Nestle Boycott

While I have admittedly eaten some Nestle products since beginning avoidance, or boycott of the company in 1983, my personal consumption of Nestle products is much lower than it used to be. I began my boycott after learning about Nestle's involvement in baby formula in Africa and their aggressive marketing tactics in many non-Western nations. I actually used a Nestle number credit card (back in those days, this was possible) to make numerous long distance phone calls on Nestle's dime--or so my pal told me. I'd say looking back, that was probably not the brightest thing to do--who knows whose number it was...and word on the activist vine can sometimes be fraught with, well, incorrect facts. I think the phone calls were mostly to try to figure out a way to set up a tipi on Nantucket Island (my grand plans to live in a tipi were dashed, very difficult to find 18 foot plus poles).

Flash forward:

I would say that on average, I consume about one Nestle item every other year. This does not include if I happen to be at someone's home and they have used Nestle milk in tea. So it may be a little higher. I'd say about one quart of milk products a year? My boycott is of a more personal nature. At this stage, I find it tiresome to discuss this with people, particularly those who are supposedly educated and aware of the nefarious tendrils of big corporations. And I will freely admit that I did buy a Nestle chocolate drumstick cone yesterday at the Big Buddha when I went with my son. A rare event, to offset his discussion about going to visit Old Macdonald's on the waterfront earlier. (Another institution I have not even bothered to boycott because I just can't stand the food and the smell makes me feel nauseous). But overall, I have tried to minimize my association with Nestle in any way possible, although their presence here in HK is ubiquitous.

This is some basic Wikipedia information:


Nestlé boycott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Nestlé boycott is a boycott launched on July 4, 1977, in the United States against the Swiss based Nestlé corporation. It spread quickly throughout the United States, and expanded into Europe in the early 1980s.[1] It was prompted by concern about the company's marketing of breast milk substitutes (infant formula), particularly in less economically developed countries (LEDCs), which campaigners claim contributes to the unnecessary death and suffering of babies, largely among the poor.[2] Among the campaigners, Professor Derek Jelliffe and his wife Patrice, who had contributed to establish the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), were particularly instrumental in helping to coordinate the boycott and giving it ample visibility throughout the world.
Contents


* 1 The baby milk issue
* 2 History of the boycott
* 3 Current status of the boycott
* 4 Boycott in the media
* 5 Other Nestlé operations targeted
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links

[edit] The baby milk issue

Groups such as the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), and Save the Children claim that the promotion of infant formula over breast-feeding has led to health problems and deaths among infants in less economically developed countries.[3][4] There are three problems that are said to arise when poor mothers in Third World countries switch to formula:

* Formula must normally be mixed with water, which is often contaminated in poor countries, leading to disease in vulnerable infants. [5] Because of the high illiteracy rates in developing nations many mothers are not aware of the sanitation methods needed in the preparation of bottles. Even mothers that can understand the sanitation required do not have the means to perform it. UNICEF estimates that a non-breastfed child living in disease-ridden and unhygienic conditions is between six and 25 times more likely to die of diarrhea and four times more likely to die of pneumonia than a breastfed child.[6]

* Many poor mothers use less formula powder than is necessary, in order to make a container of formula last longer. As a result, some infants receive inadequate nutrition from weak solutions of formula.[7]

* Breast milk has many natural benefits lacking in formula. Nutrients and antibodies are passed to the baby while hormones are released into the mother's body.[8] Breast-fed babies are protected, in varying degrees, from a number of illnesses, including diarrhea, bacterial meningitis, gastroenteritis, ear infection, and respiratory infection.[9][10][11] Breast milk contains the right amount of the nutrients that are essential for neuronal (brain and nerve) development. [12] The bond between baby and mother can be strengthened during breastfeeding.[10] Frequent and exclusive breastfeeding can also delay the return of fertility, which can help women in developing countries to space their births.[13] The World Health Organization recommends that, in the majority of cases, babies should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months.[14]

Advocacy groups and charities have accused Nestlé of unethical methods of promoting infant formula over breast-milk to poor mothers in third world countries.[15][16] For example, IBFAN claim that Nestlé supports the distribution of free powdered formula samples to hospitals and maternity wards; after leaving the hospital, the formula is no longer free, but because the supplementation has interfered with lactation the family must continue to buy the formula. IBFAN also allege that Nestlé uses "humanitarian aid" to create markets, does not label its products in a language appropriate to the country where they are sold, and offers gifts and sponsorship to influence health workers to promote its products.[17] Nestlé denies these allegations. [18]
[edit] History of the boycott

Nestlé's perceived marketing strategy was first written about in New Internationalist magazine in 1973 and in a booklet called The Baby Killer, published by the British non-governmental organization War On Want in 1974. Nestlé attempted to sue the publisher of a German-language translation (Third World Action Group) for libel. After a two-year trial, the court found in favour of Nestlé because they could not be held responsible for the infant deaths 'in terms of criminal law'. [19] However, because the Defendants were only fined 300 Swiss Francs, and that Judge Jürg Sollberger commented that Nestlé "must modify its publicity methods fundamentally", TIME magazine declared this a "moral victory" for the defendants. [20]

The widespread publicity led to the launch of the boycott in Minneapolis, USA, by the Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT) and this boycott soon spread to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Europe. In May 1978, the US Senate held a public hearing into the promotion of breast-milk substitutes in developing countries and joined calls for a Marketing Code. In 1979, WHO and UNICEF hosted an international meeting which called for the development of an international code of marketing, as well as action on other fronts to improve infant and young child feeding practices. The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) was formed by six of the campaigning groups at this meeting. [16]

In 1981, the 34th World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted Resolution WHA34.22 which includes the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The Code covers infant formula and other milk products, foods and beverages, when marketed or otherwise represented to be suitable as a partial or total replacement of breast-milk. It bans the promotion of breast-milk substitutes and gives health workers the responsibility of advising parents. It limits manufacturing companies to the provision of scientific and factual information to health workers and sets out labeling requirements.[21]

In 1984, boycott coordinators met with Nestlé, which agreed to implement the code, and the boycott was officially suspended. However, in 1988 IBFAN alleged that baby-milk companies were flooding health facilities in the developing world with free and low-cost supplies, and the boycott was relaunched the following year [5]

