豪傑凡民

豪傑凡民之分，只從庇人與庇於人處識取。 ——《李贄文集·別劉肖川書》

不智故不仁，故無勇，而智實為之先。——《複耿侗老書》

中國式廁所与茅所長的帽子

茅（天則研究所）所長於軾先生，小心窮人在你帽子裏撒尿拉屎

最近裝修辦公室。廁所的位置，也在討論之列。我們的辦公室是不是需要量個廁所？因為，辦公室分為兩部分，所以，是不是兩部分要分別有一間廁所。這樣方便方便。
對於中國人而言，方便，可以隨意，也可以精心。山野鄉民，公路邊，就面朝青草盡情釋放。有意思的是，從成都到上海，都有這樣的現象，而且在大街上。而且，人們在上海似乎還更加鎮定自若。
上海地鐵的流動廁所，實在不怎麼樣。
上海火車南站，新建幾年，洗手間，成了吸煙室。滾滾濃煙從洗手間蔓延而出，整個動車組候車室味道濃重。
據說，上海規劃市區在某個期限內要實現多少米內一定要找到廁所。
廁所是城市的大事情。五星級廁所遍地開花，從縣級市到上海，廁所日趨豪華。不管怎麼豪華，不管怎麼香氣撲鼻，我還是覺得香港的廁所，舒適。
地上沒有亂七八糟的腳印，很少遇到壞的水龍頭。
我曾經買過一套有趣的歷史書，什麼洗澡的歷史之類，就缺人考證廁所的演進。而且都是西方的視角。甚至看過一本《屁的歷史》，記錄人類對屁的處理。
網路搜集，某博客說是有一本《廁神：廁所的文明史》，倒是沒有看過。博主說，該書彙集了眾多有"歷史價值"的廁所、便器、茅屋，以及有"代表性"的人類排泄習慣。從中，我們既能看到遠古人類為處理自己的排泄物如何馬虎，又如何費盡周章；宗教禁欲的中世紀，人們在排便和信仰上帝的問題上如何左右為難；啟蒙時代，人的理性思想大大發展，而處理糞便的能力卻依然止步不前，為那個時代"完美的人"的形象留下了"汙點"；維多利亞時代"體面而正經"的便壺映射了那個時代特有的保守的道德觀；近世人們如何處心積慮地發明抽水馬桶，各式各樣的創意設想，讓人忍俊不禁，等等。此外，該書還關注廁所亞文化---那些諱稱、別名、塗鴉。閱畢全書，一條廁所發展的長河在眼前流過，該書一開篇就宣稱，人類文明並非從文字開始，而是從第一個廁所發明開始。博主還注明：》（美）朱莉·霍蘭著，許士鵬譯，上海人民出版社２００６年１月 。
有時間一定買來研究。
百度還記錄：“上廁所也有很多種叫法，古代叫更衣，後來叫解手，現代叫方便，叫如廁，叫出恭，上洗手間。粗俗的叫大便小便，文雅的叫洗手。西方人把上廁所說成是摘花，日本男人在野外方便叫打獵。”
不過，我還是關心中國式廁所的演進。
“據《周禮》記載，我國早在三千多年以前就在路邊道旁建有廁所。”
《說文字釋》中詮釋“廁”字時說，“廁，言人雜在上，非一也……言至穢之處宜常修治，使潔清也。”
“宋太祖趙匡胤平定四川，將後蜀皇宮裏的器物全運回汴京，發現其中有一個鑲滿瑪瑙翡翠的盆子，愛不釋手，差點兒用來盛酒喝。”可見，中國古代上流，還是注重廁所的。
不過，中國貧民大概就沒有這樣的愜意生活了。
百度知道稱，在16至19世紀的北京，也就是明王朝和清王朝時期，商業一片繁榮的背後，是公共設施的匱乏和管理的無序。偌大一個北京城，公共廁所寥寥可數，以致有“京師無廁”的說法傳世。明代王思任在《文飯小品》中直陳時弊，將京城比喻成一個巨大的廁所。
蔣介石發起的“新生活運動”，也有對吐痰和如廁文明的內容。
不過，到今天，在各類廁所裏，都還可以看到可愛的標語：來也衝衝，去也衝衝。小便入池。等等，林林種種。
在廁所文明的進程裏，有一個故事，大概所有人都知道。據說，劉邦取天下，竟然用文人帽子撒尿。
最近，經濟學家茅于軾先生，也專門提到了廁所的事情。他為防止富人買廉租房出了一計：廉租房不弄廁所。
不知道茅於軾（天則研究所）所長先生，是出於什麼理論。但是，我認為，為文明計，既然是給人住的房子，不管是富人窮人，都還是應該有廁所的。
不然，窮人，就要向你的帽子裏撒尿拉屎了。

