china today,yesterday,tomorrow
About a palm reader
Surely you have heard of fate. You may not believe in it, but you have come across the concept; destiny, chance, circumstance, predestination by any other name. We have them in many forms here - the destiny readers, at least that is their claim, whether they sit with a parrot by the sidewalk, or are famous astrologers and/or palm readers. There is another group or sect and they are called the naadi-shastra people. When I heard that term my first association was of some one, who takes hold of my pulse (naadi in hindi also means pulse) and tells me all that I can only listen to within, in my most silent moments with myself. But, I was told that there was a certain reader, who sat under a particular tree and one could go and meet him and he would look at you and fish out from his jhola (long cloth bag) the specific palm leaf that held your destiny. As it turned out that is not how they function either.
Their theory is that Agastya Rishi of the times long gone by, had once forecast all that would occur, not just the earth shattering events of great wars and natural calamities, but the nitty-gritty of day to day living, as in the lives of ordinary men and women. Not only did he see this entire unfolding of events, but he also wrote this down on palm-leaves - one for each person's identity, and twelve more for other detailed aspects of their lives. Now that is mind boggling indeed, how did he do that? Did he have a magic pen that wrote as quick as his thoughts, which anyway were much faster and more intense than anything we know? Or did his thoughts manifest as they were created and we are living in just one possibility of that entire range of creation? But here I am jumping frameworks. So let me stay with Agastya Rishi and his seemingly magical abilities. No matter how he did it, it is contended that he wrote the destiny of each and every person that would be destined to come to the palm leaf readers! Now is that a convoluted argument or a tautology? Anyhow, so these naadi-shastra people have the palm leaves with our entire destinies mapped out for us i.e. those lucky enough to believe or to be willing to try out this stuff.
Their theory is that Agastya Rishi of the times long gone by, had once forecast all that would occur, not just the earth shattering events of great wars and natural calamities, but the nitty-gritty of day to day living, as in the lives of ordinary men and women. Not only did he see this entire unfolding of events, but he also wrote this down on palm-leaves - one for each person's identity, and twelve more for other detailed aspects of their lives. Now that is mind boggling indeed, how did he do that? Did he have a magic pen that wrote as quick as his thoughts, which anyway were much faster and more intense than anything we know? Or did his thoughts manifest as they were created and we are living in just one possibility of that entire range of creation? But here I am jumping frameworks. So let me stay with Agastya Rishi and his seemingly magical abilities. No matter how he did it, it is contended that he wrote the destiny of each and every person that would be destined to come to the palm leaf readers! Now is that a convoluted argument or a tautology? Anyhow, so these naadi-shastra people have the palm leaves with our entire destinies mapped out for us i.e. those lucky enough to believe or to be willing to try out this stuff.
China considers penalty tax on high-pollution businesses
China is considering levying a tax on polluting businesses to better protect the environment, a senior government official said Friday.
Zhang Lijun, vice minister of environmental protection, said collecting environmental taxes from polluting enterprises was one of the directions of the country's tax system reform.
"It has been put on the agenda of the ministries of finance, environmental protection and the state administration of taxation," Zhang told a press conference.
"We are jointly studying the issue, and when conditions are ripe, we'll launch the taxation system on polluting enterprises," he added.
The government had earmarked 210 billion yuan (30.7 billion U.S. dollars) for environmental protection from the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package for boosting domestic demand during the global economic downturn, Zhang said.
Zhang Lijun, vice minister of environmental protection, said collecting environmental taxes from polluting enterprises was one of the directions of the country's tax system reform.
"It has been put on the agenda of the ministries of finance, environmental protection and the state administration of taxation," Zhang told a press conference.
"We are jointly studying the issue, and when conditions are ripe, we'll launch the taxation system on polluting enterprises," he added.
The government had earmarked 210 billion yuan (30.7 billion U.S. dollars) for environmental protection from the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package for boosting domestic demand during the global economic downturn, Zhang said.
links