In May 1999 a ruling against Nestlé was issued by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Nestlé claimed in an anti-boycott advertisement that it markets infant formula “ethically and responsibly”. The ASA found that Nestlé could not support this nor other claims in the face of evidence provided by the campaigning group Baby Milk Action.[22]

In November 2000 the European Parliament invited IBFAN, UNICEF and Nestlé to present evidence to a Public Hearing before the Development and Cooperation Committee. Evidence was presented by the IBFAN group from Pakistan and UNICEF's legal officer commented on Nestlé's failure to bring its policies into line with the World Health Assembly Resolutions. Nestlé declined an invitation to attend, claiming scheduling conflicts, although it sent a representative of the auditing company it had commissioned to produce a report on its Pakistan operation.[23][24][25]
[edit] Current status of the boycott
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As of 2009, the boycott is coordinated by the International Nestlé Boycott Committee, the secretariat for which is the UK group Baby Milk Action [26]. Company practices are monitored by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), which consists of more than 200 groups in over 100 countries.

In parallel with the boycott, campaigners work for implementation of the Code and Resolutions in legislation and claim that 60 countries have now introduced laws implementing most or all of the provisions.[27]

Many[quantify] European universities, colleges and schools have banned the sale of Nestlé products from their shops and vending machines. In the United Kingdom, 73 Student Unions, 102 businesses, 30 faith groups, 20 health groups, 33 consumer groups, 18 local authorities, 12 trade unions, education groups, 31 MPs, and many celebrities support the boycott.[28][29]

Nestlé claims that it is in full compliance with the International Code.[30] According to their CEO, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, "we also carry out annual audits on WHO Code compliance with a sample of Nestlé companies, and we investigate any substantiated claims made by those who believe we have broken the Code.... If we find that the Code has been deliberately violated, we take disciplinary action."[31] The company maintains that many of the allegations are unsubstantiated, out-of-date, or use IBFAN's own non-standard interpretation of the Code. [18]
[edit] Boycott in the media

An episode of the TV show The Mark Thomas Product made by the British Channel Four in 1999 investigated the boycott and Nestlé's practices concerning baby milk. Mark Thomas attempted to find evidence for claims against Nestlé and to speak to heads of the company. In one portion of the show he "received a tin of baby milk from Mozambique. All instructions are in English. 33 languages and dialects are recognised in Mozambique. Portuguese is the official language. However, only about 30% of the population can speak it. English is usually the second language for people in Mozambique. [32]

In 2001, comedian Robert Newman and actress Emma Thompson called for a boycott of the Perrier Comedy Award, because Perrier was owned by Nestlé.[33] An alternative competition called the Tap Water Awards was set up the following year.[34]

In 2002, authors Germaine Greer and Jim Crace withdrew from the Hay Festival in protest over Nestlé's sponsorship of the event.[35]

A 2007 article in The Guardian highlighted aggressive marketing practices by Nestlé in Bangladesh.[5]
[edit] Other Nestlé operations targeted

Nestlé is sometimes targeted for other aspects of its operations. A Brazilian group called Cidadãos pelas Águas (Citizens for Water) has called a boycott of Nestlé in Brazil over the company's extraction of water from an aquifer in São Lourenço. Some also boycott Nestlé coffee and chocolate products in favour of fair trade alternatives. However, Partners Blend coffee, launched by Nestlé during 2005, has obtained Fairtrade labelling status. Baby Milk Action has also condemned this development.[36]

In the Philippines, there exists a Boycott Nestlé campaign due to suspected labor rights violations in a factory in Laguna province.[37] This campaign is led by Kilusang Mayo Uno.
[edit] See also

