Saturday, July 25, 2009

Just when you thought they couldn't fake anything new

Today in Hong Kong I learned how China has gone one step further in the Fakery Game: Fake jobs for University graduates!!
The schools want to get their statistics on grads who go on to full employment up, so they are hiring new grads for jobs that don't actually exist.
In some cases, the students just see their name on a list of New Hires.
But evidently is is a long-standing practice. In fact, often students are asked (or required) to bring a letter of employment before they can get their diploma!!
Vocational schools usually boast 85-90% employment for new grads! Evidently is it a not so well kept secret in China.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Lady Boy Lady Boy now you have a home

Today in Bangkok I read in am American news paper about a young boy who was shot at school because he liked to dress like a girl. I struck me even more because just yesterday I read in a Thai newspaper about a school here that has decided to allow girls and boys to choose which uniform they want to wear: girls' or boys'. They even put in bathrooms for this "third sex."

While "lady boys" have long been an "attraction" here in Thailand, today they are no longer relegated to the seedier bars of Pat Pong and are working in many different industries. As a habitual skin care shopper, I have seen many very feminine, graceful, beautiful men as salespeople and managers. Many more young boys are realizing their affiliation and, to it's credit, Thailand seems to be accepting these boys, adding "third sex" facilities and passing laws of inclusion.

And then there's America, purportedly the land of the free and proponent of diversity, where people who don't fit into our boxes are not just ridiculed but slain.