By Bill Costello • July 30, 2010 at 12:30 AM
Bill Costello visits Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto.
By Bill Costello • July 29, 2010 at 1:23 AM
Bill Costello visits Nijo Castle in Kyoto.
By Bill Costello • July 28, 2010 at 12:35 AM
Bill Costello visits Nishi Hongan-ji in Kyoto.
By Bill Costello • July 27, 2010 at 12:51 AM
Bill Costello visits Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.
By Bill Costello • July 26, 2010 at 2:12 AM
Bill Costello visits Heian-jingu in Kyoto.
By Bill Costello • July 25, 2010 at 12:45 AM
Bill Costello visits the Kyoto Tower.
By Bill Costello • July 24, 2010 at 1:40 AM
Bill Costello visits Kyoto University.
By Bill Costello • July 23, 2010 at 1:32 AM
The U.S. military needs to reinvent itself. If it continues to hold on to antiquated paradigms, U.S. national security could be at risk.
Consider what’s happening in China. The nation’s rapidly growing economy has enabled it to significantly increase its military budget. Over the past decade, China’s military-related spending has roughly doubled.
In a recent issue of Foreign Policy, Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Fogel predicted that China’s GDP will reach $123 trillion by 2040. He also predicted that the U.S.’s share of global GDP will be roughly one third that of China’s.
If China’s GDP surpasses that of the U.S., then it’s very likely that China’s military budget will also surpass that of the U.S.
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By Bill Costello • July 22, 2010 at 1:05 AM
One significant way Asian cultures differ from Western cultures is that group identity is more important than individual identity. This factor limits the ability of Asians to “think outside the box.”
I’ve had the opportunity to learn much about group identity in Asian cultures while living in Japan over the past year and a half and traveling to Cambodia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Because they are more uniform and homogenous, Asian societies are generally less tolerant of diversity and difference than are Western societies. The high value they place on conformity to group norms is aptly expressed in the Japanese proverb that states, “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.”
The importance of group identity in these societies manifests itself in several ways.
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By Bill Costello • July 21, 2010 at 12:21 AM
Bill Costello visits the Dau Go Cave in Ha Long Bay.
By Bill Costello • July 20, 2010 at 1:16 AM
Bill Costello cruises on a junk in Ha Long Bay.
By Bill Costello • July 19, 2010 at 1:42 AM
Bill Costello visits the One Pillar Pagoda in Hanoi.
By Bill Costello • July 18, 2010 at 2:04 AM
Bill Costello visits Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts in Hanoi.
By Bill Costello • July 17, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Bill Costello visits the Presidential Palace in Hanoi.
By Bill Costello • July 16, 2010 at 3:02 AM
Bill Costello visits the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi.
By Bill Costello • July 15, 2010 at 1:15 AM
Bill Costello visits the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi.
By Bill Costello • July 14, 2010 at 12:26 AM
Bill Costello visits the Hanoi Hilton.
By Bill Costello • July 13, 2010 at 2:22 AM
Bill Costello visits the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.
By Bill Costello • July 12, 2010 at 12:22 AM
Bill Costello cruises on the Perfume River in Hue.
By Bill Costello • July 11, 2010 at 2:30 AM
Bill Costello visits the Thien Mu Pagoda in Hue.
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