* International Baby Food Action Network

[edit] References

1. ^ GEOGRAPHYContemporary news article that describes interest in the boycott and Nestles losses for 1980
2. ^ Campaigners website stating their claims
3. ^ "What is the problem?". IBFAN. http://www.ibfan.org/site2005/Pages/article.php?art_id=23&iui=1. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
4. ^ A Generation On: Baby milk marketing still putting children’s lives at risk Save the Children report, May 2007 (pdf).
5. ^ a b c Milking it Joanna Moorhead, The Guardian, May 15 2007
6. ^ "Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care". UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_breastfeeding.html. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
7. ^ World Concern website describes mother's needing to dilute formula
8. ^ "Breastfeeding". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
9. ^ Gartner LM, et al. (2005). "Breastfeeding and the use of human milk". Pediatrics 115 (2): 496–506. doi:10.1542/peds.2004-2491. PMID 15687461. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;115/2/496.
10. ^ a b "Benefits of Breastfeeding". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.4woman.gov/breastfeeding/index.cfm?page=227. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
11. ^ "Gastroenteritis". Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. 1 February 2003. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
12. ^ Atkinson, S; Bo Lönnerdal (1989). Proteins and non-protein nitrogens in human milk. CRC Press. pp. 131. ISBN 0849367956.
13. ^ "Comparison of Effectiveness". Planned Parenthood. April 2005. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/birth-control/effectiveness.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-12. , which cites:
:Hatcher, RA; Trussel J, Stewart F, et al. (2000). Contraceptive Technology (18th ed.). New York: Ardent Media. ISBN 0-9664902-6-6.
14. ^ World Health Organization, "Global strategy for infant and young child feeding," section titled "EXERCISING OTHER FEEDING OPTIONS" 24 November 2001
15. ^ Nestle Products to Boycott
16. ^ a b History of the campaign Baby Milk Action Group
17. ^ "How breastfeeding is undermined". IBFAN. http://www.ibfan.org/english/issue/bfundermined01.html. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
18. ^ a b "Who Code Violation Allegations". Nestlé. http://www.babymilk.nestle.com/Who+Code+Issues/Allegations/. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
19. ^ Sethi, S. Prakash (1994). "Multinational Corporations and the Impact of Public Advocacy on Corporate Strategy: Nestle and the Infant Formula Controversy". Journal of International Business Studies 25 (3): 658–660. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0047-2506(199433)25%3A3%3C658%3AMCATIO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8.
20. ^ The Formula Flap TIME Magazine, Jul. 12, 1976
21. ^ "The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes" (PDF). WHO. 1981. http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/code_english.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
22. ^ Ferriman, Annabel (13 February 1999). "Advertising Standards Authority finds against Nestlé". BMJ: 318:417. PMID 9974443. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7181/417/a.
23. ^ Breast Feeding Promotion Network of India (November 22, 2000). "European Parliament public hearing on Nestlé's baby food marketing" (PDF). Press release. http://www.bpni.org/Press_Releases/pr-nov.22,2000.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
24. ^ Baby Milk Action (November 23, 2000). "MEPs shocked as Nestlé and Adidas snub Public Hearing on corporate responsibility". Press release. http://www.ibfan.org/english/news/press/press23nov00.html. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
25. ^ "European Parliament Committee on Development". Nestlé. http://www.babymilk.nestle.com/News/All+Countries/Other/European+Parliament+Committee+on+Development.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
26. ^ Baby Milk Action
27. ^ "The role of regulations in protecting infant health". IBFAN. http://www.ibfan.org/site2005/Pages/article.php?art_id=310&iui=1. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
28. ^ accessdate = 2009-11-07 "UK groups endorsing the boycott". Baby Milk Action. http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/endorsers.html#education accessdate = 2009-11-07.
29. ^ An example of one such ban Council of the Oxford University Student Union, 9th June 2006
30. ^ "The "International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes"". Nestlé. http://www.babymilk.nestle.com/Who+Code+Issues/Nestle+Code+Compliance/Nestle+code+compliance.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
31. ^ "Foreword by Peter Brabeck". Nestlé. http://www.babymilk.nestle.com/Developping+World/Foreword/. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
32. ^ Website for the Mark Thomas Product TV show
33. ^ Scott, Kirsty (August 27, 2001). "Spoof horror writer wins £5,000 Perrier award: Fringe comedy contest soured by baby milk protests". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburghfestival2001/story/0,,543033,00.html. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
34. ^ "The Tap Water Awards". http://www.tapwaterawards.org/. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
35. ^ "Writers boycott literary festival". BBC News. 27 May 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2010324.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
36. ^ Baby Milk Action (October 6, 2005). "Fairtrade mark and infant health could be damaged by Nestlé application warn campaigners". Press release. http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press6oct05.html. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
37. ^ Campaign for labor rights website

[edit] External links

* International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN)
* Baby Milk Action
* Nestlé marketing profile, from Breaking the Rules Stretching the Rules, IBFAN, 2004
* Edinburgh University Néstle Boycott Campaign
* Nestlé's response to the baby milk issue

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott"
Categories: Boycotts of organizations | Consumer boycotts | Breastfeeding advocacy | Nestlé
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Dariy Farm

Yes, so surfin' around revealed that 7-11 is run by Dairy Farm, a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson. So is IKEA.
And Wellcome. JM is one of the old big trading houses. Most made a big chunk of change with the opium biz.
Have to look about Park n Shop...they were partially with this group, too, so the LI family is only responsible for my internet headaches.
Comment pointed this out to me. And yes, Webtest, I had looked into the smart phone, which I think we may end up doing here, but thanks anyway for pointing this out again.

Again signing off for some weeks--cheers...

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Website Delays

I have limited internet access for the next several months. I also have some account headaches--i.e. for some reason, I think I have two LinkedIn profiles. I have failed to update Twitter. Now and then I can sign onto Facebook. Even my blog here will be rather silent for a bit. I can't respond to any comments or the like because it is all I can do to get some basic email biz out of the way. I will eventually get back to all of you.

Except for you, Mr. Mainland Informant and blogger of Myth of Tianamen Square. I probably will not get back to you ever.

Nothing like a fanatical nationalist reading your blog and commenting to provoke your ire.

My professional website is not completely current either: stephaniehan.com but I have updated it with a few poems.

I hope that people do not take offense at my slow response to emails and I will be online on a regular basis once this is finally sorted. Apologies if I do not get back to your comments, invitations etc... immediately. If you need to get in touch with me and it is urgent, please contact my mobile number at 852-6302-3809 or simply bike over to my new residence at 1212 Sun Lung Wai (the white house surrounded by building rubble in the village of Sun Lung Wai which is across from Lick Hung School). I prefer face-to-face encounters. Call me a 19th century retro type.

And for people who text me--remember I don't have that texting software so I use shortcuts and bad spelling. To date, I have not met anyone in Hong Kong with a lower tech phone than I have. I don't care. I'm proud of this fact. But please don't expect me to text long messages back or any back at all unless they are marked urgent. Apologies, but I hate texting.

Cheers,
Steph

Thanks.

Preregister for the Multicultural Local School in Mui Wo

Plans for a Multicultural Local School in Mui Wo
January 2010
News from the South Lantau Education Concern Group
Contact: south_lantau_education@yahoo.com.hk Tel: 2984 8473

Update: A new school proposal submitted to the EDB
Over the last six months, a group of South Lantau parents, community leaders and concerned residents have
been working hard to secure Government agreement to open a new school in the former secondary school
premises in Mui Wo. With strong support from the community and the Heung Yee Kuk, we have now successfully
submitted a new school proposal to the Education Bureau and have been advised to make appropriate revisions.
Fundamentally, the new school will be:
- A government-subsidised English-medium secondary school
- Combining the school-based curriculum with eco-awareness and liberal studies; capitalising on the unique
cultural, economic and environmental diversity of South Lantau
- Backed by strong community involvement and support
In addition to the above, we are lobbying for the following key features:
- A multicultural school where both the Chinese and English language can be learnt as native or second
language according to individual’s ability. A third language will be offered when appropriate.
- Relocation of Mui Wo (Primary) School to upgrade its facilities and promote bilingual teaching and
learning
Equal opportunities for the children of South Lantau – Our Goals:
- An end to the suffering of the several hundred school children who have to commute up to three or
four hours per day, feeling displaced due to lack of time with their family and friends, and struggling
to do homework, study or take up extra-curricular activities
- An economically viable education to meet the growing numbers of young families in South Lantau
- A solution to the lack of space and facilities at Mui Wo Primary School
- To optimise our children’s learning and socialising in a linguistically rich and culturally diverse
environment; and to promote mutual respect, harmony and a sense of belonging in the community.