好好工作，相擁入睡

我以為時代雜誌會出怎樣的手筆來拯救世界。
2009年3月23日封面報導《10大IDEA立馬改變世界》，為全球經濟再造下的普通人開了藥方。這些藥分別是：工作才是最有價值的資產。到郊區去。新加爾文主義。大興土木溝通州際。生物銀行“儲存”器官。租個國家。打開非洲生意。“生存店鋪”。環保智慧。心態永遠年輕。
工作才是最有價值的資產。到今天，居然成為了新的觀念。
每天7點鐘，醒來，洗洗，下麵條，換衣服，背包，換鞋，電梯，地鐵。有時候枯燥得我都想大叫“臥槽泥馬”。地鐵裏有百萬個像我這樣的人。在爭吵中，穿越城市地下空間。人們走出地鐵站，奔赴寫字樓。
每個人都有自己的故事。我好奇，他們在地鐵裏都在想什麼。這些日子，我想，有許多人都在思考一件事情：公司會不會把我裁掉。
上班的時間越來越短了。5天工作制，7小時工作制。從歐洲到中國，這成為了潮流。同時，我們的貸款越來越多。買房子貸款，買車子貸款，買筆記本電腦貸款。一個簡單的問題是：這個世界，到底還有誰來認真工作？
各國都發明瞭各式各樣的機器人。資訊化也讓我們的工作更為快捷。我們仿佛都被解放了。不，我們被驅逐了。創造財富的激情沒有了。工作成為了敵人。
突然之間，經濟危機卷走了我們身外之物，我們才發現，自己裸體如此。我們發現，在大學的日子，實在不該荒廢。我們的勞動價值才能真正讓我們感到安全。
我們的心飛過天空，現在，我們雙眼重新看到雙手。人，不過是地球上的一種動物。需要奔跑，需要打鬥，我們才有食物。
這個時候，我突然發現，生活的詩意，又回來了。早餐一定要吃好。還照顧家人吃好。要到辦公室的時候，想想是不是可以幫同事帶點什麼吃的？同事的花草是不是忘記澆水了？互聯網不要用來耗費青春了。還是多陪家人吧。多傾聽家人關於工作的煩惱。在繁雜的工作之後，我們美美的吃一頓，看看電視，看看書，然後相擁入睡。

戰鬥式死亡

西雅圖郵訊報（Seattle Post-Intelligencer）也死了。自己宣佈自己要死亡的時刻，似乎歷史也窒息了。
進入西雅圖郵訊報官方網站，頭條新聞是：Tuesday's P-I will be the last。相關報導裏，還鏈結了這張報紙的最後一個工作日記錄。最後一天，即便是報導自己的死亡，也是在戰鬥。

Staff at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer listen as Roger Oglesby, publisher and editor, right, announces that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the paper. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Seattle Post-Intelligencer staffers Elana Winsberg, left, and Aubrey Cohen react as Roger Oglesby announces that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the paper. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Staffers at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer react as it is announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the paper. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Steve Rudman, a P-I sports columnist, listens as Roger Oglesby, publisher and editor, announces to the staff that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Staff at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer listen as Roger Oglesby, publisher and editor, center, announces that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the paper, during a brief meeting. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

P-I reporter Cecelia Goodnow listens as it is announced to the staff that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Managing Editor David McCumber addresses the staff after Roger Oglesby, publisher and editor, announced to the staff that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Seattle Post-Intelligencer photo editor John Dickson hugs AME Chris Beringer after it was announced to the staff that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

