Remember Steve Jobs - Mr Apple

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.

This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

(source: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html)

Jacob DeShazer - Doolittle Raider turned missionary

Jacob Daniel DeShazer (15 November 1912 – 15 March 2008) participated in the Doolittle Raid as a staff sergeant and later became a missionary in Japan. Here is the story of how from a Doolittle Raider, he become a Christian missionary.

Jacob DeShazer - Doolittle Raider
Doolittle Raid



The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands (specifically Honshu) during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle. Doolittle would later recount in his autobiography that the raid was intended to bolster American morale and to cause the Japanese to begin doubting their leadership:

The Japanese people had been told they were invulnerable ... An attack on the Japanese homeland would cause confusion in the minds of the Japanese people and sow doubt about the reliability of their leaders. There was a second, and equally important, psychological reason for this attack ... Americans badly needed a morale boost.[1]

Sixteen U.S. Army Air Forces B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet deep in the Western Pacific Ocean. The plan called for them to bomb military targets in Japan, and to continue westward to land in China—landing a medium bomber on the Hornet was impossible. All of the aircraft involved in the bombing were lost and 11 crewmen were either killed or captured—with three of the captured men executed by the Japanese Army in China. One of the B-25s landed in the Soviet Union at Vladivostok, where it was confiscated and its crew interned for more than a year. Thirteen entire crews, and all but one crewman of a 14th, returned either to the United States or to American forces.[2][3]

The raid caused negligible material damage to Japan, but it succeeded in its goal of helping American morale, and casting doubt in Japan on the ability of the Japanese military leaders. It also caused Japan to withdraw its powerful aircraft carrier force from the Indian Ocean to defend their Home Islands, and the raid contributed to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's decision to attack Midway — an attack that turned into a decisive rout of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) by the U.S. Navy near Midway Island in the Central Pacific.


The Doolittle Raid



On 1 April 1942, the 16 modified bombers, their five-man crews and Army maintenance personnel, totaling 71 officers and 130 enlisted men,[14] were loaded onto the USS Hornet at Alameda. Each aircraft carried four specially constructed 500-pound (225 kg) bombs. Three of these were high-explosive munitions and one was a bundle of incendiaries. The incendiaries were long tubes, wrapped together in order to be carried in the bomb bay but designed to separate and scatter over a wide area after release. Five bombs had Japanese "friendship" medals wired to them—medals awarded by the Japanese government to U.S. servicemen before the war.[16] The bombers' armament was reduced to decrease weight (and thus increase range). Each bomber launched with two .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns in an upper turret and a .30-caliber (7.62 mm) machine gun in the nose. The simulated gun barrels mounted in the tail cones, intended to discourage Japanese air attacks from behind, were cited afterward by Doolittle as being particularly effective.[11] The aircraft were clustered closely and tied down on the Hornet's flight deck in the order of their expected launch.

The B-25s then flew towards Japan, most in groups of two to four aircraft before changing to single file at wavetop level to avoid detection.[22] The aircraft began arriving over Japan about noon (Tokyo time; six hours after launch) and bombed 10 military and industrial targets in Tokyo, two in Yokohama and one each in Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka. Although some B-25s encountered light antiaircraft fire and a few enemy fighters over Japan, no bomber was shot down. Only the B-25 of Lt. Richard O. Joyce received any battle damage, minor hits from antiaircraft fire.[20] B-25 No. 4, piloted by Lt. Everett W. Holstrom, jettisoned its bombs before reaching its target when it came under attack by fighters after its gun turret malfunctioned.[23]



15 of the 16 aircraft then proceeded southwest along the southern coast of Japan and across the East China Sea towards eastern China, where several fields in Zhejiang province were supposed to be ready to guide them in using homing beacons, then recover and refuel them for continuing on to Chongqing, the wartime Kuomintang capital.[14] The primary base was at Zhuzhou, toward which all the aircraft navigated, but Halsey never sent the planned signal to alert them, apparently because of a possible threat to the task force. One B-25, extremely low on fuel, headed instead for the closer land mass of the Soviet Union.

The raiders faced several unforeseen challenges during their flight to China: night was approaching, the aircraft were running low on fuel and the weather was rapidly deteriorating. None would have reached China at all except for a fortuitous tail wind as they came off the target that increased their ground speed by 25 knots for seven hours.[24] As a result of these problems, the crews realized they would probably not be able to reach their intended bases in China, leaving them the option of either bailing out over eastern China or crash landing along the Chinese coast.[11][N 4] Fifteen aircraft reached the Chinese coast after 13 hours of flight and crash landed or bailed out; the crew who flew to the Soviet Union landed 40 miles (65 km) beyond Vladivostok, where their B-25 was confiscated and the crew interned. It was the longest combat mission ever flown by the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, averaging approximately 2,250 nautical miles (4,170 km). Although York and others were well-treated, diplomatic attempts to return them to the United States proved unsuccessful. Eventually they were relocated to Ashgabat (20 miles (32 km) from the Iranian border), and York managed to bribe a smuggler, who helped them cross the border and reach nearby British consulate on May 11, 1943.[2][3] According to declassified Soviet archives, smuggling was staged by NKVD, because the Soviet government felt unable to repatriate them legally in the face of the neutrality pact with Japan.[25]

Doolittle and his crew, after safely parachuting into China, received assistance from Chinese soldiers and civilians as well as John Birch, an American missionary in China. As did the others who participated in the mission, Doolittle had to bail out but fortunately landed in a heap of dung (saving a previously injured ankle from breaking) in a paddy in China near Quzhou. Doolittle thought that the raid had been a terrible failure because the aircraft were lost, and that he would be court-martialed upon his return.[26] Doolittle subsequently recommended Birch for intelligence work with Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers.

The Killing by Japanese

Approximately 250,000 Chinese civilians were massacred by the Japanese Army in eastern China in retaliation for Chinese assistance of the attacking American aviators. Following the Doolittle Raid, most of the B-25 crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Chinese civilians and soldiers. The Chinese people who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Japanese military began the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate the Chinese from helping downed American airmen. The Japanese killed an estimated 250,000 civilians while searching for Doolittle's men.

Jacob DeShazer - Prisoner of War
The missing crews

The crews of two aircraft (10 men in total) were unaccounted for: Hallmark's crew (sixth off) and Farrow's crew (last off).

On 15 August 1942, the United States learned from the Swiss Consulate General in Shanghai that eight of the missing crew members were prisoners of the Japanese at Police Headquarters in that city (two crewmen had drowned after the crash landing of their aircraft). On 19 October 1942, the Japanese announced that they had tried the eight men and sentenced them to death, but that several of them had received commutation of their sentences to life imprisonment. No names or details were included in the broadcast.