How you can help ~ our pre-registration campaign:
- If you have a child of school age, and you would consider sending them to this
new school in Mui Wo, please complete our pre-registration form available on:
www.infodesign.com.hk/sds_e/ or contact us (info above):
- If you know someone who might be interested, please let them know
- If you don’t have a school-aged child but want to support, please contact us.

Summary
- Our appeal for a local school that can meet the needs of our multicultural community started in 2004
when the closure of the existing school was first announced. At least four applications have been
submitted for the use of the school premises since 2006.
- Christian Zheng Sheng College has also applied to relocate to the same school premises. However, they
have been offered seventeen other sites while we only have this one proper school premises for our
community. It is the only resource which can solve the many urgent educational needs arising from the
marginalization of the South Lantau community since the early 1990s.
- Careful research by the South Lantau Education Concern Group has shown that we are a growing
population of over 15,000 residents with more than 2,500 full-time students (See By-census 2006).
Over 93% of South Lantau parents would prefer a local school for their children.
- The school we envisage would not be a re-run of the previous school. It will be a reflection of our
unique and vibrant multicultural community, in harmony with local Chinese roots.

This Love

This love

I wait at night
for the slow boat to China.
Drink tea, scribble, empty my brain.
A day of errands:
Forgettable necessary irrelevant.
A day with a child:
Significant imperfect ordinary
but not ordered.
You will arrive
spent; bleary-eyed, silent
trying to shut the day out.
The exchange is brief:
kiss, door close, computer on,
stretch, snack, sigh.
Facts given
nods and silence
trousers draped over a chair
I skim the paper
retreat to bed. Book open.
A glass of wine. Another.
This is the rhythm of the grind.
Oh, how we grate and chafe
consumed by taxes and bills
duties and worries
clipped voices and wings
anger and fatigue.
And there is always this:
a desire to tip over and out
reckless and without care
abandon and escape
but we do not.
Our master is small, but demanding.
We are knowing slaves.
Even as we crumple and feel our bodies shatter
tongues cut, efforts break
we are dazzled by this flesh and light.
Yes, this child makes us sing.
With every step and word
we fall in line
hold our breath.
We will ourselves
to provide and protect.
Obedient until our deaths.
Dwarfed by the wonder of youth.

Uncontrolled Capitalism; Patriarchy; Republican backlash

CAPITALISM

PCCW has no competition. I think the title about sums it up. PCCW is the only internet provider--here at least--the whole thing is owned by the tycoon Li Ka-Shing. He also owns all the supermarkets, 7-11s and everything else. Everyone in HK gives this guy money, including yours truly. Except I am not happy about it.

Yes, can hardly get internet here--we're looking at another 3 months. And there are no internet cafes here in Mui Wo. There is no place, really, to check email at all! Try checking email in a pub. Yup. So I end up going around to various people's homes trying to check email.

It sucks.

PATRIARCHY

So The Patriarchy (uhm...the entire system, really, let's face it--our current reality) plus unbridled Capitalism is the reason for my current household situation.

The Patriarchy dictates that a male earns (on average, there are exceptions) 30-40% more than women for the same job or of equal skill level. Capitalism operates in a way that neglects human needs in order to feed the corporation. Combine those two and you get a situation of the male in a household working 70-80 hours per week. Oh--unions. Unions seem like a foggy yesteryear concept. Most have been squashed or are non-existent in a place like HK or in the US.

ASIDE: Anyone who has broken up a union situation..SCREW YOU. SCAB! Your greedy actions for your own individual self have slowly eroded the rights for everyone else at that time and everyone who followed!! Don't even talk to me or mention to me that you have!

I should preface this by saying that in the past, we've had the reverse in our household, of my work hours being exceedingly long (70 hours) with, of course, the household income being 30-40% less given that the female was the primary breadwinner.

This is a basic no-win situation.

I need to move to France. Vive La France!

REPUBLICANS and HEALTHCARE

Republicans Who Are Trying To Squash the Healthcare Bill

Come on. The reason for the majority of personal bankruptcies in the US is healthcare costs. We are the only modern industrialized nation that doesn't have a healthcare system. It's embarrassing. It's inhumane. It's not cost-effective.

I am in CHINA for god's sake and I get better medical treatment here! Wake up, America!

VERBOTEN TOPICS SHOULD YOU WANT TO CONVERSE WITH ME

(I've had enough)

HK Schooling for Expats
Interior Design/Home Repair
Scatological anything with the Under 4 set
Anything that can be reduced to a list of TO-DO items

TOPICS I AM HAPPY TO CONVERSE ABOUT

Human Rights Issues
Literature--NOT THE BESTSELLER LIST. LITERATURE.
Poetry
Architecture
The Environment
Travel
Linguistics
Religion--with an understanding that all parties have pondered various religions and religious practices and continue to question these ideas. Blind adherents of anything please do not converse with me about this topic. Yeah, and that includes you, Existentialists.
Mui Wo Swimming Pool Season
Sociology of Intercultural relationships
Hairstyles

OK--that about sums up my mood...
Cheers

Do Not Multitask While Chopping

You will be sorry. 3 stitches and a geyser of blood later..

Hard to type, but I must comment and say the following:

1. IKEA kitchen knives are heavy, sharp, and of excellent quality.
2. Even when a 2 year old is making lots of noise, the soup must go on, and you are coughing like mad and wondering how to a) get rid of the smell of cat poo outside your front door b) if your alveoli are contracting due to the industrial pollutants in the air c) how you pulled a muscle in your right leg, do not turn around while whacking a piece of cabbage.
3. The Mui Wo Health Clinic and the HK Hospital Authority beat the hell out of the U.S. medical care system for this type of emergency treatment.

I was seen, treated and stitched for FREE by a medical doctor and two attending nurses immediately upon arrival on my bicycle with a bloody cloth diaper around my finger at around 7PM January 5 Tuesday.

