Skip to main content

15 global challenges that cannot be addressed by any government acting alone

  The 15 Global Challenges  from t he Millennium Project, a global participatory think tank. 1. How can sustainable development be achieved for all while addressing global climate change? 2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict? 3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance? 4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes? 5. How can decisionmaking be enhanced by integrating improved global foresight during unprecedented accelerating change? 6. How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone? 7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between rich and poor? 8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune micro-organisms be reduced? 9. How can education make humanity more intelligent, knowledgeable, and wise enough to address its global challenges? 10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflicts,...

Small Dingy Slum Community called "China"

Miss Calder's Children, A Social History of Belper. Biography and Critique on Mondern Education, by Narvel S. Annable, Belper, 1997.

In this book (page 35) Narvel Annable sympathetically and vividly describes a "notorious yet celebrated small dingy slum community called 'China'. This slum community was not far from where little Narvel lived, it was "directly over the road", near the railway line. These foul poverty stricken cottages was removed in the late 1930's to make way for the construction of the oil refinery.

As a Chinese, I am quite sensitive to anything about 'China'. It's quite interesting that people in Belper called their city slum community 'China'.

Narvel Annable recorded several stories from this 'China'. In that time, people from different social classes seemed never to mix up, you might find the ugly faces of snobbery everywhere.

[A girl lived] at the family business in King Street, S.T, Clay Milliners and Drapers. One day she wondered in the direction of China and was intrigued by the strange dirty ragged urchins playing on the hard trodden soil. After an agreeable period of play and fraternisation with her newly acquired fetid friends, she was discovered by a customer and promptly returned to her anxious parents. They were horrified to learn that she had been within the depths of China!
It was a great sin to mix up and play with "strange dirty ragged urchins", and luckily this little girls was rescued by his father's customer!

Even a school headteacher has this kind of ugly face of snobbery.

[one day headteacher Mr Tunnicliffe held] an emergency assembly in a grim and angry mood due to an appalling insult to the dignity of his Herbert Strutt School!

The enraged Headmaster called the gathering for the purposes of an inquest.

"A boy from China has been seen wearing the Herbert Strutt School Cap! How has this happened? Was it stolen? Who is without his cap?"
For the higher class, it's quite normal to say, "Don't behave like a cottage child!" The living conditions in that little community might be much worse than that in other cottages. There was report which spoke of six in one bed, or even no bed at all. The very name of 'China' caused one to shudder! One poor child was burned to death at home due to primitive and dangerous lighting or cooking.

People in Belper called their neighbour slum community 'China', I wonder how were they thinking of the REAL China in Far East? How were they thinking of the inhabitants of China, What's their attitude like towards a Chinese whom they met on Belper street, if any adventurous Chinese ever went there?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

coat-of-arms

Heraldry probably began with the knights in armour. When wearing a helmet in battle or in tournaments a knight could not be recognised; so he used symbols to decorate his shield and surcoat. The surcoat was the loose garment worn over the armour to protect it from rain or hot sun and actually was the "coat-of-arms"; it was decorated on the front and back with the same device as on the shield. The correct expression for entire design is an achievement . An achievement consists of the shield, helmet, rest, wreath, mantling and motto. These are the main parts. To them can be added supporters and a compartment. In the centre is the most important part, the shield . The surface of the shield is called the field  and on it the colourful charges are placed. The shield is called the arms or coat-of-arms  and can be drawn in any shape - in an upright position or slanting, which is the position it would fall into if hung on a peg. In Heraldry it slants to dexter. The helmet denot...

You can find your Wireless Network Key on Virgin Media Wireless Router

We have a new netbook computer, and don't know where to find network key, which is needed to setup wireless connection. A network key may also be called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) key or WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) key. A wireless network key is a security feature that prevents unauthorized users from accessing a wireless network. An unprotected network is an unlocked virtual door, anybody within range can piggyback on the network undetected. I use Virgin media broadband with a Virgin media wireless router, this router has a WPA key taped on the router, that WPA key is an English word consisting of 10 letters. To tape network key on the router is a good idea, because we may never lose or forget a wireless network key as long as we possess the router.

15 global challenges that cannot be addressed by any government acting alone

  The 15 Global Challenges  from t he Millennium Project, a global participatory think tank. 1. How can sustainable development be achieved for all while addressing global climate change? 2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict? 3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance? 4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes? 5. How can decisionmaking be enhanced by integrating improved global foresight during unprecedented accelerating change? 6. How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone? 7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between rich and poor? 8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune micro-organisms be reduced? 9. How can education make humanity more intelligent, knowledgeable, and wise enough to address its global challenges? 10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflicts,...