Hot in London

'CLE' <http://finance.google.com/finance?q=cle is the publicly listed holding company responsible for the markets that have popped up in London, Montreal, Chicago and the latest addition in Tianjin, China. Similar exchanges will soon be located in California and New York-- this is a sign of positive growth of the exchanges. I've kept watch on this stock in my 'dream portfolio' to see how it responds to activity in the carbon trading industry. Some industry reports from energy experts have claimed that the carbon trading industry is 'recession proof,' and I'm curious to know what economic indicators will show this. The positive growth in 2008, <http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2233973/carbon-markets-doubles-2008>, is definitely pointing in this direction. I was expecting some volatility in the share price at the announcement of this 'blueprint' yesterday, but none was exhibited. Basically I'm curious to know what sort of market information WILL in fact move it. Also, check out that jump from the initial offering in 2007. This cap-and-trade business was hyped up bigtime at that time, eh? The exchange markets must not have met the expectations of investors soon after though (the massive ensuing drop in share price!!)

1. News for ranchers

Putin goes to a restaurant with Medvedev and orders a steak. The waiter asks, "And what about the vegetable?" Putin answers, "The vegetable will have steak too.

China Relations

Over the weekend representatives of the Rotary Club of Kowloon West headed into Guangdong province. Signs of the approaching Lunar New Year were abound. Not a tile on the floor of the Guangzhou East Train Station could not be seen. It was covered by seated travelers or constantly shuffling feet of ticket queues.

The crew of six was traveling northwest toward Qing Yuan. Funds had been provided by the club to engineer a running water system for a local mountain village of 500. Villagers previously collected water from underground wells that would not be considered potable by urban living standards. The new system drew water from a stream coming from higher in the mountains and purified it.
The Mandarin is improving with experiences like this. Language acquisition through diplomacy:

"今天見到我的時候，你們問: 他是誰？他是外國人嗎？他是美國人嗎？這個沒有意思。我們是朋友。我們都是朋友。這才有意思。Remember Rotary. Congratulations and Happy Lunar New Year (translated)."

"Upon seeing me today you ask: who is he? Is he a foreigner? Is he American? This is not important. We are friends. We are all friends. Only this is important. Remember Rotary. Congratulations and Happy Lunar New Year."

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Tackling the Tough Issues: World Peace, Education

Two recent, profound events:

a) dinner hosted by Hong Kong Rotary, honoring a World Peace Scholar from Japan

b) public lecture by Eames Demetrios, grandson of designers Charles and Ray Eames, on education methods and practices

The World Peace Scholarship is intended to train the next generation of front-line defenders/promoters of peace. There are centers at seven universities world-wide that offer select students Master degree programs with courses advanced diplomacy and conflict resolution. The honored guest of the Rotary dinner, Miho (pictured left), studied at one such center in England in the late 90s. From there she moved to Iraq where she lived for ten years, providing public relations assistance and working as a bridge between peace forces and the millions of refugees tied directly to the conflict in Iraq. A decade of sacrifice to service so hazardous in nature is humbling, to say the least. Miho will leave Iraq in January with hopes of beginning... life. At the close of the evening, she said that the only way the conflict in Iraq will end is if its citizens compromise on how the country will be run, all by themselves.

b) Eames Demtrios is a quirky fellow -- looking like George Lucas, having the personality of Bilbo Baggins. He travels the world telling tales of the Eames dynasty (his given name is his mother's maiden name), and attempting to add his own interpretations of the original, golden concepts of his grandparents. Two such concepts that weigh heavy on my head are

1. the guest-host relationship and its effect on design (comment to appear in blog form in coming weeks)
2. learning by doing

Charles Eames was a living example of using the 'learning by doing' approach to improving skills and developing style. He taught himself the start-to-finish processes of photography upon inheriting his detective-father's equipment. This was accomplished by simply taking pictures -- a lot of them. The complete Eames collection contains 850,000 prints. The 'learning by doing' effort requires constant involvement and focus, something many people are unable to give one activity for prolonged periods of time. I think the method is key in the mastery of the priority subjects in my life: the Chinese language and architectural graphics. Serious time dedication. Maybe next semester...

Here's 20+ hours for starters: