese household uses about 10,000 kWh yearly. However, the government does have the resources and technology to switch to renewable energy. 75% of France’s electricity derives from its own nuclear energy. Moreover Since the country is communist, which meant the government has total control of the media—educate citizens about the importance of the natural environment and things they can do in everyday life such as: recycle, drive less, and use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

In conclusion, telling China to “go green” is an urgent and necessary task. Although it is very hard to draw a conclusion on how much impact the Chinese environment will affect its long-term economic growth, however, a generation from now, China’s industrial boom might be viewed in a different point-of-view. As the leading country—United States needs to be a role model for the rest of the world. After all, the U.S. is still responsible for a quarter of man-made greenhouse gas. And even today, China’s total production of carbon dioxide emission is still less than a fifth of America’s. Unless the world came together as one, protect natural habitat and restore ecosystem will never be done.

Topic: Have you ever thought about using public transportation? Why? Or Why not?

Global warming, climate change, and the growing of endangered species have let everyone start to see the value and importance of environment. We all have seen ads and posters regarding with environmental protection. We recognize changes around our life: “Going green” becomes the new slogan for many major corporations like Google, Wal-Mart, and General Motor. People start to drive hybrid vehicles, their replace dishwasher, their refrigerator, and oven with energy sufficient product, and recycle reusable products such as plastic bottle and even cell phones. Taking public transportation instead of driving is another good way to protect the environment, because it can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas we produce daily. However, for us who live in California, and especially in a city like Los Angles where you are made famous by “highway” or “traffic”, switching to public transportation becomes nearly impossible, and here is why.
The concepts of using public transportation for our daily life affairs are not developed into residences’ cultural norm. During the summer I traveled to Boston, and on the airplane I met a guy name Jim. Jim has just graduated from Harvard University undergraduate program, and now attending UCLA for his graduate degree. The thing I remembered the most about Jim was not where he went to school or how impressive his brain looks like, but what he said to me on the plane. I asked him, “What is the biggest difference when you compare Boston with Los Angles?” He thought about the question for a minute and said,“ they are two very different cities. In Boston, public transportation actually work” He gave me a big smile. “But in Los Angles, it is impossible live without a car.” And that is true.
Public transportation system contains: bus, train, subway, and ship. Boston city have all of them, and there are stations everywhere you go. There are subways underground from the airport all the way to Downtown, there are train track in the middle of every freeway, and there are ships traveling on the Charles River. It does not matter weather you are trying to go to downtown for a dinner with friends or going to a shopping mall to buy some new cloth, public transportation is always the best choice for the local residence.
I live in Arcadia-a city that is about twenty miles from downtown Los Angles; bus is the only public transportation that is available in this city. Unlike Boston, if you just missed a bus, you will have to wait for a long time. Moreover, the stations are poorly constructed. There is neither bench nor sunshield but a sign that tell you which stops here, and that is all. With such poorly managed public transportation system it leads you to believe that that Metro (the company) does not care weather you are going to use it or not. And maybe that is why you always see the bus running almost empty.
In short, I agree switching to public transportation is a great way to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide we produce. However, with such indisposed system, for lots of people like me who live in Los Angles, the idea of taking public transportation for completing daily affairs becomes impossible.

How chinese name was created

A Name That Symbolizes Your Life

By two thousand years of revolutionary history, China has developed one of the finest linguistic systems in the world. Each Chinese letter is carefully crafted: each word can all be broke down into simple parts but still holds the same meaning. With millions of letter that are available, and thousands combination that are possible, Chinese language has reached to a stage, which a story can be compressed into four words. Parents can use this trait of language to name their child that describe their love and hope for its future.

When a new offspring is born into a family, it is the duty of the father to give it a name. The name is made with one to two letters (not including the family name) each letter is carefully selected from dictionary. After the naming process is complete, the name should be able to represent the vision the parents have for their kids. For thousands of years this tradition continued.

During the time when my father was born, my grandfather was struggling with the policy developed by the new government. Before communism was established in China, my grandfather’s family was the richest in the southern region. The family used to own banks, hotels, food markets, but the family relied too much on the government; in the end the government betrayed them, and pushed the family business to bankruptcy. The family left with nothing but a small shelter made with try mud. So when my father was born, my grandfather had already prepared a well thought name for him --陈更(Chen Geng). Chen was the family name, and Geng was my father’s first name, which meant self-reliance. My grandfather hoped my father could grow up not depending on anybody but himself. As time rolls on, my grandfather’s vision came true. My father now has his own company, and as the chief executive officer he is leading his company to another different level each day.

When I was born, my father went through the same naming process, except this time he had a different background story. His company was not created easily; there was a lot of pain and tears, I remembered once he told me the story in which he slept in the park’s bench because he does not have any money. It was very emotional. So my name has two different explanations. My name is 陈迪凡(Chen Di Fan), Chen is my last name, and Di Fan is my first name. The first explanation my father gave me is “unordinary.” and the second definition is “inspirational and influential.” My father always wanted me to be unordinary, influential, and hard working. When I was young I was a spoiled child, I was lazy and childish. But since coming to United States and facing various challenges, I have changed. Since then I have became a man on a mission—trying to do something remarkable within my lifetime.

In conclusion, a name is a symbol we create for every human being. But for Chinese people, a name is not only a symbol but it is also a vision gave by their parents. As Chinese we live with our names everyday, we see them as motivation and memory. And at the end we hope our life could be the same as our parent’s vision.