Taiwanese-American woman leads Jewish education center in Florida

Wandy Wang Druss was born in Chiayi in southern Taiwan and moved to the Dominican Republic when she was 12 when her Taiwanese father and mother
went there for their professional work. Two years later, when she was 14, she and her parents landed in America. Today, Druss is president of the Orloff Central Agency for Jewish Education
in Florida, which develops and provides educational programs for the Broward Jewish community. How do I know all this? A letter to the editor in English published
in the Taipei Times recently, penned by Lewis Druss, Ms. Wang Druss's Jewish-American husband, explained the entire backstory for readers in Taiwan.

"As an 11-year-old girl living in Taipei, Wandy attended Penglai Elementary School, where she won a citywide essay and calligraphy contest. Her father, Chan-hsiung Wang , moved the family to the Dominican Republic when he took a position there as an irrigation engineer when she was 12 years old. Two years later, the Wangs moved to the U.S."

According to her husband, an attorney, Wandy still speaks to her parents in Hoklo Taiwanese, a dialect language from Fujian Province in mainland China, somewhat similiar
to Yiddish in the way it is used in Taiwan in the 21st century, and she also uses Mandarin when necessary ''and is cherished by the local Jewish community in Florida.

''

The couple have two bi-racial children, both recent college graduates: one from Dartmouth College and the other from Brandeis University. Mrs Wang Druss herself has two master’s degrees and works as the director of continuing education for health sciences at Broward College in Florida.

There's a cute story here, too.

"A few years ago, a female family friend, who is Jewish and is a judge in the Broward County court, was talking to Wandy about kosher dietary laws — the old Jewish religious practice still followed by Orthodox Jews of only eating foods that are permissible and avoiding those that are not according to an ancient set of Jewish laws," Lewis Druss told readers of the Taipei Times in his letter
published on March 13, 2012. "This friend knows Wandy's background and knows that her Taiwanese-born parents were not Jewish. Nevertheless, she asked if her parents kept a kosher home when she was growing up. After saying this, they both paused and burst out laughing."

Added Wandy's husband: "Wandy, although looking as Taiwanese as any other Taiwanese woman, so easily fits in that people no longer see her physical appearance, but instead see her inner character."

There's more: "She also feels as comfortable eating Shabbat dinner at a Hasidic rabbi’s house as she does buying something from a pushcart street vendor in Taipei. She has an enthusiasm and passion for kindness that draws people to her and energizes them, regardless of their ethnicity. She understands and relates to the essence of the Jewish soul and Jews embrace her as one of their own. The Jewish population of Broward County and the people of Taiwan have someone they can both be proud of."

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2012/03/13/2003527645

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/wandy-druss/12/329/844

Taiwanese student brought a World Press Photo Exhibition to Finland after 16 year absence

‘I needed to do something for my internship, and as I am here I also wanted to benefit the community here somehow,’ explains the bubbly Taiwanese 25 year-old woman, who is studying for a masters segreee in education and globalization at Oulu University in Finland. ‘Already back in Taiwan I’ve worked as a volunteer at World Press Photo exhibitions. They raise issues that you don’t often see in the mainstream media,’ she adds.

Yu-Hsuan, who has been in Oulu just under a year, was astounded to find that the exhibition had not taken place in Finland for 16 years, when it was last in Helsinki.

‘I see Finland as international country, as any other European countries are. It amazes me this exhibition hasn’t been brought here for 16 years. ’

Her masters degree, she explains, is not aimed at school teachers working in international schools. ‘Most of the graduates become policy-makers, such as project leaders, coordinators and educational consultants.’

Yu-Hsuan becomes ever more passionate as she tells me how the exhibition, which has been organized since 1955, fits with her degree. The exhibition has traveled 45 countries in over 100 places. It is supposed to ‘inform and transform’ the public, provoke a ‘reaction’ from them so that they better understand current issues. Most importantly, she wants it to promote the feeling of ‘living in global context rather than just as individuals’ and to provoke debate and discussion. For Yu-Hsuan, bringing this to public attention can be achieved more effectively through the medium of pictures, ‘Images speak a lot,’ she tells me.

For all these reasons, she has thrown herself into bringing the World Press Photo Exhibition to northern Finland. Photographs are submitted to it by professional photographers, news agencies and newspapers. The exhibition displays 54 photographs, the winners in such categories as People in the News, Nature, Contemporary Issues and Daily Life. The 2010 Photo of Year, yet to be announced for 2011, was the iconic picture of an eighteen year-old Afghan girl with her nose missing, it having been cut off as punishment for fleeing her husband.