After the war, the complete story of the two missing crews was uncovered in a war crimes trial held in Shanghai. The trial opened in February 1946 to try four Japanese officers for mistreatment of the eight captured crewmen. Two of the missing crewmen, Staff Sgt. William J. Dieter and Sgt. Donald E. Fitzmaurice, had drowned when their B-25 crashed off the coast of China. The other eight, Lieutenants Dean E. Hallmark, Robert J. Meder, Chase Nielsen, William G. Farrow, Robert L. Hite, and George Barr; and Corporals Harold A. Spatz and Jacob DeShazer were captured. In addition to being tortured and starved, these men contracted dysentery and beriberi as a result of the poor conditions under which they were confined. On 28 August 1942, pilot Hallmark, pilot Farrow and gunner Spatz were given a mock trial by the Japanese, although the airmen were never told the charges against them. On 14 October 1942, these three crewmen were advised that they were to be executed the next day. At 16:30 on 15 October 1942, the three were taken by truck to Public Cemetery Number 1 outside of Shanghai and executed by a firing squad.

The other five captured airmen remained in military confinement on a starvation diet, their health rapidly deteriorating. In April 1943, they were moved to Nanking where, on 1 December 1943, Meder died. The remaining four men (Nielsen, Hite, Barr and DeShazer) eventually began receiving slightly better treatment from their captors and were even given a copy of the Bible and a few other books. They survived until they were freed by American troops in August 1945. The four Japanese officers who were tried for war crimes against the eight Doolittle Raiders were all found guilty. Three of them were sentenced to hard labor for five years and the fourth to a nine-year sentence.

Clip from an Anti-Japanese Propaganda video entitled "Know Your Enemy: Japan." Released in 1945, the film gives an overview of Japanese social, military, and political culture, attempting to provide a rationale for America's war with Japan.


After the War

DeShazer eventually became a missionary and returned to Japan in 1948, where he served in that capacity for over 30 years.

Of the group, only Hite is alive. Barr died of heart failure in 1967, Nielsen in 2007 and Jacob DeShazer died 15 March 2008.

One other Doolittle Raid crewman was lost on the mission. Corporal Leland D. Faktor (flight engineer/gunner with Gray) was killed during his bailout attempt over China, the only man on his crew to be lost.

(source: wikipedia)




Jacob DeShazer - Christian missionary

Jacob DeShazer, a member of the Doolittle Raiders, tells the story of his conversion to Christianity in a Japanese POW camp, his forgiveness for his Japanese torturers, and his return to Japan to preach the Gospel.

The following Bible words inspired Jacob DeShazer to forgive his enemies, the words also inspired through Jacob DeShazer testimony, transform a pilot from Japanese Imperial Navy Air Service to love his enemies....

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

17 If any person is in Christ, then that person is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace {to tell people}.

(Extract from the New Testament, Holy Bible)

Enemy become Friend

The most interesting testimony of his life is how he met Mitsuo Fuchida (淵田美津雄). Mitsuo Fuchida (淵田美津雄) (3 December 1902 - 30 May 1976) was a Captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and a Imperial Japanese Navy flying ace pilot before and during World War II. He is perhaps best known for leading the first air wave attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack working under the overall fleet Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. After World War II ended, Fuchida became an evangelist Christian preacher and frequently travelled to the United States to minister to the Japanese expatriate community.

DeShazer, the Doolittle Raider who bombed Nagoya, met Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, becoming close friends. Fuchida became a Christian in 1950 after reading a tract written about DeShazer titled, "I Was a Prisoner of Japan", and spent the rest of his life as a missionary in Asia and the United States. On occasion, DeShazer and Fuchida preached together as Christian missionaries in Japan. In 1959, DeShazer moved to Nagoya to establish a Christian church in the city he had bombed.

Two enemies become brothers in Christ.



References
1. http://www.doolittleraid.com/
2. http://www.doolittleraider.com/
3. Spared for Life and strength to forgive, http://realideal.com/forum/topic/467

The famous photograph of VJ Day Kiss at Time Square

The famous photograph of VJ Day

V–J day in Times Square, one of the most famous photographs ever published by Life, was shot in Times Square on August 14, 1945, shortly after the announcement by President Truman occurred and people began to gather in celebration. News wire reports of the announcements in Japan had let the media know the likelihood of an imminent announcement. Alfred Eisenstaedt went to Times Square to take his specialty, candid photographs and he spotted a sailor: "There were thousands of people milling around, in side streets and everywhere. Everybody was kissing each other . . . And there was also a Navy man running, grabbing anybody, you know, kissing, I ran ahead of him because I had Leica cameras around my neck, focused from 10 feet to infinity. You only had to shoot . . . I didn't even know what was going on, until he grabbed something in white. And I stood there, and they kissed. And I snapped five times." He took five exposures, but only published the one he selected as the best. Eisenstadt was very gratified and pleased with this enduring image, saying: "People tell me that when I am in heaven they will remember this picture."

The central figures in the photograph never were confirmed by Eisenstaedt although, as he would probably agree, the identities of his fellow subjects were not important - instead the representative nature of the many men and women rejoicing was the intention. Life, however, received nurse Edith Cullen Shain's claim as the woman to hold this honor in a handwritten letter to Eisenstaedt thirty-five years later. After that a call was made in the magazine for the identity of the man. Three women claimed to be the nurse. More than twenty men have claimed to be the sailor, but none has been identified positively as the man. Edith Shain considered the possibility of one man, Carl Muscarello, but finally stated that she could not tell whether he was or not. Shain died Sunday, June 20, 2010, in Los Angeles.

Chinese gold miners in California(1848-1855)

Sutter's Mill
Sing by the late Dan Fogelberg

In the Spring of Forty-seven,
So the story, it is told,
Old John Sutter went to the mill site
Found a piece of shining gold.

Well, he took it to the city
Where the word, like wildfire, spread.
And old John Sutter soon came to wish he'd
Left that stone in the river bed.

For they came like herds of locusts
Every woman, child and man
In their lumbering Conestogas
They left their tracks upon the land.

(Chorus)
Some would fail and some would prosper
Some would die and some would kill
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
And some would curse John Sutter's Mill.

Well, they came from New York City,
And they came from Alabam'
With their dreams of finding fortunes
In this wild unsettled land.

Well, some fell prey to hostile arrows
As they tried to cross the plains.
And some were lost in the Rocky Mountains
With their hands froze to the reins.
Oh...

(Chorus)

Well, some pushed on to California
And others stopped to take their rest.
And by the Spring of Eighteen-sixty
They had opened up the west.

And then the railroad came behind them
And the land was plowed and tamed,
When Old John Sutter went to meet his maker,
With not one penny to his name.
Oh...

(Chorus)

And some would curse John Sutter's Mill
Some men's thirsts are never filled.


1848 - Discovery of Gold

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, California. News of the discovery brought some 300,000 people rushing to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000, approximately 150,000 arrived by sea while the other half of them walked 1,500 miles (2,400 km) overland.

First Chinese immigrants - two men and one women - arrive in San Francisco on the American brig, Eagle in 1848

The first major Chinese immigration wave started around the 1850s. The West Coast of North America was being rapidly colonized during the California Gold Rush, while southern China suffered from severe political and economic instability due to the weakness of the Qing Dynasty government, internal rebellions such as the Taiping Rebellion, and external pressures such as the Opium Wars. As a result, many Chinese emigrated from the poor Taisanese- and Cantonese-speaking area in Guangdong province to the United States in order to work. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked as laborers, particularly on the transcontinental railroad, such as the Central Pacific Railroad, and the mining industry, and suffered racial discrimination. While industrial employers were eager to get this new and cheap labor, the ordinary white public was stirred to anger by the presence of this "yellow peril." Political party caucuses, labor unions, and other organizations rallied against the immigration of yet another "inferior race". Newspapers condemned the policies of employers, and even church leaders denounced the entrance of these aliens into what was regarded as a land for whites only.

