07/11/2024
06/11/2024
The amazing art of Ru porcelain
China's Ru porcelain has a long history. It is well-known for its azure hue, light body, filmy grain, and gentle textile. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the Ru kiln was destroyed during the war era and the making technique was also lost. Only a few pieces of Ru porcelain ware have been preserved.
Artisans have worked hard over the past few decades to restore Ru porcelain's making technique. Wares with a pea-green glaze were successfully fired in 1964. In 1988, moon-white and azure glazes were also successfully restored. The Ru porcelain technique was listed as one of China's national intangible cultural heritages in 2011.
The Ru porcelain technique continues to evolve in today's Ruzhou City and Baofeng County of central China's Henan Province, and the Ru porcelain culture has become a vital component of the local cultural and creative industries.
05/11/2024
The 60th quadrennial US presidential election
Live US election: Donald Trump is the next US president
Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election on Wednesday (Nov 6), telling supporters that America had given them an "unprecedented mandate".
Speaking in Florida not long after projections gave him a win in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Trump told a jubilant crowd that he would fight for every citizen.
As it stands, the 78-year-old is still a few electoral votes short of the 270 needed for an outright victory, but he is all set to become only the second person to serve two non-consecutive terms as US president.
Live: Donald Trump will be next US president
Donald Trump has won the US election and will make a historic return to the White House. Hailing a “magnificent victory”, the Republican told jubilant crowds in Florida: "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”.
President-elect Trump carved a path to victory by winning the swing states of North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Kamala Harris is yet to concede or address supporters - dejected crowds left her watch party earlier before the final result came in.
Meanwhile, Republicans have also taken the Senate back from Democrats after flipping a string of crucial seats
Donald Trump is the next US president: Live Updates
Trump on the brink of 270: Donald Trump will win the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina, CNN projects, shrinking Kamala Harris’ possible paths to victory.
In a speech to supporters, Trump said he would usher in a “golden age of America.” CNN has yet to project a winner. Trump and Harris each need at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Counting continues: Vote counting is still underway in key states, including in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. Republicans will win control in the Senate, a flip that shifts the balance of power in Washington.
World leaders pledge to work with Trump as he claims US election win
World leaders raced to congratulate Donald Trump as he claimed a stunning US election victory over Kamala Harris, while financial markets also rose.
Here are the first reactions:
- CHINA: "MUTUAL RESPECT" - Without directly mentioning Trump, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing that China hopes for "peaceful coexistence" with the United States. "We will continue to approach and handle China-US relations based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation," she said. "We respect the choice of the American people."
- RUSSIA: WILL JUDGE "CONCRETE STEPS" - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists he was unaware of any plans by Vladimir Putin to congratulate Trump since the US is an "unfriendly country". "We will draw conclusions based on concrete steps and concrete words," Peskov said.
- ISRAEL: "POWERFUL RECOMMITMENT" - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump's likely win signalled a new beginning in US-Israel relations. "Congratulations on history's greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!" said Netanyahu in a statement issued by his office.
- HAMAS: "BLIND SUPPORT" MUST END - Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told AFP that under Trump the United State's "blind support for the Zionist entity must end because it comes at the expense of the future of our people and the security and stability of the region."
- UKRAINE: HOPES "JUST PEACE" CLOSER - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Donald Trump on his "impressive victory" and said he hoped his presidency would bring a "just peace in Ukraine closer". "I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer," Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media.
- NATO: "PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH" - NATO chief Mark Rutte congratulated Trump and said his return to power would help keep the alliance "strong". "His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO," Rutte said in a statement.
- EU: "STRONG TRANSATLANTIC AGENDA" - "I warmly congratulate Donald J Trump," European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. "The EU and the US are more than just allies. We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens. So let's work together on a strong transatlantic agenda that keeps delivering for them."
- BRITAIN: "HISTORIC ELECTION VICTORY" - Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated the 78-year old on his "historic election victory". "From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic."