Yu-Hsuan seems to have a history of throwing herself into projects that might seem novel to the outsider. She works as a Japanese translator because she ‘majored’ in Japanese at university in Taiwan. She learned Japanese – without ever living there – and when she vacationed there for two weeks they could all understand her. Sort of. Chimpoon Kampoon! Busasa!

She also acted as a promoter for some Japanese musicians, who she met in Taiwan, who have formed an ‘Indian style music band’ in which they play sitars. The band is particularly popular in India. And when most of her classmates were looking into doing their masters degree in the USA or Japan, she decided on Oulu.

Now here, and having got to know the city, she has noticed that it is not just forest but also businesses and especially businesses in the IT sector. This is useful, because for the exhibition, which will take place in March next year, to go well she needs sponsorship.

‘This exhibition is not about sponsoring World Press Photo Organization,’ she insists. ’You as a sponsor are contributing to the general public. Together, your investment creates an opportunity for participating in one of the world’s biggest press photo exhibitions, which also carries educational value to people.’

Like most foreigners in a new country, certain things about Finland have been really noticeable to Yu-Hsuan.

She has had problems with ‘the darkness’ and people, at least at first, seeming ‘distant.’ But this has begun to break-down the longer she’s been here, she even has a Finnish boyfriend, who comes along to the interview.

‘I don’t appreciate the silence but I like the honesty,’ she says, referring to her impressions of Finnish people. ‘In Taiwan it’s much easier to get talking to people. People here seems not familiar with interacting with others, but once they speak, they are sincere. I also feel very safe here. I think it is really a friendly place,’ she adds.

Every expat has a story and, for Yu-Hsuan it’s the story behind the photos that is the most important thing.


‘The photographs in the exhibition are not about art, but the story being presented by them,’ she says. ‘It is important to see and try to understand what is happening around you. And I hope people would not only to remember what they have seen, what has happened, but also to follow this up.’

Mr. Tomato Head, a tomato found in the vegetable market of Chiayi City, February 29, 2012

ESPN PUNS LINSANITY

The war of the words is hotting up, and it's not all nice. From the Jon Stewart "Daily Show" to late-night comedians and ESPN
headline writers, the Linsanity of Jeremy Lin's ascendance to overnight superstardom in the NBA has caused a stir fry. Not all of it nice.

First, ESPN broadcast a mistake that may have gone unnoticed if people didn't listen closely. On February 15, an ESPN analyst was discussing Lin's faults while commenting on the Knicks win against Sacramento and she said:. "If there is a chink in the armor, where can Lin improve his game?" she said,

Did she just say "chink", as in the racially offensive slur used against those of Asian descent? How did that pass by the FCC or ESPN overlords?
A lot of sensitive people want to know. Me, too.

Of course, this being America, land of the free and land of the quick apolo, ESPN moved quickly to apologize: "Wednesday night on ESPNEWS, an anchor used an inappropriate word in asking a question about Jeremy Lin. ESPN apologizes for the incident, and is taking steps to avoid this in the future.”

Then last Saturday morning, the mobile website for ESPN ran a headline about the Knicks' loss to the New Orleans Hornets, writing: "Chink in the armor." Oops. Chink? Chinaman? Kike? Wop? Greaser? Guinea? Wetback? Frog? Kraut? Slant-eyes? What's America's and ESPN's obsession with offending Lin and anyone who might think using the word "chink" as a lame pun in that headline? The news about the chink comment was
soon on all the TV stations in Taiwan, with local commentators talking on talk shows all day about the word, since most Taiwanese in Taiwan had never heard that slur before, since it's a very American and English word.

ESPN -- which stands for ''English Speaking Poop Network'' -- was quick to pull down the headline 30 minutes after it appeared and then issued apolo No. 2: "We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake."

Bad, bad, bad, bad. Said one commentator in NYC: "Oi. It's as if ESPN frat boy manning the terminals can't resist making a few immature jokes at the expense of a player whose last name has spawned countless bad puns and they think they can do better, maybe add a smirking joke in the copy. Let's hope whoever crafted that racist headline got a swift kick in the derriere, excuse my French, for degrading Lin, his fans and anyone of Asian-American descent."


So what does "a chink in the armor' mean as an idiom?

"An narrow opening and vulnerable area in one's armor that the
opponent will usually aim for. This term relies on "chink" in the
sense of "a crack or gap," a meaning dating from about 1400 A.D.and used
figuratively since the mid-1600s," says my dictionary, adding: ''A figurative term for a one's weakness, largest flaw or their
prevention of success."