David McCumber, managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, speaks with members of the the media in the lobby of the newspaper's office after it was announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the paper. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Seattle Post-Intelligencer editors convene for the daily news meeting shortly after publisher Roger Oglesby announced that Tuesday would be the last day the paper will publish a print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Karen Ducey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Managing editor David McCumber leads the the morning news meeting. Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The final budget lies on a table at the morning news meeting. Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Papers lie on the newsroom conference table during the morning news meeting, after it was announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Katherine White, right, hugs photographer Karen Ducey after it was announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Photographer Meryl Schenker, left, and reporter Angela Galloway are interviewed by local media after it was announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Managing Editor David McCumber, right, fields questions from reporters in the lobby of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer after is was announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Karen Ducey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Reporter Amy Rolph packs a box after it was announced that Tuesday's paper will be the final print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (March 16, 2009)
Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Cartoonist David Horsey speaks with the media in the lobby of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shortly after Publisher Roger Oglesby announced that Tuesday would be the last day the paper publishes a print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Karen Ducey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Writer Cecelia Goodnow works on her last story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newsroom, shortly after Publisher Roger Oglesby announced that Tuesday would be the last day the paper will publish a print edition. (March 16, 2009)
Karen Ducey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
As you no doubt have heard, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper is ceasing publication, starting tomorrow. As you likely have also heard, seattlepi.com -- read by more than 4 million people in Seattle and around the world every month -- will continue to bring you the latest news and information, entertainment reports, opinion, community conversation and more.
Seattlepi.com will continue to cover city hall, crime, courts, real estate, development, education, transportation and more. When a snowstorm hits, we'll be here to help you figure out which busses are running, and which streets to avoid. When Microsoft or Boeing makes a move, we'll tell you about it on our Microsoft and Boeing blogs. Jim Moore and Art Thiel will both continue to bring you their take on the latest in sports twice a week. Joel Connelly will still be here to give you his views on the political scene, and David Horsey will continue to cartoon and blog for you.
We're also adding some new features we haven't had before, including new @home and health articles from Hearst magazines including Cosmopolitan, Country Living, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, Marie Claire, Popular Mechanics and Redbook.
We've got a lot of great ideas in the works, and many new features we'll be rolling out in the next few months. I hope you'll pardon our dust for the next few weeks as we launch our new digital news and information Web site. Keep an eye on this blog for updates on the changes we'll be making as we go forward. And please share your comments on how you think we're doing, and what we can do to better serve your needs. You can also message me on Twitter at twitter.com/nicolosi.
If you're interested in more details on what we'll be doing going forward, see a longer explanation here.
See the New York Times story here.
If you're wondering what will happen to your subscription, you can learn all about that here.

Thanks much,
Michelle Nicolosi

Questions and answers for Seattle P-I subscribers
Hearst Corporation has announced that the last day of publication of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will be Tuesday, March 17. Under a Joint Operating Agreement, the Seattle Times Company has handled circulation, printing, advertising and distribution for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which is owned by the Hearst Corporation. The news and editorial staffs of the two newspapers have been independent and competitive. Though The Times and the P-I have long been journalistic rivals, the staff of the Seattle Times Company finds no joy in the closure of any newspaper. The closure of the Seattle P-I is a loss of a journalistic voice in our community.
As the remaining metropolitan daily newspaper, The Seattle Times will continue our long commitment to serving the community with the best in local news and information. We are rooted in this place, with more than 112 years of experience serving you in both good times and bad. We remain committed to giving readers and advertisers respected journalism and information in print, online or in yet-to-be-imagined platforms for many years to come.
The following information is provided to address subscriber questions:
What is happening to my subscription to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer?Your subscription to the Seattle P-I is being transferred to The Seattle Times. The days of delivery service and expiration date will remain unchanged. Your billing cycle will continue as before. If you have any questions or concerns about your account, please call us at 206/464-2121 or toll free at 1-800/542-0820.
Will I be converted to The Seattle Times automatically?Yes, your subscription will be transferred to The Seattle Times without interruption in your service.
What features and content are coming over to The Seattle Times?Some of the features you’ve enjoyed in the Seattle P-I, such as the The New York Times crossword puzzle, can be found in the The Seattle Times and on seattletimes.com. Starting March 18, you will also find the following in the printed weekday Seattle Times: Linda Black’s daily horoscope, the comic strips Dilbert, Zits, Blondie, 9 Chickweed Lane and Pearls Before Swine, and the Hocus Focus puzzle. Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s Splendid Table food column will begin appearing weekly in the NWWednesday section on March 18, and Ciscoe Morris’ garden column will appear weekly in The Times’ NWThursday section starting March 19. We are working to add additional features and syndicated content valued by P-I readers over the coming weeks.
How will my Sunday newspaper change?The Sunday newspaper is produced primarily by The Seattle Times newsroom, so you’ll see very few changes to your Sunday newspaper.
Do I still use the same customer service contact information?Yes, please use the following contact information:
Subscriber Customer Service: customerservice@seattletimes.com or call 206/464-2121 or toll free at 1-800/542-0820.
Single Copy Retailers: singlecopy@seattletimes.com
Newspapers In Education: nie@seattletimes.com
Advertisers: 206/464-2400