I had my dressing changed on my finger for about US 2.25 (17HKD) the next day.

For some basic advice on how to run a functioning healthcare system, the bureaucrats might look to the NHS--National Health Service of the UK and HK.

Incredible, really. Better healthcare and I am in China. I told my doctor that this was great and how I was so pleased. He shook his head and said, yes, he heard in the US, no healthcare without insurance or money...hopefully things will change with the new plan. Life is hard for people here, but they can at least count on the dignity of basic medical care--for free.

This is China: Liu Xiaobo Imprisoned

Forget the hype. This is China...

Hong Kong enjoys (still without universal suffrage) more of a semblance of freedom, but Mainland now is flexing its muscles. The world consumes its goods and the world is hooked on cheap goods. Yeah, every trip to Wal-Mart, every new piece of clothing from the Gap, every shiny thing you covet...someone is paying the price. Our consumerism has elevated the living situation of a good many in this nation, but many more remain in poverty and countless are jailed due to their beliefs. And China is powerful. It no longer feels the obligation it has in the past to its trading partners on issues of human rights or climate change, for that matter.

Note to my Chinese friends: Being critical of particular aspects of a country's policies does not mean that one (namely, an outsider like myself) disrespects its entire people or culture. There are many Chinese who think and dream this dream--that their nation will act fairly and that it will honor the dignity of those who speak out for a country that honors freedom of expression.
Let them find strength and courage in the name of Liu Xiaobo. Let them know that there are those who will support their desire for a better nation.

Leading Chinese dissident jailed

Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been jailed for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power", after a trial condemned in the West.

The trial, from which Western diplomats and journalists were barred, followed Mr Liu's co-authorship of a document last year urging political reform.

Several people were apparently hurt at a Hong Kong protest over the sentence.

The human rights group Amnesty International condemned the sentence, saying freedom of speech was at stake.

The US also denounced the sentence. China has accused Washington and the EU of meddling in its affairs.

The BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing says the sentence shows China does not want anyone to challenge its authority.

'Release him'

"All I can tell you now is 11 years," the defendant's wife, Liu Xia, told reporters. Diplomats said they were told by Mr Liu's lawyers that he had been deprived of his political rights for a further two years.

ANALYSIS
Micky Bristow, BBC News, Beijing

Liu Xiaobo's sentence could have been worse - he could have been given a maximum of 15 years in prison but no-one is yet suggesting that the activist got off lightly.

Human rights groups and others with knowledge of China's legal system say this is a harsh sentence. Amnesty International said that according to their records this is the longest sentence handed down for this charge since 2003, perhaps longer.

China's Communist Party leaders appear to be sending a message to anyone else who might want to challenge their total grip on power: don't. Chinese people have been given many freedoms since reforms were first begun 30 years ago, but this sentence shows that they have only very limited political rights.

There was immediate US reaction to the sentencing.

"We continue to call on the government of China to release him immediately and to respect the rights of all Chinese citizens to peacefully express their political views in favour of universally recognised fundamental freedoms," said embassy official Gregory May at the courthouse.

Mr May was one of a dozen diplomats - from the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries - stopped by authorities from attending the trial and sentencing.

"Persecution of individuals for the peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognised norms of human rights," Mr May said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters this week that statements from embassies calling for Mr Liu's release were "a gross interference of China's internal affairs".

Photographs taken outside China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong on Friday show three people being treated on the pavement for injuries.

The Associated Press, which released the images, said a security guard, a protester and a police officer had been hurt during a protest.

Singled out

Mr Liu is a prominent government critic and veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

“ We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes ”
Charter 08

A writer and former university professor, he has been in jail since 2008, after being arrested for writing a document known as Charter 08.

The charter called for greater freedoms and democratic reforms in China, including an end to Communist one-party rule.

Mr Liu is the only person to have been arrested for organising the Charter 08 appeal, but others who signed it have reportedly being harassed.

Amnesty International said it condemned the sentence imposed on Mr Liu and was "deeply concerned for other Charter 08 signatories and freedom of expression in China".

"Liu Xiaobo's detention and trial show that the Chinese government will not tolerate Chinese citizens participating in discussions about their own form of government," said Sam Zarifi, director of Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Programme.

In earlier interviews with the BBC, co-signatories of the Charter said they were ready to be punished alongside Mr Liu - not to admit they had done anything wrong, but to stress their ideas were the same.

Abolishing the law on inciting to subvert state power is among the reforms advocated in Charter 08. "We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes," the petition says.

"[Mr Liu] has worked to try to find a way to allow the ordinary citizen to criticise the government or to make proposals to the government, on how the people can participate in government," the head of the law firm defending him, Mo Shaoping, told AFP.

"We pleaded not guilty - his crime is a crime of speech," he said.

More than 300 international writers including Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco and Margaret Atwood have called for Liu's release, saying he should be allowed to express his opinion.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8430409.stm

Published: 2009/12/25 05:16:22 GMT

linkedin and Xmas

Random--but yeah, I have not gotten it together with LinkedIn so apologies if I have not added anyone out there who needs to be added. I may even have two accounts. So please don't take my non response to the emails as a personal affront.

Tmrrow is Xmas. Pride and Prejudice chat in the AM with Stephen and Margaret. Then onto the bikes and up the mountains of Mui Wo to an eve event at Kathline, Gary and little Emma's. The 25th is Nessa, John, and some drop ins for dessert.

Menu for the 25th:

Three tapenades: olive, aubergine, cheese

Salmon wrapped in Prosciutto with lentils
Chap Chae noodles
Sweet Red pepper and green bean salad
potatoes. sweet and standard, plus carrots roasted
tabbouleh
something else--but I forget...but yeah, keeping it simple this year, not as many dishes.

Vanilla ice cream with cranberry sauce
Red velvet cake

Champagne and wine.

OH yes, and I have a meeting with the electrician at 5PM.

Merry Xmas!

Climate Change in Copenhagen; Rain in Mui Wo

China does not want international monitoring. The U.S. imposition of a tariff on goods that fail to adhere to carbon emissions may do something. The U.S. consumes an extraordinary amount of fossil fuel.