For most Chinese immigrants of the 1850s San Francisco was only a transit station on the way to the gold fields in the Sierra Nevada. According to estimates, there were in the late 1850s 15,000 Chinese mine workers in the "Gold Mountains" or "Mountains of Gold" (Cantonese: Gam Saan, 金山). Because anarchic conditions prevailed in the gold fields, the robbery by European miners of Chinese mining area permits were barely pursued or prosecuted and the Chinese gold seekers themselves were often victim to violent assaults. In response to this hostile situation these Chinese miners developed a basic approach which differed from the white European gold miners; while the Europeans mostly worked as individuals or in small groups, the Chinese formed large teams, in which not only were they protected against attacks, but on account of their good organization they also often achieved a considerably higher yield. To protect themselves even further against attacks, they preferred to mainly turn to such areas which had been previously judged by other gold seekers as unproductive and had been given up. Because much of the gold fields were exhaustingly gone over up until the beginning of the 20th century, many of the Chinese remained far longer there than the European gold seekers; in 1870, a third of the men in the Californian golden fields were Chinese.

However, their displacement had begun already in 1850 when the white gold miners began to resent the Chinese miners, feeling that they were discovering gold that the white miners deserved. And eventually, protest rose from white miners to eliminate the growing competition. From 1852 to 1870 (ironically when the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed), the California legislature enforced a series of taxes.

1852 - Foreign Miner's Tax
In 1852, a special foreign miner's tax aimed at the Chinese was passed by the California legislature that was aimed at foreign miners who were not U.S. citizens. Given that the Chinese were ineligible for citizenship at that time and constituted the largest percentage of the non-white population, the taxes were primarily aimed at them and tax revenue was therefore generated almost exclusively by the Chinese. This tax required a payment of three dollars each month at a time when Chinese miners were making approximately six dollars a month. Tax collectors could legally take and sell the property of those miners who refused or could not pay the tax. Fake tax collectors made money by taking advantage of people who could not speak English well, and some tax collectors, both false and real, stabbed or shot miners who could not or would not pay the tax. During the 1860s, many Chinese were expelled from the mine fields and were forced to find other types of jobs. This Foreign Miner's Tax existed till 1870.

1853
Old St. Mary's Church erected in 1853.

1854 - People v. Hall case
The position of the Chinese gold seekers also was complicated by a decision of the California Supreme Court which decided in the case "The People of the State of California v. George W. Hall" ("People v. Hall") in 1854 that the Chinese were not allowed to testify as witnesses before the court in California against white citizens, including those accused of murder. The decision was largely based upon the prevailing opinion that the Chinese were “a race of people whom nature has marked as inferior, and who are incapable of progress or intellectual development beyond a certain point, as their history has shown; differing in language, opinions, color, and physical conformation; between whom and ourselves nature has placed an impassable difference" and as such had no right " to swear away the life of a citizen" or participate" with us in administering the affairs of our Government.”

The ruling effectively made white violence against Chinese Americans unprosecutable, arguably leading to more intense white-on-Chinese race riots, such as the 1877 San Francisco Riot. The Chinese living in California were with this decision left practically in a legal vacuum, because they had now no possibility to assert their rightful legal entitlements or claims – possibly in cases of theft or breaches of agreement – in court. The ruling remained in force until 1873."

1856 Gold Rush was over
The golf rush was over, as gold fields were exhausted. Many European miners had left. Many Chinese gold miners still remained to continue gold mining on the unproductive mines. They remained far longer there than the European gold seekers; and in 1870, a third of the men in the Californian golden fields were Chinese.

1859
"The Chinese School" was created. Chinese children were assigned to this "Chinese only" school. They were not permitted into any other public schools in San Francisco.

1862
California’s Anti-Coolie Tax

1863 -1869 Transcontinental railroad

After the gold rush wound down in the 1860s, the majority of the work force found jobs in the railroad industry. Chinese labor was integral to the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad, which linked the railway network of the Eastern United States with California on the Pacific coast. Construction began in 1863 at the terminal points of Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California, and the two sections were merged and ceremonially completed on May 10, 1869, at the famous "golden spike" event at Promontory Summit, Utah. It created a nationwide mechanized transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of the American West. This network caused the wagon trains of previous decades to become obsolete, exchanging it for a modern transportation system. The building of the railway required enormous labor in the crossing of plains and high mountains by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad, the two privately chartered federally backed enterprises that built the line westward and eastward respectively. Many of the Chinese railway workers were ex-gold miners. Despite the contribution of the Chinese workers in the American transportation history, the discrimination still continued.

1873
Chinese Congregational Church and Chinese United Methodist Church are established

1874
Presbyterian Mission Home for Chinese women, later renamed Donaldina Cameron House is established

1875
Page Law bars Asian prostitutes, felons, and contract laborers

1880
US and China sign treaty giving the US the right to limit but "not absolutely prohibit" Chinese immigration. California's Civil Code passes anti-miscegination law.

First Chinese Baptist Church founded.

1882 -1892 The Discrimination



So hostile was the opposition that in 1882 the United States Congress eventually passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited immigration from China for the next ten years. This law was then extended by the Geary Act in 1892. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the only U.S. law ever to prevent immigration and naturalization on the basis of race. These laws not only prevented new immigration but also brought additional suffering as they prevented the reunion of the families of thousands of Chinese men already living in the U.S. that had left China without their wives and children; anti-miscegenation laws in many states prohibited Chinese men from marrying white women. The Chinese Exclusion Act was only stopped in 1943 by Chapter 344. An Act to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Acts, to establish quotas, and for other purposes(Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act).

By the time most of the gold miners and railway workers had looked for other employment, such as in farming, manufacturing firms, garment industries, and paper mills. However, widespread anti-Chinese discrimination and violence from whites, including riots and murders, drove many into self-employment.

(source: extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_imm…)

The Gold Mining days was over......and San Francisco was called Old Golden Mountain by Chinese(Kau Gam Saan, 舊金山/旧金山).....

Top 25 Most Visited Tourist Destinations in America

According to Forbes Com., the list of top 25 most visited tourist destinations in America,Times Square is the No 1 most visited tourist destination in USA. Seven of the 25 attractions are amusement parks; Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, remains on top in the theme-park world. The ranking included domestic travelers and foreign tourists. Many foreign visitors however are interested in seeing the natural scenic attractions like the Grand Canyon(ranked no 20), Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks. Most of natural scenic attractions are out of top 25 except Grand Canyon. It may be the top 25 for domestic family outing destination; may not be the top 25 tourist destinations. For foreign tourists, or even domestic tourists e.g. if not for the family outing, do you still select the same top 25?.

