Five European states back burka ban (news via FT)

This is surprising to me... maybe I haven't been following the news, but why the push by Sarkozy... 'national safety'? Can nations ban specific clothing? I'm concerned and perplexed.

Five European states back burka ban

By James Blitz

Published: March 1 2010 16:54

More than half of voters in four other major European states back a push by France’s Nicolas Sarkozy to ban women from wearing the burka, according to an opinion poll for the Financial Times.

As Mr Sarkozy presses ahead with plans to ban the wearing of the burka in public places, the FT’s latest Harris poll shows the move is not just strongly supported in France, but wins enthusiastic backing in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany.

The poll shows some 70 per cent of respondents in France said they supported plans to forbid the wearing of the garment which covers the female body from head to toe. There was similar sentiment in Spain and Italy, where 65 per cent and 63 per cent respectively favoured a ban

The strength of feeling in the UK and Germany may seem particularly surprising. Britain has a strong liberal tradition that respects an individual’s right to full expression of religious views. But here, some 57 per cent of people still favoured a ban. In Germany, which is also reluctant to clamp down in minority rights, some 50 per cent favoured a ban.

“This poll shows that the number of people in France opposed to the burka is going up and that is the product of debate on burka and national identity,” said Professor Patrick Weil, an expert on national identity at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. “But the figure is clearly going up in other countries in Europe like the UK as well, and that reflects the growing concern that there is about this issue in some parts of Europe.”

In the US, concerns about the issue are far less strong than in Europe. Just 33 per cent of Americans surveyed by Harris supported a ban, a far lower figure than the 44 per cent who said they supported it. 

In Europe, while opposition to the burka was strong, few respondents said they were prepared to support the ban as part of a wider drive towards secularism in their country.

Asked if they would support the burka ban if it were accompanied by a clampdown on wearing all religious icons such as the Christian crucifix and the Jewish cappel, only 22 per cent of French people said they supported such a move. In Britain, just 9 per cent of people said they would back such a move.

Harris also looked at the issue of whether the public supported the introduction of scanners at airports that xray the full body. In the aftermath of the failed Christmas day al-Qaeda attack on Detroit, a number of states have moved to introduce such scanners, a policy that has raised objections from some groups on privacy grounds.

More than half of people in the US and all but one of the four European states surveyed were in favour of the introduction of body scanners. Only in Spain was there a little less enthusiasm for the move, with 46 per cent in favour of the scanners and 23 per cent against.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.

We Are The World

Burj Dubai

The new tallest building in the world opened today, with over 160 floors and some pretty cool eco-tech features. But I wonder when it gets to that point (er, and height), is it eco-sensitive overall to have such a tall building, or is it inefficient and 'wastes' energy? I wonder what the optimum height is for a building, or if there is one.

Article linked here for more info on the Burj Dubai.

Liu Wen

Is the first Asian model to walk in the Victoria's Secret show upcoming this month. She's extremely well established already and has walked for Anna Sui, Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Miu Miu, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès, and Jean Paul Gaultier among other big names, and has tons of print/editorial accomplishments as well. VS, since it's aired on national TELEVISION, is a different kind of exposure though (no pun intended), and this is very, very cool.

Nationality: Chinese

Birth Date: January 27, 1988
Status: Established
Known for: Cheekbones, Smile
Agencies: Marilyn Agency
Friends: Emma Pei, Hye Park, Charlotte Hoyer, Shu Pei, Karolin Wolter, Xiaoyi Dai, Mo Wandan, Laura Blokhina, Diana Farkhullina, Daul Kim, Eniko Mihalik, Du Juan, Arlenis Sosa, Yulia Leontieva

Read more: Liu Wen - Fashion Model - Profile on New York Magazine

Growing number of families in China making use of solar energy

Rows of solar collectors line the roofs of many buildings in China.

Due to a combination of research and development, market competition, and government incentives in China, models designed for families of three start at around 1500 Yuan or US$200 – about 70-80 percent less than the least expensive models in the United States. (High-end models have higher capacities and are able to seamlessly switch between solar and gas power.) Chinese companies also are apparently helping push down the price of solar panels – by almost half over the last year – in other countries, according to a recent New York Times article.

Check out the entire blog article.

Japanese TV Show + Daniel Radcliffe = Simply Amazing

How can China keep on growing while its exports are shrinking?

Blog post by the World Bank Group on the exact topic that I wrote my international economics senior seminar paper on:

http://eapblog.worldbank.org/content/how-can-china-keep-on-growing-while-its-exports-are-shrinking

Take Ivy

I know something is gold (gold, Jerry, gold!) when two or more friends e-mail me a link about it just for kicks.

This time, it's about the NYT Style Section article "The All-American Back From Japan" by David Colman, another well-written piece on the burgeoning Ivy-League prep look, as Fay referenced earlier in yet another NYT article. The point of interest in this article is how the All-American look is, like most American things, derivated and perpetuated by non-Americans who want a piece of the American pie. (It does look so delicious, doesn't it? Especially the mile-high apple pie at Lou's Bakery in Hanover, NH.) I know you can read the article yourself so I won't deluge you with exerpts, but I do think the quotability of an article is an indication of its readability and interest, so here's the drift, as quoted:

"Take Ivy" is a collection of photographs taken in 1965 by Teruyoshi Hayashida on Eastern college campuses ... as commissioned by Kensuke Ishizu, who was the founder of Van Jacket, an Ivy Leagueobsessed clothing line that was a sensation among Japanese teenagers and young men in the early 1960s. Mr. Ishizu was a kind of Ralph Lauren avant la lettre."

