World - The American, European or Chinese Dream?

In the 20th century the United States effectively marketed the American Dream – the idea that anyone, regardless of social or economic background, could achieve upward mobility, prosperity and success through hard honest graft. Americans largely bought into this idea and many immigrants poured into the US in search of the opportunity for making a better life. Some achieved success, enough to perpetuate the mythical status of the Dream.

Among some immigrant groups, particularly Asians, the American Dream has resonated. It would be simplistic and stereotyping to lump all Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in the same category, however.

A recent Pew report, entitled “The Rise of Asian Americans”, demonstrates Indian Americans’ successes in the US in terms of income, political satisfaction, etc., though it was also criticized for its uniform treatment of Asian and South Asian groups.

From Highbrow Magazine:

The Pew report noted that the Indian economic climate has shifted dramatically in recent years, which has led Indian Americans to be less positive about conditions in the home country. Almost 60 percent are dissatisfied with economic conditions in India, but reported high levels of satisfaction with the U.S. economic climate.

According to Pew’s findings, US Asians in general have the highest income levels, and are the most educated group in the country by far. Read the overview of the report here.

While the American Dream is largely spiritual or an intangible “feeling” for many, it has been closely linked to material wealth and American consumer culture – a culture that has become increasingly globalized in recent years. Real success rates have also prompted many to question the validity of the American Dream.

The European Dream: Challenging the American myth

In 2004 American author Jeremy Rifkin published The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, highlighting modern European successes. Rifkin cited (among other things) favorable economic conditions, wealth distribution, quality of life, literacy, homicide rates, market regulation and aspects of political life in the European Union in comparison with those in the US.

But this is 2012. Try asking many Europeans – especially those in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland – about how the current model of the “European Dream” is working out for them. Come to think of it, ask Americans the same question.

Collective, inclusive, global: Make way for the “Chinese Dream”

Xi Jinping, the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, believes in the Chinese Dream, equating it with “the great renewal of the Chinese nation”.

As a whole, China is now the world’s second largest economy and a legitimate world power.

From Outlook India:

I believe that by the time when the Communist Party of China marks its 100th founding anniversary (2020), the goal to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects will be inevitably achieved.

–Xi Jinping

The General Secretary has addressed the democratic ideals of the Revolution and the development-centered goals of the post-Mao period. He spoke of how the pursuit of money has resulted in a “crisis of faith, integrity and credibility”.

Establishing a Chinese Dream – facilitated by China’s modernization, opening up to the outside world and sharing with it – confronts the aforementioned crisis and aims to build a “friendly, harmonious society”.

Sounds great, but how inclusive and how collective has China’s economic growth been? How democratic are its present and future? What about a Chinese Dream that chimes with what the people want, rather than the economic goals of the central and provincial governments? We can see from recent protests, how many Chinese are not happy with the environmental problems that development brings and their lack of input in what happens in their own communities.

Read more on the Chinese Dream in the People’s Daily.

 Graham Land 

http://asiancorrespondent.com

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Vietnam - Trying to live the American dream

Finding fast routes into the US market remains a vexed question.

With around 310 million multi-cultural population, per capita GDP averaging $48,000 per year and less demanding consumers compared to those in EU and Japan, the US was a potential export market not only to Vietnamese firms but also to businesses in countries around the world, said Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) American Market Department head Nguyen Duy Khien.

In 2011, the US spent more than $2,300 billion on importing commodities, almost double Germany’s total import value and triple that of Japan.

With such a tremendous demand and lucrative market pattern, US market remained one top target to any exporter, said Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency’s Export Support Centre director Nguyen Xuan Duong.

Khien said Vietnamese exports bound for the US market faced stiff competition, particularly from Chinese-made items in respect to key export items like footwear, textiles-garments, electronic, seafood, plastic and wooden products.

Besides, high transportation and transaction costs, long travel distance and fewer tax incentives are other disadvantages Vietnamese exports are suffering. In addition, local firms are mostly small in size with little brand value.

“Around two million US-based overseas Vietnamese (Viet Kieu) community will be an important bridge to deepen the presence of made-in-Vietnam products in US market,” said Duong.