The following are from http://vaseemansari.blogspot.com/2010/06/top-25-most-visited-tourist.html

1.Times Square, New York City, N.Y

Times Square, the most bustling square of New York, is known for its many Broadway theatres, cinemas and super signs.
Times Square has all sorts of fun, exciting and informative tours to explore other parts of the city. You can Choose from walking, bike, bus, food, limo, TV, landmark, ethnic or water tours.
Times Square Alliance estimates an average of more than 2,000 pedestrians traversing a block of 7th Avenue during a 15-minute weekday period.

2. The Las Vegas Strip, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment.
Enticing over 31 million visitors,about 80 percent of the city’s total (39.2 million) visitors, a year with its million-gigawatt smile and globetrotting attractions, Las Vegas Strip is more than glitz and gambling. – [Source: National Scenic Byways Program]

3.National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C.

National Mall & Memorial Parks contains some of the oldest protected park lands in the National Park Service.
Many of the nation’s iconic public landmarks are found in the 1,000-plus acres of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, including the Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Memorials, and the Korean and Vietnam War Veterans Memorials.

4. Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA

Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which gets 20 million visitors, encompasses four historic places in one location — Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, North Market and South Market, all set around a quaint cobblestone promenade where jugglers, magicians and musicians entertain the visitors.
There are more than 100 places to eat, shop and drink at this historic site.

5. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL

The most popular of Disney’s Florida attractions saw a 2.5 percent increase [17.1 million] in visitation compared with 2006, according to the TEA/ERA Theme Park Attendance Report.
How the Magic Kingdom has managed to maintain its charm and appeal over the years is a lesson in simplicity. It has stayed true to its original vision, a place where families could gather in a clean and safe environment to enjoy the time they spend together.

6. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

Walt Disney’s original theme park features eight themed lands with classic Disney characters, favorite attractions, live entertainment, and parades.
With nearly 15 million visitors last year, the original Disney park, had a record season according to the TEA/ERA.
Currently the park has been visited by more than 515 million guests since it opened, including presidents, royalty and other heads of state.

7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service that surrounds the San Francisco Bay area.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes the famous orange bridge along with numerous other spaces throughout the Bay Area, draws 14.3 million visitors annually.

8. Niagara Falls, N.Y.

The Falls, which straddle the U.S.-Canadian border, have been a tourist mecca since the mid-19th century. With statistics from the Niagara Falls Tourism Bureau and Niagara Falls Brige Commission, visitors are approximated at 12 million a year.

9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tenn./N.C.

America’s most visited national park is neither the Grand Canyon nor Yosemite. The natural beauty and the four distinct seasons enjoyed in the GSMNP is unmatched!
With more than 800 miles of protected trails, this natural wonder hosted nearly 10 million hikers, birders and drivers last year.

10. Navy Pier, Chicago, IL

Opened in 1916, this Chicago landmark on the shore of Lake Michigan has served as a campus and military training facility.
With 8.6 million visitors, From rides to restaurants, exhibitions to entertainment, shopping to dining cruises and tour boats Navy Pier has it all – in a location unlike any other!

11. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Ariz./Nev.

Thirty miles southeast of Las Vegas lies the U.S.’s largest man-made lake and reservoir, a recreational mecca for boaters, swimmers, fishermen and naturalists attracts 7.6 million.
Lake Mead flooded a large area of desert, covering many canyons, several small villages and relics of ancient settlements.
Some more views of lake mead.

12. Universal Studios Orlando/Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, FL

Like its rival Disney, Universal houses what ERA’s Christian Aaen calls a “destination complex” in Orlando, where two theme parks, Universal Studios Orlando and Universal’s Islands of Adventure, vie for 6.2 million thrill-seeking tourists.

13. SeaWorld Florida, Orlando, FL

Attendance was up one percent from the previous year for this watery theme park-one of several Orlando sites on our list. The TEA/ERA puts SeaWorld’s 2007 attendance at 5.8 million.

14. San Antonio River Walk, Texas

The Riverwalk is one of the most visited places in all of Texas and the greater San Antonio area has a world of fun and exciting things to do and see.
The San Antonio River Walk (also known as Paseo del Río) is a network of walkways around the San Antonio River, linking several major attractions one story beneath downtown San Antonio, Texas. Lined by bars, shops and restaurants.
The River Walk proclaims itself the “Number One entertainment destination in Texas,” with 5.1 million visitors a year.

15. Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT

Temple Square is the most popular attraction in the state with five million annual visitors. This ten-acre block located in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City is Utah’s number one tourist attraction.
The Mormon church’s headquarters are here, but Temple Square is more than just a destination for Latter Day Saints.

16. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Penn./N.J.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a beautiful part of the Appalachian Mountains with all kinds of outdoors recreation available.
This park preserves 40 miles of the middle Delaware River and almost 70,000 acres of land along the river’s New Jersey and Pennsylvania shores.
River-focused recreation is what draws nearly five million tourists to this Appalachian-ridge park on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

17. Universal Studios,Hollywood, CA

Its official marketing headline is “The Entertainment Capital of LA,” though during the summer it is often advertised as “The Coolest Place in LA.”
Nearly five million star gazers and thrill seekers came last year to tour the sets of “Desperate Housewives,” “King Kong” and other Universal productions.

18. Metropolitan Museum, New York, N.Y.

Founded in 1870 (and moved to its current home in Central Park in 1880), the Met’s vast stores of art include more than two million works in its two-million-square-foot building.
It has a permanent collection containing more than two million works of art, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world.
Four and a half million visitors came to peruse some of the world’s greatest art collections, from American and European to Egyptian and the newly refurbished Greek and Roman Galleries.

19. Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

Waikiki Beach is a legendary tourist zone on the south shore of Oahu in Hawaii. This iconic Hawaiian tourist destination, on the edge of the Honolulu neighborhood that shares is name, offers splendid views of the volcanic cone, Diamond Head.
With its droves of tourists, it also made Forbes Traveler’s list of over-hyped beaches. Upwards of 4.5 million sunbathers try to relax on its sands each year.

20. Grand Canyon, AZ

The canyon is the most famous natural attraction in the USA and possibly in the world. The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona.
It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park one of the first national parks in the United States. Tourists have arrived at a much quicker rate since the canyon achieved National Park status in 1919.
A horseshoe-shaped glass Skywalk, opened in 2007, allows the nearly 4.5 million visitors a chance to experience vertigo.

21. Busch Gardens Africa, Tampa Bay, FL

Busch Gardens is the ultimate family adventure park offering an array of fascinating attractions based on exotic encounters with the African continent.
This Africa-themed park, which houses over 2,700 animals alongside the usual array of rides, restaurants and shows, attracts 4.4 million every year.

22. Cape Cod National Seashore, MA

Cape Cod National Seashore is made up of a number of beautiful beaches. It is a land of parabolic sand dunes, 19th-century lighthouses, shipwrecks, pilgrims, and piping plovers.
Sightseeing, trail and beach walking, swimming, historic building tours, fishing, and bicycling are all key activities that can be enjoyed here. The bicycle and hiking trails and sandy beaches enticed more than 4 million visitors last year.

23. SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego, CA

SeaWorld San Diego is one of the world’s premier marine adventure parks with 200 acres of world-class shows, thrilling rides and unforgettable animal encounters.
More than 4 million visitors explore the mysteries of the sea every year, with up-close animal interactions and exhilarating thrills.