“It’s funny — this authentic Americana, people in the States didn’t care about it at all,” Mr. Suzuki said. “But I would take it back [to Japan], and everybody would say, ‘Wow, this is really great, what is this?’ Now it’s different. People here like it now.”

American designer Thom Browne continues: “It’s amazing,” he said. “The Japanese get the whole perfect American thing better than Americans. They understand that it’s an identifiable style around the world, this American look. We think we appreciate it, but we really don’t, not like they do.”

But that’s changing. Not long ago, men scoffed at dress shorts, let alone wore them to work. Now, they are a summer norm, along with seersucker suits, ribbon belts and horn-rimmed glasses. While some men still prefer it low-key — plain boat shoes, a faded Lacoste shirt with jeans or a khaki suit with a madras tie — even full-on Japanese prep — blue blazer, button-down, bermudas, loafers — can look good if you have the attitude to carry it off.

André Benjamin, a k a André 3000, the designer of the bright Ivy-inspired Benjamin Bixby line (perhaps the only celebrity line with a truly fresh viewpoint), comments:

“Like a lot of things, the myth is greater than the actual thing. The WASPy lifestyle, with the parents and traditions, it looks great, but appreciating it from the outside brings a whole different perspective. Ralph didn’t come from it, either. It’s all about having your own twist.”

To Mr. Benjamin, the most appealing part of the old prep look was not its WASPiness but its suggestion of an easy, well-dressed freedom from anxiety, the same entitled naïveté of Oliver Barrett IV, the WASPy Romeo of “Love Story.”

“This golden age of Ivy League style we’re talking about — the blue blazers, the chinos, the sweatshirts, the tweed jackets — what I like is that it’s a look without looking like you thought about it. It looks like you care, but you don’t care.”

Of course, as one of the world’s best and most colorfully dressed men, Mr. Benjamin cares deeply, and it shows in his clothes, as it does in all the new prep gear. And so what if it does? It may not be true of love, but as any boarding-school student can tell you, preppy means never having to say you’re sorry.

Oh lordy. That's a good one, David Colman. Well done. The best part, though, are the scans from the book that have cropped up on the internet. I can't fit them all here, but there are a HUGE amount from Dartmouth. And MANY of the photos look extremely timely. They're also just beautiful photos. I wish I were back at school so I could print them out in color at Thayer Engineering and then laminate them at ORL, haha. I want these on my wall.

Brief Hiatus

has been because my laptop has been in the shop and I've been volunteering at Dartmouth's commencement and reunion.

BUT just wanted to post briefly about an article that was forwarded to me TWICE, with two slightly different attitudes towards it from the sendees. Both of my parents took this exam. More on this later...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13exam.html?no_interstitial

Date:	Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:59:03 -0400
Subject:	NYTimes.com: China's College Entry Test Is an Obsession

This page was sent to you by:

Message from sender:
did you guys see this article yet? its crazy!

v.

Date:		Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:11:01 -0400
		sounds pretty intense...i feel like i would rock this test tho (assuming i knew how to speak chinese)

God Bless

[Beichuan, Sichuan Province, China; May 10. Image via Getty]

MIANYANG, SICHUAN - MAY 10: A girl sits in the temporary classroom having a class at Anxian Primary School on May 10, 2009 in Beichuan of Sichuan Province, China. Many commemoration activities are being held to mark the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake which struck Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008, claiming nearly 90,000 lives. Over 680 reconstruction projects, ranging from infrastructure to cultural and tourism sectors, are underway to rebuild the quake-stricken areas, requiring a total investment of around 248 billion US dollars. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

Breaking Newz

A funny photo I came upon while doing a google photo search.

A Secret

So one of my secret desires/goals in life is to be depicted in one of the WSJ's photo-realistic sketches. It looks to me that there are two ways to achieve this - to be famous (e.g. Warren Buffet, who I'm sure has had his share of WSJ features) or to be infamous (I distinctly recall seeing Paris Hilton once).

This guy took the latter route (see FBI Arrests Danny Pang), but I wonder if he still has some sort of perverse pride in being featured. I mean, he looks pretty good here.


P.S. Way to run a Ponzi scheme, asshole. Today it was reported that sixteen thousand Taiwanese customers have invested money with Mr. Pang.
P.P.S. Gosh, do I love the WSJ.

Tao

Yay I love to see successful Asian models - they're kind of the last barrier.

"We weren’t the only ones to notice Tao Okamoto at the recent round of shows. The newly mop-topped model landed the Ralph Lauren fall campaign, a teaser of which (at left) appeared in WWD earlier this week. We also hear that Tao is set to star in next season’s Polo Ralph Lauren ads as well—a twofer not even matched by Valentina Zelyaeva, the long-running face of the house."
http://www.style.com/stylefile/2009/04/the-tao-of-ralph/

Well-thought-out insanity/impracticality

First thought: WTF
Second thought: SO COOL

It's really exciting to see what is coming from students in a developing high fashion market (by European standards) such as China as a whole.


BEIJING - MARCH 24: Models walk the runway during the Hempel Award 17th International Young Fashion Designer contest at the China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter Collection 2009 on March 24, 2009 in Beijing, China (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

http://jezebel.com/5182310/china-fashion-week-far-east-is-far-out