Here's a sample sentence from a college frat party midterm exam paper: "Because of the chink in the armor of Sir Lancelot, his opponent was
able to break past his defense and inflict a dangerous flesh wound."

This Linsanity will go on. Be prepared for more bad puns, more racist insults, and more Asian bashing. It's now a ''free-for-all'', whatever that means!

Local ''mother tongues'' in Taiwan must be preserved, says Taiwanese intellectual William JK Lo

Local ''mother tongues'' must be preserved

By William J.K. Lo [羅榮光]

In order to protect the languages of peoples and ethnic groups around the world, the UN has made February 21 a global ''International Mother Language Day''. Languages are a diversified and rich cultural asset belonging to all humanity.

Language was a precious gift that humanity bestowed on itself. It made it possible for people to communicate their emotions and thoughts. Different peoples and ethnic groups have their own unique languages, and parents teach their children their own language. The mother language thus becomes a precious cultural asset that future generations must protect and pass on. This also helps consolidate ethnic identity and belonging.

We should great attention to using mother languages more often in Taiwan. The alien regime Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, for example, -- and it's part of an alien regime just like the KMT is, because Christiantiy is not native to Taiwan and has no place here, other than as a borrowed alien regime that oppresses the Aborigines and others would prefer to follow the religions of the own ancestors, not some Middle Eastern cowboy called Joshua, er, Jesus -- currently has many congregations, and every Sunday they give alien regime sermons, reading from the alien regime and false Bible, singing, praying and preaching in more than a dozen different languages, such as Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka, Amis, Bunun, Atayal, Paiwan, Rukai, Truku, Tao, Tsou, Sediq, Puyuma, Saisiyat, Chinese, Japanese and English, all in an attempt to brainwash local Taiwanese people into accepting an alien god named Jesus. In addition, the Bible Thumpers Society of Taiwan currently publishes alien regime Bibles in 10 different local languages also to oppress the Aborigines and others. False and fake Bible societies around the world have now published Bibles in 2,508 languages.

It is worrying that the languages of Taiwan’s ethnic groups are gradually disappearing. In public places such as the MRT in Taipei, for example, it is becoming increasingly rare to hear people speak using their mother language, as more and more people use Chinese. Hakka people even used to say that they would rather sell off their inheritance than forget their mother language. About a dozen years ago, I attended a demonstration in Taipei with more than 1,000 Hakka people chanting “Give us back our mother language,” but today fewer and fewer people speak Hakka.

Since the various mother languages were handed down to us by our ancestors over the centuries, we Taiwanese must learn to respect the different languages. For example, many foreign and abused housemaids and other abused workers as well as foreign spouses speak Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and other languages. They also have their own unique songs, dances and plays that should all be admired and treated with respect, mutually shared and learned. This would make our culture richer and more diverse while at the same time testifying to the vast tolerance of Taiwanese.

To mark International Mother Language Day, the Li Kang-Khiok Taigi Cultural and Educational Foundation held a Hoklo and Hakka mother-language event at the Affiliated High School of National Taiwan Normal University last Sunday to promote the sustainability of all Taiwan’s different mother languages.

William J.K. Lo is an alien regime Christian who has renounced the mother religion of his own ancestors to follow a falser prophet from the ancient Middle East and is also president of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance.

]Edited by Yours Truly]

Dystopian climate novel has roots in Poland, too

ARTWORK credit : Deng Cheng-hong (c) 2012
http://polarcitymuseum.blogspot.com/

Science fiction in Poland has a long history and dates all the way
back to the late 18th Century. Perhaps the best known Polish sci fi
writer of all time is the great Stanisław Lem (1921-2006).

Lem's books
have been translated into over 40 languages worldwide and have sold
over 30 million copies. He is best known as the author of the 1961
sci-fi novel ''Solaris'.

Lem also wrote "His Master's Voice" (Głos
pana, 1968), and "Fiasco" (Fiasko, 1987). ''Solaris'' was made into a
film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and Steven
Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake of the movie, starring George
Clooney.

'Now a new genre of science fiction is coming to Poland and the rest
of Europe, and it's sometimes referred to as "cli-fi" -- climate
science fiction.

One of the practictioners of this new sci fi genre is American writer
Jim Laughter, 60, who has
peered into the future -- and he’s not laughing. In his new novel, the
retired grandfather of four envisions so-called ”polar cities” for future
survivors of devastating climate change disasters worldwide.

Does this have any connection to Poland? Well, in the distant future
-- some say the near future -- Poland and the rest of northern Europe
will see millions of climate refugees from southern Europe and Africa
trekking northward, and even Poland itself might be under threat
from the devastating impacts of ''climate chaos'' -- from rising sea
levels to scarcity of food, fuel and shelters.