24. American Museum of Natural History, NY

American Museum of Natural History, which attract 4 million visitors, has been one of the world’s preeminent science and research institutions, renowned for its collections and exhibitions that illuminate millions of years of the earth’s evolution, from the birth of the planet through the present day.
The AMNH’s 45 permanent exhibit halls contain a vast record of world history, from dinosaur fossils to the human genome.
The 18-acre campus is located in Theodore Roosevelt Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and its popular overnight program gives eight-to-12-year-olds the thrill of “falling asleep in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums.”

25. Atlantic City Boardwalk, New Jersey

The Boardwalk (immortalized in the Monopoly board game) runs along the beach for four miles, skirting past casinos, hotels and shops, and connects with the Garden Pier, home to the Atlantic City Historical Museum and the Atlantic City Art Center.
Although boardwalks can be found around the world, they are especially common along the East Coast of the United States in North America, where they have many of the functions of a city street and are often tourist attractions themselves. It get 4 million visitors every year.

Budget travel in New york

I have recently visited New York city. NY is a big city, with diversified culture, it is the center of the world. You can easily lost in NY city if you are a person with no direction. There is so much attractions, you will not get bore. NY is the city that does not sleep, 24 hours a day, there is activities, action, and I love NY.....

Before you watch video on the travel tips, please take note that the US$35 a day does not include accommodation in NY, which is expensive. Unless you stay overnight in the airport, or finding some free accommodation in the street, live like a typical homeless person in NY; or if you have a gut to sleep in Central Park at night...... New York has some of the most expensive hotels in the world. Expect to pay up to $50 for a hostel style hotel; around $100-$200 for a budget room with shared bath; $250-$350 for a mid-range hotel with a decent room and a restaurant and/or room service; and much higher in the many high end hotels in the city. In the mid-range and splurge hotels, it often pays to ask for a corporate rate. Most rooms below $ 200 in Manhattan are small with room for a bed, a tv and little else. Be warned that the quality of hotels varies a lot and, in many cheap hotels away from the center (along the West Side Highway, or in the outer reaches of Queens) you may share the premises with hourly customers!

To save on food, there are free samples in the street, free testing in the food outlet or mall; cheap breakfast offered by Mac Donald for US1 per item; otherwise food is expensive...at least US$10 per meal. If you are foreign tourist, the currency exchange rate will add up your food bill...

There are tips to pay, even it is after meal, but the norm practice is fixed rate from the price. New Yorkers often calculate the base tip by doubling the tax. Since tax is 8.875%, if you double this, 17-18% approximates the tipping customs elsewhere in the US. Most New Yorkers tip 20% and above if they feel they were treated well. And this is in additional to tax you need to pay....

Transportation, buy a Metro Card. The New York City Transit Authority issues MetroCards for using the bus and subway system in the city. While it is possible to pay for a bus using exact change (in coins) you must have a MetroCard to enter the subway system. Cards can be bought online, at stations (either from a vending machine or from a token booth), or at many grocery stores and newstands (look for a MetroCard sign on the store window). It is possible to purchase MetroCards with a credit card from the ticket machines, however they require that you type in your 5-digit zip code to confirm the card (or just your regular pin on international cards). Information on types of MetroCards and fares can be found online at the Metrocard website.

How To See New York For $35 a Day



How to be a New Yorker



10 things you need to know in NY



Also watch the travel tip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSiZad9D-I&feature=channel

How to save money in NY city



If you really have no money, and want to visit New York, then try asking for money in the street of New York. You can either act like a homeless people and beg for money. But please dress properly for the job, and do not attract the anger of real homeless people. You can also dress smart, and catch the attention of giver with noble donation to your needs; or you can provide your personal skills, mimic some famous personality, singing in the street, playing a musical instrument. But please no cheating.... or go against the law...or work illegally in the street of New York......

Otherwise, the Immigration will sent you back free or the labor office will invited you for dinner in the New york prison....hahaha.

How To Successfully Beg For Money


This is New York, different people have different skills to survive, short term or long term. Have a nice day in New York....

New York, New York..... I love New York.

California earthquake

Earthquakes in California are common occurrences as the state is located on the San Andreas Fault, which cuts across California and forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific and the North American Plate. There are many thousands of small earthquakes per year, most of them are so small that they are not felt. California's complex and interesting landscape can be attributed to the network of faulting that runs underneath the state. The earliest reported earthquake in California was felt in 1769 by the Portola expedition about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, probably near the San Andreas Fault

California has hundreds of active faults located throughout the state that are capable of producing large earthquakes. The most active fault is the San Jacinto Fault in Southern California, which has produced large events on a regular basis throughout recent history. The Mendocino Triple Junction located offshore of Northern California is also very active, producing several earthquakes above magnitude 7 throughout history. Northern California is also subject to megathrust earthquakes on the Cascadia subduction zone (extending north from Mendocino), such as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, magnitude of approximately 9. The town of Parkfield in central California is located on a section of the San Andreas Fault that produces an earthquake of about magnitude 6 every 20-30 years on average in 1857, 1881, 1901, 1922, 1934, 1966 and 2004.

The largest recorded earthquake in California was the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.0. This earthquake ruptured the San Andreas Fault from Parkfield to Wrightwood, a distance of 225 miles (350 km). The most destructive earthquake to date was the 7.9 magnitude 1906 San Francisco earthquake, in which over 3000 people perished in the earthquake and the fires that followed. The 1906 quake ruptured the northern segment of the San Andreas Fault for 296 miles (477 km), from San Juan Bautista to near Cape Mendocino in the north.More recently, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which affected the San Francisco bay area, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake which hit the Greater Los Angeles area, caused widespread damage and deaths in their respective regions.

The Northridge earthquake
The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in Northridge, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 45 seconds. This was a holiday Monday - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was one of the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America. Seventy-two deaths were attributed to the earthquake, with over 9,000 injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

(source: wikipedia)


Jul 8th, 2010

Yesterday, the U.S. Geological Survey said that a 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Southern California, jangling buildings in downtown Los Angeles, tumbling wine bottles at desert resorts and briefly halting rides at Disneyland. The temblor centered about 60 miles northeast of San Diego, it was first reported by USGS to be at 5.7 magnitudes but the agency later demoted it to 5.4.

The town nearby to the quake was Borrego Springs, situated in San Diego County. No major incidents reported on the neighboring Riverside County and there were no pressing reports of damages or injuries occurred during the quake, although residents across a spacious swath of Southern California were spooked by the force of the magnitude.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey it was about 130 miles east of Los Angeles at 4:53pm or was centered 28 miles south of Palm Springs. There were several succeeding aftershocks have been documented and with the largest measuring magnitude-3.0.

(source: http://dailynewschannels.com/earthquake-hits-southern-california-no-damages-has-been-reported/866/)

The 5.4-magnitude earthquake rattled buildings in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, toppled wine bottles at desert resorts and briefly halted rides at Disneyland.

Researchers said it was centered 28 miles (45 kilometers) south of Palm Springs and was related to the powerful Easter Day quake, but was not an aftershock.

California Institute of Technology Seismologist Kate Hutton said the 7.2-magnitude quake in April transferred stress to fault zones farther north, triggering the quake that was felt from San Diego to Los Angeles to Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon.