彭博社：國際投資者看淡A股和中國概念

China’s Rally Doomed by PetroChina’s Hong Kong Gap

By Michael Tsang and Chua Kong Ho
March 16 (Bloomberg)

China, the world’s best-performing stock market, is looking increasingly expensive after valuations climbed to the highest in a year compared with mainland companies traded in Hong Kong.
Stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 21 percent since the end of 2008 as local investors snapped up shares on speculation the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package will boost the slowest growth in seven years. Shares in the yuan-denominated CSI 300 Index traded at 16.2 times earnings this month, compared with 8.6 times for 43 mainland companies in Hong Kong. PetroChina Co., the country’s biggest company, fetches twice the valuation in China as in Hong Kong.
The growing gap shows that international investors are losing confidence both in China’s earnings growth and in the country’s ability to help revive the global economy. The last time the difference in multiples was this wide, Chinese shares lost 19 percent in 30 days.
“I can’t see any way that China is the locomotive that pulls the world out of recession,” said Andrew Milligan, the head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments, which oversees $181 billion in Edinburgh. “It’s difficult for people to buy the China story.”
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks 43 so- called H shares that trade in Hong Kong, has fallen 7.7 percent in 2009. The drop left H shares trading at a 41 percent discount to those on the mainland, which are off limits to most foreigners, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Narrowing the Gap
The CSI 300 Index would have to decline 15 percent from its peak valuation gap to match its four-year average premium over Hong Kong stocks and 47 percent before it reached the multiple on H shares, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The benchmark index of shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen lost 0.5 percent on March 13, trimming its gain this year to 21 percent. That’s still the biggest of the 91 indexes worldwide tracked by Bloomberg. The H share index rose 4.6 percent.
Restrictions on foreign and local investment that prevent arbitrage with H shares helped make mainland equities more expensive. Investors outside China could only invest a combined $10 billion in local-currency securities under the government’s qualified foreign institutional investor program as of last month. That compares with China’s $2.11 trillion stock market.
Premier Wen Jiabao said this month that the stimulus package, which includes spending on low-rent housing, infrastructure in rural areas and airports, will keep the government’s 8 percent growth target for this year within reach.

‘Difficult But Possible’
The goal is “difficult but possible,” because China can spend more money to revive the economy “at any time,” Wen told reporters in Beijing on March 13.
International investors aren’t counting on the plan’s success. At least 57 Chinese companies have shares traded on both the mainland and in Hong Kong, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Just one -- Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp., China’s second- biggest maker of phone equipment -- has performed better in Hong Kong.
The average gain in China is 23 percent this year, while the same companies are down 4.8 percent in Hong Kong, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
China is among three of the four so-called BRICs economies where local shares are providing bigger returns than are available to foreigners. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Economist Jim O’Neill coined the term BRICs in 2001 for Brazil, Russia, India and China, the biggest emerging markets.