Handicraft maker Doi Moi Company is one typical example of making an effective use of Viet Kieu support to bring its products to US consumer hands.

“Through support by some Viet Kieu, from 2002 our company began to make a foray into US market with initial modest export value of $200,000 per year,” said the company’s director Doan Van Lan, adding that to hike export value, the company made efforts to better quality and appearance, partake in US specialised fairs and create product differences to boost export value.

Trade experts warned firms to avoid using price discounts when exporting to US market since the US applied stringent anti-dumping regulations and US competent agencies often imposed severe penalties on violated exporters.

Khien warned Vietnamese export firms to be cautious because made-in-Vietnam export textiles and garments might be involved into anti-dumping lawsuits levied on Chinese goods and incur more stringent export requirements together with footwear products. Accordingly, they might be required to show third party’s certification.

Textiles and garments take the lead among top export earners to US market with total export value surpassing $6.6 billion in 2011, accounting for around 43 per cent of the sector’s total export value, preceding footwear, seafood and wooden furniture.

Hai Yen | vir.com.vn

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USA - Nutrition a Pressing Concern for Native Americans, Part II

Reversing a negative trend

Tribal communities nationwide are working to fight the trend toward obesity and its resulting health consequences.

Nutritionists such as DeWilde and Miller work with tribes to educate members about proper diet and healthier lifestyles.

In 2008, the Indian Health Service - a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services - reported almost 500 nutritionists working at the country's 561 federally recognized tribes.

Using Nutrition Assistance to Promote Healthy Foods

Some tribe nutritionists work as representatives for federal supplemental nutrition programs.

Though AI/ANs make up 1.6 percent of the U.S. population, the "Federal Food Safety Net" covers a disproportionately high percentage of this demographic. In 2010, 13 percent of the U.S. population was enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program, whereas 24 percent of AI/AN households received SNAP benefits.

AI/AN children, along with those who are both white and AI/AN, make up 2.8 percent of children enrolled in the National School Lunch Program, which supplements kids' school lunches. In 2008, just under 900,000 of these children were enrolled in the program, which serves the greatest number of Native Americans out of all federal nutritional assistance initiatives.

AI/AN women and children participating in the Special Supplemental Assistance for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) represent 2.4 percent of program recipients.

Of the Native American children ages 2-5 participating in WIC in 2008, more than 20 percent were obese.

DeWilde is the WIC coordinator for the Port Gamble tribe, where about one sixth of the tribal residents are enrolled in the program.

The trick, she says, is persuading people to spend their vouchers on slightly more expensive but nutritious foods.

"One of my goals has been to really encourage them to use those foods stamps in healthier ways," she says. For example, "cut the soda out and the money you'll save on that you can actually put towards your produce or your healthier food options for calorie needs."

To teach people how to navigate the grocery store, DeWilde has an extensive collection of food packaging, from cereals boxes to frozen dinners to chip bags in her office that she uses to illustrate how to read nutrition labels.

The federal government last year announced plans to increase access to nutritious foods for participants of nutritional assistance programs and to promote healthy eating and active lifestyles among children through its Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act.

"These changes have the potential for enhancing the ability of USDA nutrition programs to serve children and their families in Indian Country," said the government's 2012 report on child nutrition in Indian communities.

The full impact of these changes remains to be seen.

Recalling the Traditional Diet 

Stressing the fact that healthy foods such as nuts, berries, vegetables and fish (in the case of Northwestern tribes) are a part of the original Native American diet is key in motivating people to shift to these more nutritious options, says Miller.

"Our traditional plants program has been really popular," she says. The program teaches tribal members about plants traditional to both the Suquamish tribe itself and other tribes across the country, such as the "Three Sisters" vegetables: corn, beans and squash. It also emphasizes indigenous Northwest plants that can be gathered in the region.

The effort to return to traditional foods is a national one.

"There's a whole native food sovereignty movement that is connecting a lot of native people today through newsletters and online forums. People are having meetings," says Harjo.

"They're saying 'Let's think how our ancestors did it before we got sick and what do we do to get back there?' "

Some tribes have buffalo herds now, and are reintroducing elk into their diets, she says.

DeWilde says she uses the traditional diet as a motivator for why people should eat more healthfully.