Ugh.

But here in Mui Wo, it's just raining in December. This is very unusual. Global warming.

Our Beloved Green Bog is rapidly disappearing. This place won't look the same in 10 years. It won't look the same in 5.

There are so many cars here now. Trying to think about our family's carbon footprint and what we can do to reduce it. We have no microwave, dishwasher, clothes dryer, hair dryer or car now. The car was a discussion in our household a while back. You can get them very cheap here from expats leaving and gas prices and registration and insurance fees are fairly low. But how often would we use a car? And didn't we hate this part of LA life? Driving? So I told Stephen, as long as we live here in Mui Wo, if we never have a car, we'll never have car headaches. I definitely do not miss it. Oh, how Keohi longs for a car. He takes one car ride with a friend and talks about it for weeks on end. He asks me if I like sports cars or taxis. I tell him I like bikes. Not motorbikes, but bikes...

Once we move, the place will be bigger, but we'll still have no microwave, dishwasher, dryers, or car. And we'll eliminate the TV. It's here with the rental, but we won't get another one, at least for a while. But our fridge will be bigger and we'll have more cooling to do in the summer.

It's just about consumption, really. How to consume less. Shop less. Buy less.

What does one really need?

How convenient should life really be?

Your Life

Your Life

Live a plane ride away from your home (in another country).
One week holiday per year. (You are often discouraged from taking this, but at least you have it, unlike some other countries.)
One day holiday per week. (Again, you’re glad you don’t live in Singapore. You get one day off a month. And should you get stuck in Lebanon, why, you might only have one day off in seven years.)
Before going on your one day off per week, you must cook, clean, and do the dishes. After coming in from your day off, you must do the same. It’s really not a day off. It’s a half day off. Actually, it’s a one third day off.
Public holidays. Some, but not all. Again, before going on your public holiday, you must do the same thing as you do before going on your weekly holiday.
Work hours: 12-17 on average (my guestimate).
Speak in non-native language all day long.
Your employer may lend you out whenever s/he feels like it. It’s against the law, but you’re lucky if your employer doesn’t do this. But if s/he doesn’t do this, it’s not because of any sense of fairness (usually), but because s/he wants you to do work at his/her own house, anyway. You’re not a slave, but you’re often close to being an indentured servant.
Natives of the country in which you work, usually do not respect you. This is often because you have darker skin, you are also poor. This is why you are a migrant labor. People who respect people who are rich. So often, the natives don't respect you.
Endure physical and mental abuse more frequently than not.
Feel lucky if you eat enough.
Feel lucky if you sleep enough.
Feel lucky if you’re not beaten.
Wish to be hired by a Western family. For the most part, the Westerners treat you better, although not always. Some Westerners like their curtains ironed 12 times in 3 days. Some don't give you a day off at all. Well, maybe it's not so great.
You don’t want to be hired by an Indian family. You understand there is a caste system. And your friend got burned by an iron. But maybe, you realize, it's all the same anyway.
You are in Hong Kong and the majority of people here are Chinese, but you would rather not be hired by a Chinese family. You want a Western family, really. You do, you think.
Westerners seem nice, but the bottom line is that they usually think little of your culture. But hey, that’s like most everyone else. You know this. You bear it in silence. But after the Western family kept trying to kick you out whenever they went on holiday and make you pay your plane fare back to your country, you got hired by a Chinese family and it was better. They were nicer. Go figure. Maybe the Westerners aren't so great after all.
You definitely don't want to be hired by your fellow countrymen/women. Yes, they're the worst. Your friends have been beaten, ripped off, cheated, and made to work without any day off. And these are from the people who share your language, nationality, and culture. And your friends--some of them are even working for their own relatives.
People don’t want your children to speak your language because it is “not useful.” (There are 90 million people in the Philippines and 228 million in Indonesia. But yes, it’s not a “useful” language. Mostly because your native country is poor and has been colonized. Heaven forbid that your employer’s child make friends with one who speaks your native language.)
The other reason people don’t want their children you raise, love, bathe, feed, dress, sing to, and play with, to speak your language, is that they fear that their children will either love you more, or you will cast some wicked spell on them and turn them against their parents. They want to know every word that you are saying to their child. This is because many of their parents treat you like crap and know that they do, and yeah, they have reasonable fears then, that you might say something terrible to their kids.
People say this about your culture: “Wow, but those people can really sing and dance!”
You work hard so that your employers values your work and hope that when you are entitled to your six year long term service bonus, you will actually get it. This is why you want a Western employer. You’ve heard that they are more likely to give it than a local employer—make that Asian employer (and this includes people of your own nationality, who are often the worst employers ever.) In fact, you’ve never met a local employer who has given it, although you are pretty sure that one would, one must…right?
You talk about going to Canada. England. Anywhere. But it’s far and cold. But still, you know that you should go. When you’re feeling brave and your husband back home quits asking you for money, you may indeed go.
You look at your fellow countrywomen who hooked up with a guy who is 35 years older and twice your body weight and think she’s lucky. She’s not a helper anymore. She is lucky.
You don’t want this life for your daughter, niece, or granddaughter. But you’re not sure how to avoid this from happening.
You don’t want to die a helper in Hong Kong.

So you respond to these conditions in any number of ways:

You find God.
You go out and get wildly drunk in Wanchai and sleep with strangers, sometimes for money.
You move very slowly. Very very very slowly.
You cry instead of ask. You become extremely passive aggressive.
You get pregnant and hope you can get permanent residency in Hong Kong. No one really explained that you can’t, but the rumor is out there, so you just go with that.
You try to find true love over the Internet.
You find God. Again.
You find another employer.
You have fun. You’re abroad. You’re independent for the first time in your life. Things could be much worse. You could be back at home, unemployed, with no money.
You remind yourself that your family is fed and clothed because of what you endure.
You have big dreams.
You have small dreams.
You just stop dreaming.