World of Color at Disney's California Adventure Park goes dark after earthquake
July 8, 2010

World of Color, the newest attraction at Disney's California Adventure Park, temporarily shut down Wednesday night, only hours after a moderate earthquake struck the region.

Still, Disney officials said it was unclear if the earthquake played a role in the "technical difficulties" that forced the cancellation of the three nightly shows.

World of Color, a water, light and fire show that erupts from the Paradise Bay Lagoon, debuted June 11.

Al Lutz, author of the Disney fan site Miceage.com, said the show was canceled because platforms that raise out of the water were damaged. He said divers and engineers were brought in to assess the damage.

It was unclear Thursday morning if the repairs would be made in time for the show to reopen again Thursday night.

Wednesday's 5.4-magnitude quake struck at 4:53 p.m. about 28 miles south of Palm Springs.

The cancellation of World of Color marks the second time that the show was put on hold.

(source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2010/07/disney-world-of-color-goes-dark-after-earthquake.html)


Related article:

1. List of California Earthquake, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquakes_in_California

Maywood, California

Maywood, California

Do you believe that a city was bankrupt in America, once the land of honey and milk, the dream land for people all over the world. Many still flowing to the country despite the financial crisis faced by the nation. The Hollywood movie continue to portrait the land as land of riches....yet there are many homeless people around Los Angeles downtown. High unemployment in many cities, with high cost of living...the life of ordinary people is tough. Now even a city is bankrupt and no longer able to provide basic services for its people....


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Maywood

It is 8 miles (13 km) southeast from Downtown Los Angeles Financial District and only 2 miles (3.2 km) miles east of the Los Angeles city limit on Slauson Ave and Alamada St in the Central-Alameda neighborhood. Maywood is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County area. Maywood is bordered by the city of Bell on the south, Vernon on the north and west, Huntington Park on the southwest, and Commerce on the east.

Maywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. At 1.4 square miles, Maywood is the third-smallest incorporated city in Los Angeles County.The population was about 30,034 on January 1, 2010, according to the California Department of Finance. Various news accounts have said its official population reaches about 45,000 when illegal immigrants are counted. 96% of population is Latino, and more than half are foreign-born, became a sanctuary city for undocumented workers.

In an unprecedented move among California cities, on July 1, 2010, the city laid off all its employees, including its entire Police Department. With a large budget deficit, and no longer able to obtain insurance, the Maywood City Council stated it was left with no other option but to adopt this plan. The City of Maywood will lose its workers compensation and commercial insurance due to its claims history over the last five years as reflected in 2005-2010 Loss Summary Statements. As a result, the City of Maywood will be unable to administer a traditional staff. From now on, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will patrol the streets, while the neighboring city of Bell, CA will cover other city functions, such as staffing City Hall.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maywood,_California



The article below is from cnnmoney, by Tami Luhby, senior writer, On Thursday July 1, 2010, 8:00 am EDT

Maywood, California, lays off all employees

Tiny Maywood, Calif., laid off every single one of its city employees on Wednesday.

But that doesn't mean the city is closing up shop. City Hall will still be open, as will Maywood's park and recreation center. Police will continue to patrol the streets.

They just won't be staffed by Maywood employees. The city can't have any staff because it can't get liability or worker's compensation insurance for them. Maywood's carrier, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, dropped it earlier this month in part because of several police-related claims.

Instead of declaring bankruptcy, Maywood officials decided to outsource all city functions. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will patrol the streets, while the neighboring city of Bell will cover other city functions, such as staffing City Hall.

Maywood already relies on contract workers and outsources many city services. The director of parks and recreation, for instance, is a contractor, and the city's lights, landscaping and street sweeping are handled by private companies. Los Angeles County maintains the library and fire department.

Some of Maywood's 96 employees -- which include 41 police officers -- will also continue as contract workers. Elected officials, such as the city council and the city clerk, will remain on the job in the 1.5-square-mile municipality, which has about 45,000 residents.

"Odds are residents will see the same faces as in years past, just under a different administrative process," said Magdalena Prado, the city's community relations director, who is a contract worker and is keeping her post.

Maywood is billing itself as the first American city to outsource all of its city services. In an odd twist, officials say it can provide even better services because the shift will help it save money and close a $450,000 shortfall in its $10 million general fund budget.

For instance, the contract with the sheriff's department costs about half of the more than $7 million spent annually to maintain the Maywood police department, Prado said. And patrols will be increased.

"Our community will continue to receive quality services," Mayor Ana Rosa Riso said in a statement. "Maywood's streets will continue to be swept, our summer park programs will continue to operate and our waste will be collected and hauled as scheduled."

Stressed cities

A growing number of cities are looking to contract out or share services regionally as the economic downturn takes its toll on municipal budgets.

"Everything is on the table," said Chris Hoene, research director at the National League of Cities. "The fiscal stress cities are feeling mean they are looking for alternative options to deliver services that cost less money."

Some 7 in 10 city officials said they are cutting personnel to balances their budgets, while another 68% are holding off on capital projects, according to a survey the league did in May. More than half of respondents say they will make to further slash city services next year if taxes or fees are not raised.

Not everyone is distressed by Maywood's unusual plan for providing city services. While Jesus Padilla feels sorry for the workers being affected, he thinks things might improve. He's made lots of calls to the county sheriff's department when he worked as a security guard and said officers always responded promptly.

"The council made the best decision it could," said Padilla, a local activist who has lived in Maywood for more than 30 years. "It's going to be good for the city and the citizens."

(source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Maywood-California-lays-off-cnnm-2024697265.html?x=0)

if a city cannot survive, can an ordinary people survive?.........is it a forewarn sign? .....that bad things are coming???? for California, for USA, for even other part of the world, the good time is over ????......

Today is Maywood, tomorrow may be your city....

Los Angeles

15-6-2010(Tuesday) Las Vegas - Los Angeles - Hollywood - Anaheim
16-6-2010(Wednesday) Anaheim - Los Angles(Downtown) - Anaheim
17-6-2010(Thursday) Anaheim - LAX Airport
18-6-2010(Friday) LAX Airport - Narita Airport - Singapore Changi Airport
19-6-2010(Saturday) Singapore Changi Airport - Penang Bayan Lepas Airport

From the schedule we were spending two nights at Los Angles, but actually we were at Anaheim for two nights. If include the early two days, we were actually spending 4 days in Los Angeles, the city of Angels. But the city is actually not city of angels, it is the city with high crime, heavy traffic flow, pollution, high illegals.... but you still can enjoy the city if you apply common sense and be street smart...


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When you are talking about Los Angeles, are you talking about the county or the city?

What is the meaning of Los Angeles? Land of angels? The name given by the Chumash tribe of Native Americans for the area now known as Los Angeles translates to "the valley of smoke", because of the smog from native campfires. Today Los Angeles is suffered from sir pollution, mainly smog. So Los Angeles, the valley of smoke , the place is correctly named by the Red Indian natives.

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County (incorporated as the County of Los Angeles) is a county in California and is the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2009 population of 9,848,011 residents,while the California Department of Finance lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of 10,393,185. The county seat is the city of Los Angeles, the largest city in California and the second-largest city in the United States.