"I just want to emphasize to Native Americans to know that in their past they used to eat off the land. When I bring that into the discussion there seems to be a better acceptance of 'Yes, it is true that we did eat a certain way back then and that our lifestyles have changed and as a result of it we're getting obese and we're getting diabetes.' "

Motivation Sparks Change

Another lesson DeWilde tries to instill is confidence in the positive effect of losing weight and eating more healthfully. One of her teaching tools is a pyramid-shaped rubbery yellow object with red flecks on it, about the size of a pint of liquid. This lump represents a pound of fat.  

"When people come to me and say 'I only lost a pound!' I say 'Well look how much a pound is!'" She explains.

Last year, the Port Gamble health services staff helped organize a community weight loss challenge.

"That was the big, 'Let's jump on this. Let's get this tribe healthy,' " says DeWilde, who helped mentor participants.

While many of the 100 who signed up for the 10-month challenge dropped out, DeWilde is proud of the 20 who stuck it out until the final weigh-in.

And she says the competition sparked an interest in weight loss among other tribal members.

This year more than 15 people came together and started their own challenge, pooling some money together for a prize for the winner.

The Trickle-Up Effect: Starting from Early Childhood

Because trends toward obesity start at a young age among Native Americans, it's important to build a foundation for a healthy future early on.

Miller teaches weekly lessons at the local preschool. Children bring their enthusiasm about healthy eating home to their families, she says.

"We're sending home tasting kits with the students so that there's a family involvement component," she explains. "I have a lot of parents and grandparents telling me that their kids are so excited. There are instructions for how to prepare the food and the whole family tastes them together."

Tribal leaders take nutrition and health very seriously.

The mission statement of the Suquamish tribe is to provide for "the health, education and welfare of our families," and Miller says "they take that very seriously."

The tribe has invested in 4 community gardens, as well as fresh food cooked from scratch for its high school students.

At the nearby Port Gamble reservation, one mom says the early childhood program motivated her family to start serving more fruits and veggies after her son came home raving about his fresh vegetable snacks there.

"My son won't eat canned vegetables any more," she says. "Me and my husband actually switched over to fresh produce."

And, she says, she discovered that fresh produce is actually a bargain. "You can get 3 servings of fresh produce in comparison to canned vegetables."

Drawing on Community

Another asset that will work in American Indians' favor in the movement to improve nutrition is built into the very nature of the tribe: community.

"Traditionally, Native Americans put family and community above individual needs," explains Miller. "That cohesiveness is a real strength."

Indeed DeWilde says the Port Gamble tribe's newsletter reaches about 6,000 people around the state.

"News like that, when it gets published, obviously a lot of people are going to hear about it."

In the next issue? The story of a man who works at the health center who has diabetes and recently lost weight, got in shape and is now off all his medication.

Sharing success stories is a great way to inspire people, says Miller. Suquamish's Facebook page taps into the tradition of oral history with online narratives from tribal members sharing stories about why nutrition and health have played an important role in their lives.

GRETCHEN GOETZ

Food Safety News

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USA - The Myth of American Exceptionalism

Excepted from punishment for war crimes?

With American power in the world shifting into a decidedly lower gear economically, it might also be time for the United States to reconsider the rules of the road it attempts to impose on others. The time should be ending when the US could simply ignore world opinion, supposedly built on what US politicians call “American exceptionalism” and go its own way when it came to international behavior.

Supposedly the term can be traced to the writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who referred to the country as exceptional because of its unique ideology based on liberty, individualism, laissez-faire capitalism and egalitarianism. That supposedly anoints the United States with a special destiny to lead the world towards liberty and democracy. The phrase has been used in particular by presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in excoriating President Barack Obama, supposedly because Obama doesn’t believe in it, or doesn’t believe in it fervently enough.

But there may be another definition of American exceptionalism that is far darker than anything de Tocqueville or Gingrich for that matter ever thought of, and that is an apparent belief in the right of exception from punishment when its citizens and soldiers break the laws of other countries and of human nature itself. It is a message that does not seem to have reached the ears of much of the United States, and particularly a military tribunal in the marathon trial of US Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who was busted last week to Private E1, more than six years after he ordered the men under his command to “shoot first and think later” after his unit was hit by a roadside bombing in the western Iraqi city of Haditha. The Marines killed 24 unarmed men, women and children before the day was out.