- FRANCE: "RESPECT AND AMBITION" - French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated "President Donald Trump", saying he was ready to work with him "with respect and ambition" like "we managed to do for four years". In a post on X, Macron said that the relationship with Trump, who is leading the US presidential vote, would "take account of your convictions, and mine", adding: "For more peace and prosperity."
- GERMANY: WILL REMAIN "RELIABLE ALLY" - Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Trump and vowed Berlin would work with him for "prosperity and freedom". "Germany and the USA have long been working together successfully to promote prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic. We will continue to do so for the benefit of our citizens."
- JAPAN: "NEW HEIGHTS" - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters he hopes "to work closely with Mr Trump to take the Japan-US alliance and Japan-US relationship to new heights."
When will we know who has won the US election?
American voters are going to the polls on Tuesday 5 Nov 2024 to choose their next president. US election results have sometimes been declared within hours of the polls closing, but this year's tight contest could mean a longer wait.
In some presidential races the victor has been named late on election night, or early the next morning. This time, the knife-edge race in many states could mean media outlets wait longer before projecting who has won. Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice-president, and Republican Donald Trump, the former president, have been running neck-and-neck for weeks. Narrow victories could also mean recounts. In the key swing state of Pennsylvania, for example, a state-wide recount would be required if there’s a half-percentage-point difference between the votes cast for the winner and loser. In 2020, the margin was just over 1.1 percentage points.
Legal challenges are also possible. More than 100 pre-election lawsuits have already been filed, including challenges to voter eligibility and voter roll management, by Republicans. Other scenarios that could cause delays include any election-related disorder, particularly at polling locations. On the other hand, vote-counting has sped up in some areas, including the crucial state of Michigan, and far fewer votes will be cast by mail than in the last election, which was during the Covid pandemic.
US election: When will we know who won?
As Americans prepare to vote on Election Day on Tuesday (Nov 5), officials are calling for patience as they tally ballots in what could be a historically close presidential race - and warning that it could take days to find out who has won.
Under the US system, citizens do not vote directly for their leader. Instead, their ballots elect the 538 members of a group called the Electoral College, which then elects the president and vice president. Each state casts its Electoral College votes for the candidate that won its popular vote. Bigger states, with more representatives in the US Congress, get a larger share of the 538 Electoral College votes on offer.
Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump will be vying to get to the all-important 270 votes that pushes them past the halfway mark and guarantees them the keys to the Oval Office. But with this year's race going down to the wire, experts point to a growing risk of delays and complications like legal challenges over the vote count. Around 81 million people have voted ahead of Tuesday, over half of the total ballots cast in 2020.
Harris, Trump fight through final campaign hours
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made their final case on Monday (Nov 5) in the hours before election day, when voters will either choose America's first woman president or hand the Republican an unprecedented comeback likely to rattle the world. With polls showing a dead heat, Trump promised to lead the United States to "new heights of glory" while Harris said the "momentum is on our side", as the rivals held their last rallies of the 2024 race in crucial battleground states.
The Democratic vice president finished on a high note in Philadelphia in the must-win state of Pennsylvania, with a rally on the steps immortalised by the boxing movie "Rocky". "This could be one of the closest races in history - every single vote matters," said Harris, who was joined by celebrities including Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey. She also referenced the film, telling thousands of supporters that "here at these famous steps" she was paying "tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory". Harris, 60, has repeatedly said she is the underdog, having only joined the race three months ago after President Joe Biden dropped out. But she insisted she would win.
Former president Trump brought several family members - with the conspicuous absence of his wife Melania - up on stage at his closing rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, as in an earlier swing through North Carolina and Pennsylvania, his speech bristled with dark rhetoric. "With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America - indeed, the world - to new heights of glory," he told the crowd, as the clocks ticked over into Tuesday.
Red or Blue? The states deciding the 2024 US presidential election
The U.S. election is coming up, with voters in all 50 states deciding who to elect as the next president.
But most states are considered "safe", either solidly Republican or Democratic, and both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have not spent time or money trying to persuade the voters there. Instead both candidates are gunning for the main prize — seven "swing" states that will determine the election, and the presidency.