The county is home to 88 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas. The southern portion is the most heavily urbanized area and is home to the vast majority of the population which lives along the Southern California coastline and the inland basins and valleys. The northern half is a large expanse of less-populated desert including the Santa Clarita Valley and the Antelope Valley, which encompasses the northeastern part of the county and is adjacent to Kern County. In between these portions of the county sit the San Gabriel Mountains and the vast wilderness known as the Angeles National Forest.

East: Eastside, San Gabriel Valley, Pomona Valley
West: Westside, Beach Cities
South: South Bay, Palos Verdes Peninsula, South Los Angeles, Gateway Cities
North: San Fernando Valley, portions of the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita Valley
Central: Downtown Los Angeles, Mid-Wilshire

The Greater Los Angeles Area

The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a popular term for the agglomeration of urbanized area around the county of Los Angeles, California, United States. The terms are not officially defined but are in common use in speech and writing to refer to the more-or-less continuously urbanized area stretching from Ventura or even Santa Barbara in the north to the southern border of Orange County, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Inland Empire. The Greater Los Angeles area is generally taken to include the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the Inland Empire, and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura area.The term "Greater Los Angeles" does not generally include San Diego and Imperial counties, whose urbanized areas are not geographically continuous with the urbanized area surrounding Los Angeles

Los Angeles City

Los Angeles, Spanish for "The Angels", is the second largest city in the United States, the largest city in the state of California and the Western United States, with a population of 3.83 million within its administrative limits on a land area of 498.3 square miles (1,290.6 km2). The urban area of Los Angeles extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 14.8 million, it is the 14th largest urban area in the world, affording it megacity status. The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is home to nearly 12.9 million residents while the broader Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside combined statistical area (CSA) contains nearly 17.8 million people. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most multicultural counties in the United States. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos".

Los Angeles was founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porziuncola).[6] It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its independence from Spain. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.

Often known by its initials, L.A., and nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is a world center of business, international trade, entertainment, culture, media, fashion, science, technology, and education. It is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. In 2008, Los Angeles was named the world's eighth most economically powerful city by Forbes.com, third in the U.S. behind New York City and Chicago. The Los Angeles combined statistical area (CSA) has a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $831 billion (as of 2008), making it the third largest economic center in the world, after the Greater Tokyo Area and the New York metropolitan area. As the home base of Hollywood, it is known as the "Entertainment Capital of the World", leading the world in the creation of motion pictures, television production, video games, and recorded music. The importance of the entertainment business to the city has led many celebrities to call Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs home. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics.

These districts are a part of the city of Los Angeles. See also Los Angeles County for destinations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

1. Downtown — The central business district of the city of Los Angeles, Downtown is also home to the city's Grand Avenue cultural corridor. Like many city centers, the advent of the automobile and freeways led to the neighborhood's slow decline. However, in recent years, the area has seen a booming revival led by new residential buildings, with trendy hotels, bars, shops and restaurants.
2. Eastside — A funkier area north of downtown and east of Hollywood that's rapidly gentrifying.
3. Harbor Area — Home of the largest sea port in the States, and the launching point for trips to Catalina Island.
4. Hollywood — The place where dreams are made. It has received quite a makeover in recent years, sparked by the construction of Hollywood & Highland and the return of the Academy Awards.
5. San Fernando Valley — The northern suburban portion of Los Angeles, lying in a valley northwest of downtown, containing various districts.
6. South Central — It's long had a reputation for gang violence and is famed for the Rodney King riots, but while it remains off most peoples radar, there are a handful of things to see and it's slowly working to repair its bruised image.
7. Westside — Generally more affluent area of town near the ocean
8. Wilshire — Home of the historic architecture of the Miracle Mile District, the Farmer's Market and The Grove shopping areas, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CBS Television City, and the famous La Brea Tar Pits.

Important landmarks in Los Angeles include Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Kodak Theatre, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Boulevard, Capitol Records Tower, Los Angeles City Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Theme Building, Watts Towers, Staples Center, Dodger Stadium, and La Placita Olvera/Olvera Street.

Transportation

Los Angeles' massive sprawl and dysfunctional public transportation make getting around rather frustrating, especially during weekends when service can be more erratic. The only rational way of getting around much of the city is to rent a car, in which case you'll get a crash course in the complex freeway system and, if you're "lucky," a taste of the notorious traffic jams. The underdeveloped rail system will only get you so far (although it does, fortunately, provide service to most of the main tourist areas). On the other hand Los Angeles' bus system is enormous and you should be able get wherever you need to by bus, provided you aren't terribly pressed for time.

Shopping

Los Angeles has a well-known, diverse and unique shopping traditions and destinations. Shopping malls will dominate your shopping trip as they are nearly inescapable in many of your destinations. For example, the Hollywood & Highland mall is a popular meeting point for those gazing at the Walk of Fame and Mann's Chinese Theater. Other malls you may bump into are the Grove (next to the Farmer's Market) and the Beverly Center, which is quite unlike other shopping malls as it is multilevel with a nice view of Los Angeles from its food court patio.

Lacking any significant public square, Los Angeles funnels its commercial life onto its streets. Among the most popular street is Larchmont Blvd. which caters to the wealthy elite of Hancock Park with one-of-a-kind boutiques. Melrose Avenue, especially in the West Hollywood portion, one-ups Larchmont Blvd. with celebrity presence.

Broadway in Downtown will take you out of the comforts of overly manicured shopping centers and drop you onto its chaos. With merchandise geared towards the city's millions of Latinos, twenty dollars would probably get you a new wardrobe. You will also find pirated DVD's and CD's. You can find a lot of brand name merchandise at discounted prices. Broadway once was the city's premier boulevard and looking up above the gritty flea markets and you would see the opulent theaters that defined luxury in early 20th-century Los Angeles.

For a similar experience in a less-polished but even livelier environment, try Alvarado Blvd around Wilshire & 6th in the Westlake District. This district, with a density that rivals Manhattan's, gives an insight to how most of working-class Los Angeles shops. Big deals can be found on a wide range of counterfeit goods, but don't stay too long after dark, when the neighborhood gets sketchy. Make sure to check out the art deco buildings that exist in between the makeshift warehouses (malls), as well as the Alvarado Terrace Park, surrounded by early century mansions.

For more upscale purchasing head to Beverly Hills to the world-famous Rodeo Drive, or the ever-growing chic-boutique strip of Melrose Ave between Crescent Heights & Robertson Ave in West Hollywood.

Crime and Security

The Greyhound terminal is at 1716 East 7th Street, near I-10 along South Alameda Street, south of the city's Downtown Arts District and east of the vast, notorious Skid Row district. Though a growing residential population in the area has brought increased safety and services, this neighborhood remains largely underdeveloped. Union Station, 800 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012. A historic downtown site and the main railway hub for the city. The area bounded by 3rd Street, 7th Street, Alameda Street and Main Street is often referred to as "Skid Row" or "the Nickel" and has one of the largest homeless populations in the United States. The Greyhound Station is located here, but the area is unsafe for pedestrians regardless of the time of day.