Outsourcing versus In Your Face

I was having a discussion with a friend who said to me (I paraphrase) —“Life in Asia is not neat. You’ve got to engage with it…it’s in your face…there is no outsourcing of experience.” My friend is Asian, from Malaysia, a longtime U.S. citizen, complete with American husband and son. I was thinking about this a great deal this week—grappling with my own questions about how I perceive life here versus life in the West. What is it that challenges and disturbs? How does one negotiate and navigate life here? What really is the difference between life here and the US, if one subscribes to the idea that human beings are at their core, so similar in their yearnings and needs.

Life here is in your face. It all unfolds in front of you. There is no instant experience, or if there is one, it’s only for a brief spell and then boom—there you are out the door and face to face with a reminder that you cannot escape the steps here, the details. You watch them all happen.

Take the chicken. Should one want to buy a chicken there are several possibilities. A dead chicken, mind you (they are closing or have recently, the live chicken markets due to constant bird flus). You can go to your wet market, or you can go to the supermarket. There are also some butcher shops on HK Island or Kowloon, but I can’t haul meat, especially in the summer for over an hour on the ferry. So, I usually go to the local supermarket, sometimes the gourmet supermarket in the city.

I don’t buy meat at the wet market. I admit it—it makes me feel a little queasy. It’s cheaper, but I don’t care and pay more. In the summer with the flies buzzing around, the smell and bloodstains…the meat is probably more fresh, but it seems definitely less appetizing. I am from a prepackaged, prefab society, and have prefab tendencies, I try to overcome these feelings, but can’t. I don’t feel this about butcher shops, let’s say, in England. Not that keen on the smell of blood. But I can deal with it knowing that England has a degree of health standards and Mainland China with its food labeling problems is not over the border. Anyway, the open market meat here really is an appetite killer.

OK, so for you who want to buy a chicken at the market, you can go and get one whole. It’s a chicken from China. So that in itself is a risk, given the food labeling issues (melamine in infant formula for starters) they’ve had and continue to have. But the chicken comes with the head and the feet. The organs are in there, but it’s not all packaged like in the US. You, the buyer, must chop off that head and feet. And it’s a scrawny chicken usually. Fewer hormones? Who knows. Ultimately, you outsource this chopping of the head and feet should you want a whole chicken.

In the States, I would go and buy a chicken at the supermarket and would happily get my plump bird horomone jacked up and all, with no head and no feat and with the internal organs neatly wrapped up. I would pick organic and pay a little more, or regular and pay a little less. Each chicken weighed the same…chicken after chicken. I had some level of faith in the packaging, that what it said was true. (Stupid, I know, but everyone likes to fool him or herself now and then). Obviously how the head and feet were cut off is not my concern. I just got the neat package. The mass production of meat to bring these millions of chickens in this way to this store that I drove my car to was not really a daily concern of mine. You can actually buy imported chicken here. And take pleasure in knowing that your chicken is certified organic and it costs a fortune and you used tons of fossil fuels getting that bird over here. How can you be an environmentalist if you import everything anyway? (Another story for later….)

Here in HK, the truth is you don’t know as much about your chicken—where it’s from. You don’t really believe the label. It says its from Guandong, but hell, it could be from Shaanxi and packaged in Guandong. But you do know that this chicken had one head and has two feet. The chicken may come in various weights, but it’s never as plump as the cheap chicken in the US.

So, where does that leave the chicken buyer? Well obviously, you’d prefer to buy the chicken in the US. But really, why? Because you can’t deal with that limp head with those closed gray eyes and that skinny neck. Because you don’t want to look at the toenails on the chicken feet. Because you believe the packaging in the US (maybe some stupid remote belief in the FDA that you should not have) and don’t believe for a single second, the packaging here. Because it’s just messier here in HK and you, the buyer, must deal with that mess. You the buyer, must throw that chicken head down your rubbish bin or fry up those feet (if you want, I am never inclined in that way, myself), or do whatever it is you do with those parts of the chicken. I was wondering how many people would stop cooking chicken if they had to deal with cutting off the head. For me, it makes me less inclined to cook a whole chicken, frankly. That’s a sad statement about me as a person, really. It means I want to eat the meat, but can’t deal with the mess of what it means to eat that chicken. The industrial process of farming, butchering, and selling meat. As an American raised on plastic packaging, I’m divorced from what it takes to bring that meat to the table. As I’ve gotten older, I’m less interested in eating meat, but I still eat it. It’s admittedly my very American side. I’m not the air freshener loving American—I do not require everything to be sanitized to the point of lavender, but I’m not exactly chomping on chicken feet instead of popcorn either.

Of course, we can then talk about outsourcing (or rather internal outsourcing) to the helpers—but this speaks for the middle and upper classes of Hong Kong and not the vast majority of China. We’ll get to the helper discussion and the complications of migrant labor in another blog. Stay tuned…so to continue…

And what about big box stores? Take Home Depot. When Stephen and I renovated our place in Arizona, we bought nearly everything we needed from Home Depot--from blinds to wiring, to paint to lights. You’re on a budget. This is what you do. You don’t have money to do much else. You know there are 10 different types of whatever it is that you need, ranging from cheap to more expensive, but not outlandishly so. It will never be hugely expensive because it’s Home Depot, and you’re fixing everything yourself. That’s the nature of Home Depot. You know that you will get a nice product in a box. You know that someone will tell you exactly how to install it. The price is what it says it is. There is no last minute changing of price. They probably decided the retail price of that item 15 months ago, no make that 36 months ago, before the factory in China filled with 12 year old girls started making it. Anyway, you buy your product. And before you get in your car, like millions of other people who go to Home Depot, you eat that same cheap hot dog and drink that same cheap coke outside on those plastic benches before you go home. You throw away that plastic and paper, creating more rubbish. But you don’t care. You don’t see landfills. You hardly see trash collectors. You definitely do not see old ladies hauling the trash down your small path and lifting huge bags reeking of dog feces and old eggs. You definitely do not run into these black plastic bags on your bike, because you don’t ride a bike. You may ride a huge car. Maybe you bought it when gas was cheap. You use it to haul your big lawnmower. Or maybe, you go wild game hunting. Whatever the reason, you don’t really need that big of a car. Anyway, your neighbors have all the same stuff from Home Depot. You can identify the lights in motel rooms and stranger’s homes and you know that the wall sconce by the bedroom cost 10.99 and was on sale for 9.99 and that’s why they bought 6 for their house and that is why you bought 6 for your house. And you feel a sense of accomplishment when the house is done—you did it, and now, presto, it looks fantastic, and like everyone else’s who went to Home Depot and did a home renovation. What you don’t like to admit to yourself is that Home Depot gobbled up all the small businesses that used to carry pipes and gardening hoses. Home Depot also famously donated money to political causes you don’t care for and in fact, despise with every atom of your body. But you don’t have much choice. Either you go to Home Depot, or you don’t fix your house. BOX STORE OR BUST.