The state of Michigan, bordering the Great Lakes, was settled by Native American tribes for centuries, before being colonised by the French, and then the British. The British ceded the territory to the Americans after the Revolution, and it was admitted as a free state in 1837.
2024 United States presidential election
The 2024 United States presidential election, the 60th quadrennial presidential election, is currently being held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Voters in each state and the District of Columbia will choose electors to the Electoral College, who will then elect a president and vice president for a term of four years.
The incumbent president, Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, initially ran for re-election, and became the party's presumptive nominee, facing little opposition; however, Biden's performance in the presidential debate held in June 2024 intensified concerns about his age and health, and led to calls within his party for him to leave the race. Although initially adamant on remaining in the race, Biden withdrew on July 21, becoming the first eligible incumbent president to withdraw from the race since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the party's nominee on August 5. Harris selected Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.
Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party, is running for re-election for a second, non-consecutive term, after losing to Biden in 2020. He was nominated during the 2024 Republican National Convention along with his running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance. The Trump campaign has been noted for making many false and misleading statements, engaging in anti-immigrant fearmongering, and promoting conspiracy theories. Trump has continued to repeat his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, which prompted the January 6 Capitol attack. Trump's embrace of far-right extremism, as well as increasingly violent, dehumanizing, and authoritarian rhetoric against his political opponents, has been described by historians and scholars as populist, authoritarian, fascist,[c] unlike anything a political candidate has ever said in U.S. history, and a continued breaking of political norms. The Republican Party has made efforts to disrupt the 2024 presidential election as part of a larger election denial movement among U.S. conservatives. In May 2024, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. In 2023 and 2024, he was found liable in civil proceedings for sexual abuse, defamation, and financial fraud. Trump remains under multiple indictments for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and role in the January 6 attack and his racketeering prosecution to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Trump survived an assassination attempt in July 2024 during a campaign rally.
04/11/2024
Watch Out For Japan’s Unique Manholes
Japan's Unique Manholes: Pieces of Art At Your Feet
Let’s create a sewage system, but please make it all kinds of kawaii
That might just as well have been the internal brief when the Japanese government began rolling out its new sewage system after World War II. In a PR move that could probably not exist in any other country, intricately designed manholes were thought to be the best measure to garner the population’s support for the large infrastructural changes. Nowadays about 12,000 different manhole designs are said to decorate municipalities across the country – featuring folktales, local history, landmarks, mascots, you name it. If drainspotting isn’t one of your favorite leisure activities yet, let us show you why you should consider joining Japan’s wacky community of manhole lovers.
First of all, manholes are a typical example of how Japanese officials nicely wrap government decisions to make them palatable, averting possible resistance from the population by emphasizing admiration for artisan pride and fun with kawaii messaging. While the renewal of the sewage system had begun in the 60s, sources usually point to one no-name government official as the unknown mastermind behind today’s manhole craze. Urban myth has it that around the mid-80s he suggested colorfully designed manholes to raise awareness as well as taxpayer’s acceptance for the costly redevelopment projects, which surely interrupted their neighborhood peace with noisy construction sites.
Thanks to government-initiated design contests early on, municipalities were soon competing with each other to see who could draw more attention and tourists to their regions – a competition that still goes on today. And it’s a rather costly one: elaborately colored design manholes can cost around $1000 a piece as opposed to an average mass-produced standard lid which is said to lie at around $10. Today nearly 95% of the 1,780 municipalities in Japan reportedly sport their very own customized manhole covers.
03/11/2024
Hilarious T-Shirts That Are The Very Definition Of ‘Fail’
Bar-Bells
When you go to the gym for a workout, it’s always a good idea to have something to drink. But perhaps for this young lady, we should clarify that we mean water. Let’s at least admit that we think this shirt is really cute and funny. We strongly suggest that you do not mix alcohol and heavy gym equipment, or you might need a shirt that says ‘Gym and Hospital.’
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