Crime in the city of Los Angeles has been a major problem in Southern California and a concern for Angelenos since the early 20th century. Crime is down 8% since 2006[1]. Los Angeles is informally known as the "Gang Capital of the Nation". South Los Angeles, more widely known as South Central Los Angeles is a notoriously dangerous region of the City of Los Angeles which has an extensive history of gang violence, as it gave birth to the Bloods, Crips, Hoover Criminals and other dangerous gangs. Also, a majority of gang wars in Los Angeles take place there, as well as racial violence between African-Americans and Latinos. A 2003 comparison of twin psychological studies by the Lancet and Rand corporations indicates that children in South Los Angeles are exhibiting greater levels of post-traumatic stress disorder than children of a similar age in Baghdad, the war-torn capital of Iraq."

Air pollution

Los Angeles is notorious for air pollution problems. However, air quality in the city has improved dramatically in recent decades, and Los Angeles has even fallen from its Number One position on lists of the worst air in the United States due to aggressive cleanup efforts on behalf of the state and regional air quality authorities. Generally, smog is worst during summer months and is worse further inland, away from the fresh ocean breezes. The name given by the Chumash tribe of Native Americans for the area now known as Los Angeles translates to "the valley of smoke". because of the smog from native campfires. Owing to geography, heavy reliance on automobiles, and the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, Los Angeles suffers from air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley are susceptible to atmospheric inversion, which holds in the exhausts from road vehicles, airplanes, locomotives, shipping, manufacturing, and other sources.

Los Angeles Downtown



The central business district of the city of Los Angeles, Downtown is also home to the city's Grand Avenue cultural corridor. Like many city centers, the advent of the automobile and freeways led to the neighborhood's slow decline. However, in recent years, the area has seen a booming revival led by new residential buildings, with trendy hotels, bars, shops and restaurants.

The area's highlights include Grand Central Market, MOCA, Disney Concert Hall, The Music Center, Olvera Street, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Natural History Museum, and the Japanese-American Museum. Downtown is also home to some of the most unique and stunning examples of American and international architecture.

Getting around in Downtown
Downtown is probably the only part of L.A. that one can reasonably cover on foot. Metro Bus is the most extensive bus system in the region. All major streets have at least one (and in some cases, several) bus lines running daily. Base fare is $1.25 and an unlimited-use day pass costs $5. Both can be purchased on board any Metro bus. Metro Rail from the northern end of Downtown LA, the Gold Line stops at Chinatown on its way northeast to Pasadena. From Union Station, the Red and Purple Line subways run along Hill Street, making stops at the Civic Center and Pershing Square, before turning west under the Financial District. There they connect to the Blue Line light rail at 7th/Metro Center. From there the Red and Purple Lines run northwest and west, respectively, and the Blue Line runs south through Downtown LA's redeveloping South Park district, with a stop at Pico, towards the city of Long Beach.

1. Pershing Square
Between South Hill Street and South Olive Street, West 5th St and W 6th Street.

2. Los Angles Central Library
Located 630 West 5th Street. Huge library rebuilt in the '80s and '90s. Almost always has a public exhibition going. Nearby S Hope Street located Malaysian Consulate.

3. The Theater District. The Theater District along Broadway has been converted to discount jewelry, electronics and ethnic shops, but much of the architecture and the marquees remain

4. Jewelry District, Wonder where all of those West Coast Rappers get their bling bling? Well, if they are frugal, they get it in the Jewelry District. Bounded by Olive-Broadway and 6th-7th, it is conveniently close to Pershing Square (parking and Red line access).

5. Library Tower (US Bank Tower), 633 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90071 (across Fifth Street from the downtown central library). At 73 floors and 1,017 feet, it is said to be the tallest building between Chicago and Hong Kong. Note to photographers: the Library Tower's security personnel will try to discourage you from taking pictures of this building. As long as you are standing on a public sidewalk you may legally take any picture you like in the United States. The building is just near the Los Angles Central Library

6. Union Station. No trip to downtown LA would be complete without a visit to Los Angeles's historic Train Station. The station was built in 1939 with a Spanish mission exterior. The large waiting room and restaurant appears like it would have looked like in the 1940's. They also use Union Station in lots of movies, including Blade Runner, where the main hall was used as the Police Station

7. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center (which is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the United States). The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The Pavilion has 3,197 seats spread over four tiers, with chandeliers, wide curving stairways and rich décor. The auditorium's sections are the Orchestra (divided in Premiere Orchestra, Center Orchestra, Main Orchestra and Orchestra Ring), Circle (divided in Grand Circle and Founders Circle), Loge (divide in Front Loge and Rear Loge), as well as Balcony (divided in Front Balcony and Rear Balcony).

8. Mark Taper Forum
135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
The Mark Taper Forum opened in 1967 as part of the Los Angeles Music Center, the West Coast’s equivalent of Lincoln Center. The smallest of the three, the Taper sits between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Ahmanson Theater at opposite ends of a plaza. The three buildings of the Music Center were designed by Los Angeles architect Welton Becket
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the theatre, the neighboring Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre are all operated by the Center Theatre Group.

9. The Walt Disney Concert Hall

The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves (among other purposes) as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Lillian Disney made an initial gift in 1987 to build a performance venue as a gift to the people of Los Angeles and a tribute to Walt Disney's devotion to the arts and the city. The Frank Gehry-designed building opened on October 23, 2003. Both the architecture by Frank Gehry and the acoustics of the concert hall (designed by Yasuhisa Toyota) were praised in contrast to its predecessor, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

After spending sometime in LA; we took a bus back to Anaheim. We went our way for the dinner at Anaheim downtown. After dinner, the kids go their way to Disneyland, the pass still can be used for another day. We went for a light stroll around the area, before call it a day to Red Lion Hotel. The kids however enjoyed their time until firework is over.

17-6-2010(Thursday) Anaheim - LAX Airport

United Airline customer service is not proactive to know customer problems. The counter staff may lack some knowledge on international travel. Lax Airport is very efficient, unlike Chicago airport, there was no long queuing for security check.

18-6-2010(Friday) LAX Airport - Narita Airport - Singapore Changi Airport

Again while on transits, the Japan airport security on boarding was over sensitive, despite earlier security check have been done, and this is only transit connection. They are efficient in their check but not effective in discharge their duty. Is the earlier check not effective? or is there any loophole in the airport where non-passenger can come in to the boarding place?... The United Airline staff however is very efficient, in guarding transit passengers to the boarding gate.

When we arrived at Changi airport, we have spicy Thai dinner at the airport, then went for shopping. The airport has TV showing world cup final, there are crowd watching the football match. Airport staff, government staff as well as tourists.

I find a mouse in Changi airport, the best airport in the world. What a joke.....

Where airport over the world can be so sensitive on security check, but can even let the airport free of pests....

What happen to the air travel, everyone seems to be a terrorist in this day; no common sense was exercised by the security. That caused a long queue in some airports..... Form over substance.... I hate the security check, I need to take off my cap, my belt, my waist belt, my shoes.....I am on holiday lah............

19-6-2010(Saturday) Singapore Changi Airport - Penang Bayan Lepas Airport

Home sweet home, finally arrived at Bayan Lepas Airport. I am really released for not to face any security check again....The first thing is to go for Char Koay Teow. Relax.....