Then you get Wanchai or Lockhart. You wander down this dusty filthy diesel laden street and there is one shop for hinges, another for toilet pipes, and another for window panes. There are millions of products to choose from. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be organized. Some say they are dealers of this bath product brand. But the sign that says that in the shop is probably counterfeit and printed up by some guy’s brother-in-law who owes him a favor for going to pick up the grandma one day. Anyway, these shops have men working shirtless in front of them with no protective eyegear and sparks are flying and they are hammering away and you notice a few missing fingers. A truck swings perilously close to your left foot. You almost bonk into a huge crate of marble slabs. People are busy. Lots of jostling. No one cares. This is China. They’re doing the job. They’re trying to make a buck. One guy’s store might be the size of a peephole. Another guy’s store hasn’t had any customers clearly, since 1995, and has every kind of toilet paper holder you could ever fathom and a great display of glass cups under the statue of a Venus de Milo. You’re just looking for this one thing. A basic sink. You get 4 prices for this sink. You have walked 25 feet and then decide on one of these stores and suddenly the salespeople say, they don’t have it. They’ll get it in stock about 3 months. You can’t buy the floor model. You go to another place. They decide to raise the price on you by an extra 10USD, just for the heck of it. Another asks you how you plan on getting the sink back to your village. Another tells you that this sink is nearly perfect, just has a small scratch blah blah. Forget it. You pay the extra 10USD and the price has gone up an extra 15USD. You don’t care. You pay it. You are sick of the noise. But then you realize, after you are thoroughly tired of this entire scenario, that this is mom-and-pop to the extreme. Sure, there are some who own a string of stores, but this is what it means to see all of the ugly stuff and deal with all the headaches of millions of stores and lots of variety. One place sells the tabletop. The next place sells the table legs. The next place sells the stuff to stick on top of the table to finish it. And then you have to find the guy to come over and install it. But he’s not in. He’s on holiday. His sister is sick. He’ll be gone at least 4 months. Can you wait? You long for Home Depot, and then catch yourself in this abyss of self-loathing. Since when have you ever liked a box store? You hyperventilate in malls, for chrissakes. You see what it takes to package those pipes, missing fingers, bruises and the stench of cigarettes. You don’t see any of this at Home Depot. It’s unfolding right before you. You’re glad for this. It’s just a terrible shopping experience. But in some ways, less belittling than the box store.

There is still more to be said on this subject, but in brief, life here is about dealing with chaos and the raw goods (not even raw, it was made in China, but still more raw than Home Depot, let’s say) versus the packaged chain. I do not like chains at all. Never been a fan of logos either. And here, you don’t have to experience them at all, if you want. Or you can experience them with the label ripped off, at least, sold to you from a box in an alley. What you may get here is a product, a food, or something without a label, and it is up to you to be the discerning one and be able to scrutinize it and decide if its safe, healthy, or what you really want. The joy in this is that it’s all up to you. The downside is there is no sense of order.

Anyway, more later…on outsourcing here. Thinking about this too and what it means to have a civil society….

Ghosts

What hovers over the red and gold?
rays of the unborn
lights of the beyond
gods of the sky, earth.

Spirits.

They feast on coils of sharp scents,
charred paper that nips slow fingertips;
they imbibe drinks at their feet.

My son worships.
He stands in awe.
A believer.

The gold monkey.
The red faced general.
The man on the throne.
The porcelain goddess who rules the sea.

He quietly taps the gourd,
summons the ghosts,
dares to finger the pamplemousse.
a recorded warble
a golden pineapple
wooden carvings of birds and flowers
the clatter of tin and china
a darting black temple cat.
This makes him strong.

The pattern of belief?
The beginning of fear or hope?
Oh, to walk with faith.
This I do not know.

When ghosts descend in our room
he announces their arrival:
“Yum Yum has come to play.”
My young son, closer to birth
than to death. He knows
The Other Side.
But his journey
like all will end
in dust.

The dead quicken in dreams.
But this does not console.

Hold fast to dried orange peels and candles
red light bulbs and mirrors.
We will be parted as we were joined
puzzles fit to perfection
split by blood and age
flesh that cleaved flesh.
Never more than ghosts who wander among us now.
Never more than those who grieve what they cannot know.

©Stephanie Han

Primal Fear

Yesterday I thought for the first time in months, maybe I can watch a movie on TV. We get the MGM channel. I actually didn't know we even got this channel and was informed by Stephen that we did only four months ago. I obviously wasn't missing much, as the channel is pretty awful. Nothing on it and haven't watched an entire movie on it once. Actually, I haven't seen a movie since I've moved here. I mean to and want to, but somehow have not been able to drag my sorry behind to the movie theater and can't be bothered to buy one at the DVD store.

Anyway, I flick on the channel and note that it is an evening of romantic love movies or some such nonsense that Stephen would surely turn off. Given that he's not in town, it's my opportunity to watch a sappy movie. The logo comes on. The lion roars. Keohi begins to cry and runs. "The tiger on the TV. Scary!" I tell him to come into the kitchen. The lion roars again, it's logo time--between movies or whatever, at which point Keohi yells: "Off. Off. No TV. NO TIGER. Off." He's petrified. There's no discussion of it being only on TV. It's real to him. The lion is about to roar again and I flick it off in mid-roar. I explain to him that the lion is just on TV, but he shakes his head. He's crying and scared.

Even today he said: "Remember, I'm scared of the lion on TV."

I say: "Don't worry. We won't turn on the TV."

Primal fear of a great animal devouring one's very flesh. Shouldn't we all be scared of lions?