Falling BRICs
Russia’s Micex index, up 21 percent in rubles since Dec. 31, gained 2.5 percent when measured in dollars. A 9.2 percent decline in India’s Sensitive Index widens to 14 percent in dollars. The exception is Brazil, where the Bovespa Index has risen 5.7 percent, versus a 3.9 percent gain in reais.
PetroChina has climbed 4.3 percent in Shanghai this year, giving the oil company a market valuation equal to $267 billion, even though Chairman Jiang Jiemin said on March 5 he expects profit this year will be less than 2008 and analysts forecast a 21 percent decline. Beijing-based PetroChina, which earned an average of $16.8 billion in each of the past five years, trades at 16.58 times earnings in Shanghai. In Hong Kong, PetroChina sells for 7.92 times profit.
That’s similar to the 7.96 times earnings investors pay for Exxon Mobil Corp., the only company in the world bigger by market value. The Irving, Texas-based company earned an average $37.4 billion the past five years and has a market value of $332 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Airline Losses
China Eastern Airlines Corp., the nation’s third-largest carrier, may report its third annual loss in four years as a slowing economy stems air travel, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The Shanghai-based airline said last week that its parent company will receive a second infusion of capital from the government, increasing its total bailout to 9 billion yuan.
In Hong Kong, China Eastern has fallen 11 percent in 2009 and trades at 11.8 times reported profit. The airline has risen 11 percent in Shanghai, where it’s valued at 58.6 times earnings.
At that level, the stock is trading at close to the same price-earnings ratio as semiconductor maker Intel Corp. in March 2000 during the dot-com bubble. Santa Clara, California-based Intel has tumbled 80 percent from its record high that year.
“It’s difficult to believe the numbers that are coming out” of China, said Fraser Howie, managing director at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Singapore. “How can Wen Jiabao say confidently in March that you’re going to have 8 percent growth for the year in such an environment?”

Slowing Growth
While China is the only one of the world’s five biggest economies still expanding, the pace has slowed for six quarters after peaking at 12.6 percent between April and June in 2007. The world’s third-largest economy may expand 6.7 percent this year, the slowest rate in almost two decades, according to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.
In the U.S., the economy shrank the most since 1982 in the fourth quarter. The World Bank in Washington said the global economy will contract for the first time since World War II in 2009 as trade falls by the most in 80 years.
The drop in demand around the world is hurting China’s exports. Gross exports accounted for more than 40 percent of the nation’s growth this decade, based on data compiled by the United Nations. Chinese shipments declined by the most in at least 14 years in February, while exports of coal, steel and aluminum plunged at least 40 percent in 2009 from a year earlier.

‘Prefer to See’
“Overseas investors prefer to see evidence of a turnaround in the economy and corporate earnings,” said Gabriel Gondard, Shanghai-based deputy chief investment officer at Fortune SGAM Fund Management Co., which oversees about $7.2 billion.
Paul Chow, chief executive officer of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., said in an interview last week that the valuation gap between the A and H shares is “determined by the market.” Jonathan Li, a spokesman at Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, declined to comment.
Zhang Wangjun, spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission, wasn’t reached at his office and didn’t respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
The Shanghai Composite Index, the 896-stock benchmark that tracks both yuan-denominated A shares and dollar-denominated B shares listed on the larger of China’s two stock exchanges, has gained 17 percent this year.
“The A-share market is a closed world,” said Michiya Tomita, a Hong Kong-based fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., which oversees $61 billion. “Valuations are more appropriate in the H-share market because more foreigners are paying attention.”

Reaction Times
Victoria Mio at Robeco Group says mainland investors are quicker to anticipate changes in the local economy and have an incentive to spend their savings on stocks after the central bank cut interest rates five times since September.
“Domestic investors seem to have looked beyond 2009 and are focusing on the recovery that the fiscal and monetary stimulus will bring,” said Mio, who oversees Chinese equities in Hong Kong for Robeco, including A shares. The firm had about $155 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, according to its Web site.
Even if China’s economy recovers faster than international investors anticipate, the bigger bargains are still in Hong Kong, according to ING Groep NV’s Uri Landesman.
Investors are “always going to look at the relative valuation, and if they want to play, they’re going to play Hong Kong,” said Landesman, who oversees about $2.5 billion as head of global growth and international equities at ING’s asset management unit in New York. “It’s the more reliable market, the more transparent market. It’s a no-brainer.”