Enter “Polar City Red,” Laughter’s 250-page cli-fi
novel that is set to debut in paperback and ebook
versions this year. The book is set in Alaska in the year 2080, but it
could just as well be Poland, too. Global warming is borderless,
and so are our fears.


Forget missions to Mars, and start thinking about mass
migrations of ''climate refugees'' north to Poland, Norway, Iceland.
(By the way, the
term "climate refugees" was coined by
Robin Bronen, a professor in Anchorage, Alaska.)

"Global warming is no laughing matter," says Laughter, a 20-year
veteran of the U.S. Air Force who was stationed
in Japan and the Philippines, among other places.

"You know, I met a man just the other day who told me, who insisted,
that global warming is just a myth,” Laughter, author of ten sci-fi
novels and a resident of Oklahoma, told this reporter. “He saw
a program on television that said it’s a scare tactic to direct
people’s attention away from truly serious issues such as the economy
and the state of international affairs. He’s right about one thing;
it’s a scary subject. And if projections are correct about the amount
of carbon dioxide polluting our atmosphere, we’d better be scared. We
may not be at the point of panic yet, but the day is coming when this
is world is going to turn its back on us and invite us to leave
forever.”

“So I’m putting my heart into this new book,” Laughter added. “It’s
for my four grandkids. I hope it helps to wake the world up, too!”

“Polar City Red” is a not book written by a scientist, ”since I am no
scientist,” Laughter is quick to add. “But I am approaching the story
as a family man concerned about the future of our planet. If my sci-fi
story can reach a small audience at first and later reach an even
greater readership worldwide in translation, I’ll be happy.”

Laughter says ”Polar City Red” is just a good old-fashioned yarn for
the average lay person, but adds: “I’m sure scientists many times
smarter than I am will read the book and say, ‘I could have said that
better.’ But I hope climate researchers will also enjoy the book,
without being too critical. Hollywood screenwriters might want to take
a peek, too. It’s the day after ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ but based on
global warming rather than global cooling. I think a visionary film
director could have a field day with this.”

Laughter says that as a fiction writer he is straddling the fence. “I
hope the message I’m trying to convey isn’t overshadowed by criticism
and skepticism from climate denialists and skeptics,” Laughter says.
“You never know when a scientist or activist studying global warming
might read something in the book and realize their life hasn’t been
wasted trying to warn humankind of our folly when we burn billions of
tons of fossil fuels every year and expend dangerous levels of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. Global warming is no laughing matter.”

Or so says Jim Laughter.

“I’m not smart enough to scientifically explain the intricacies of
global warming,” Laughter adds. “But neither am I stupid enough to
ignore the signs around me. I’ve driven through a few stop signs and
traffic lights in my life, only to be stopped by policemen alert to
the situation. The human race had better start paying attention to the
signs around us if we want to leave a habitable planet for generations
to come.”

Sci fi fans will likely be the first and most avid readers of "Polar City
Red" since it's set in a "Mad Max" kind of climate dystopia just
outside Fairbanks in the not so distant future.

Is it science? No, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to
understand that climate chaos is going to have a direct -- and
chilling -- impact on all of Europe, from Warsaw to Oslo.

But for now, Laughter's book is just an old-fashioned cli-fi yarn, so
there's nothing to be afraid of. Still, it's food for thought. If
nothing else, you can always tear the pages
out and line your bird cages with them.

---------------------------------------------------

State of the Union -- A new book on the rocky marriage of Mr and Mrs Obama

David Remnick pings:

January 16, 2011

“In public, they smiled and waved,” Jodi Kantor writes, “but how were the Obamas really reacting to the White House?”

Keywords - “The Obamas” (Little, Brown); Jodi Kantor; (Pres.) Barack Obama; Michelle Obama; Marriages; First Ladies; First Couples

In “The West Wing,” employment at the White House was an invitation to a fizzy world of noble intent and screwball comedy. The spawn of William Powell and Myrna Loy aced their F.B.I. security clearances, did the world-altering work of civil seraphim, and strode endless hallways, cracking wise in pools of amber light. As it happens, to work at the White House is to wake each morning in darkness and in dread. It is not only the crises of global moment that shred the nerves. The constant tide of trivia cascading down the BlackBerry screen each morning, through Twitter and Politico, makes an aide’s first sip of coffee taste of acid reflux.

MORE HERE
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2012/01/16/120116crbo_books_remnick?currentPage=all




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