Subsequent evidence, much of it discovered by reporters for Time Magazine and the New York Times, thoroughly discredited the initial claim that 15 of the civilians had been killed by the IUD that hit the convoy and that eight “insurgents” were killed when the Marines returned fire against the attackers. Officers well above Wuterich’s rank were found to have participated in a cover-up of the incident.

In fact, an investigation by the US military alleged it had found evidence that the Marines had deliberately shot civilians including unarmed elderly men, women and children. Ultimately, eight Marines were charged in 2006. Seven of the eight were exonerated by the military or charges were dropped, leaving only Wuterich, who pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and received a suspended sentence of a mere 90 days in jail after expressing remorse for the Iraqi deaths.

Three officers have been officially reprimanded for failing to properly initially report and investigate the killings. In 2011, the New York Times reported it had found secret transcripts of military interviews from the investigation into the killings in which Marines described killing civilians on a regular basis. One sergeant testified that he would order his men to shoot children in vehicles that failed to stop at military checkpoints.

Nor are Wuterich and his squad alone. Men, women and children were routinely murdered by US servicemen in both Iraq and Afghanistan, supposedly in the heat of battle but far too often in cold blood. The most recent ugly incident occurred in Afghanistan when a YouTube video was made public showing US servicemen urinating on dead Afghan insurgents. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, then a candidate for the presidency of the United States and fervent believer in American exceptionalism, said the Marines who did it were just kids and didn’t need to be punished.

These incidents in Iraq stem from a war that should never have been started, sold on a series of lies on the part of the administration of President George W. Bush and his hawkish henchmen, Vice President Dick Cheney (“I had other priorities,” he said, when asked why he hadn’t served during the Vietnam War), Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (“stuff happens,” he said when Iraq turned into chaos) and a flock of other neocons who sullied the country’s honor and caused the deaths of perhaps 100,000 Iraqis and more than 4,000 American servicemen. An estimated 2.25 million Iraqis were displaced in the country and another 2.1 to 2.25 million were driven out of the country to Syria and Jordan.

Is this American exceptionalism? The same week Sgt. Wuterich was being slapped on the wrist by the military tribunal for his orders, the Chinese government came under international criticism and particularly harsh condemnation in the United States for their actions in suppressing Tibetan protesters, most recently on Jan. 24, when the London-based advocacy group Free Tibet said Chinese forces had killed at least one person and wounded at least 34 in a monastery town west of Chengdu. That crackdown generated 782 news stories, most of them critical, according to an account by Google.

This is not to defend the Chinese for their brutal crackdown on both Tibetan and Uighur minorities. But why do Americans, and especially right-wing politicians, think American servicemen should be allowed to get away with atrocities? The infamous Lt William Calley, who was held responsible for triggering the massacre in the Vietnamese village of My Lai in March of 1968, was convicted of murdering at least 22 civilians himself. In all, as many as 500 women, children, infants and the elderly were killed in what may have been the worst massacre perpetrated by American soldiers anywhere. Calley’s life sentence triggered a massive outcry on the part of the American people, who besieged the White House with telegrams running 100 to 1 against the decision. Eventually President Richard Nixon reduced Calley’s sentence to house arrest, in which he served three and a half years. Nixon eventually granted him a limited Presidential pardon.

Status-of-forces agreements, between host countries and foreign nations stationing troops on their territory, have been lightning rods for criticism particularly in South Korea and Japan. These agreements all too often allow for US military personnel to be tried within the US military or legal system instead of the judicial system of the host country. As with Sgt. Wuterich, the American legal system appears to view offenses against the people of the country in which they serve with a good deal less outrage than the host countries do.

The sum and substance of these episodes is to generate a view on the part of much of the world that Americans believe that their own brand of exceptionalism allows them to kill people of the lesser races – particularly Muslims lately – with impunity. Well, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Leaders of the free world can’t always stop to observe the niceties. But the Chinese damned well better had.

John Berthelsen           

Asia Sentinel

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