We all know that China annexed and militarized some disputed islands in the South China Seas. These islands are claimed by multiple countries. In 2016 a dispute between the Philippines and China resulted in the Hague ruling that China did not have claim to these islands. No matter, China took them over anyway. They how house surface to air missiles. Much more can be gleaned online with minimal Googling.
A friend at Tongji University, Shanghai. Using his GPS coordinates of 31.2820193,121.5083353 he is at the red pin., but this time over 500m west north west of his Google location Baidu Maps.
A friend is visiting China and has graciously allowed me, through Google, to follow him. I provide location advice as i can read Baidu’s Chinese maps. This time I was able to use his GPS coordinates and track him on Google and Baidu Maps. Now you would think that two mapping systems would give you near identical results, but no, they do not.
Frozen tulip, Toronto, Canada. I hope it will survive. 2018 Apr 15. Photo 8 by Don Tai
After a lifetime of shoveling snow from driveways and living in Toronto, Canada, it is rare that I am unsure what steps to take. This current weather pattern is increasingly odd. We have had rain, freezing rain, high wind, and now followed by a lot more rain. So, what to do?
Baidu map, Beijing University, is accurate to the line map. The map has a lot more detail about local anemities than the Google Map
If you play around with GPS coordinates you will quickly need access to a map. The GPS coordinate numbers do not reveal a geographic location useful to a human. The two go-to internet resources are Google and Baidu. Both have maps for North America and China, but are not as good outside of their competitive areas. As I am in Toronto and have lived in China, I can verify their usefulness for these locations, but for other parts of the world you are on your own.
Fruit d’Or cranberries: packaging does not state Made in Canada, or Product of Canada. I almost did not buy it due to an unknown country of origin. Photo 1 by Don Tai
We are particular with the country of origin of our food. If I don’t see it clearly on the package I hesitate, which usually means I put it back on the shelf. Fruit d’Or Cranberries almost did not make it to our home, even though these cranberries are grown and packaged in Canada, it does not explicitly state this on the package. Not only did I miss this, but my wife also missed it. Please, follow the industry standards and Government of Canada guidelines and state “Made in Canada” or “Product of Canada”.
Our electricity must come from somewhere. Not too many places are blessed with a gynormous waterfall that we harness for clean hydro-electric power, such as Niagara Falls, Ontario. Still, electric cars are heavily subsidized by governments, as without these they simply would be too expensive. This is true in Canada, China and Norway.
As Xi Jinping has now removed his term limits within the Chinese constitution, this solidifies his hold on power until he dies or choses to leave. Even before this historic change in China’s constitution it was clear that Xi has a stronghold on China. This directly affects how government officials implement directives and the effect on the Chinese people themselves. An interesting observation, to say the least.
Interesting is how the Chinese government has changed in its implementation of general directives. It seems like government officials react faster and harder, and even overreact to policy implementations. These implementations are understandable, in a way, because government officials do not question or tweak directives, but carry out their orders, possibly overdoing it.
I was at my local Walmart today, in Toronto, Canada. Two customers in front of me was an elderly woman who had, in her cart a variety of soft goods items such as a small rug, a shirt, some toothpaste, but also some groceries such as eggs, and a 4L bag of milk. Unfortunately her credit card was denied, so she left her products at the checkout and walked away.
China, Beijing, Daxing, Xinjian Cun, where the government has destroyed the neighbourhood of migrant workers and evicted everyone. South Gate
A large fire in a Beijing 北京市 suburb Xinjian Cun 新建村, in the Daxing District 大兴区 that killed 17 people, has prompted Beijing authorities to urgently begin investigations into illegal buildings, resulting in the destruction of a Beijing suburb called Xinjian Cun. Most of the residents there are migrant workers, have had a difficult time finding new accommodations. Their businesses and buildings have been bulldozed. The migrant workers have been told to go back to their villages. This, a forced mass expulsion of Chinese people, from a Chinese city, and in the middle of winter.
This is the first snowfall of the winter season for Toronto, Canada, and a blustery -10C, a far cry from yesterday’s +6C, and also colder than the expected +6C next week.
Snowfall in Toronto, 2017 Nov 10. Photo by Don Tai
By mid-day the snow had melted from my driveway, but there was still icy patches in local parking lots. Since tonight will go down to -8C if there were more accumulation I would shovel. Tomorrow and the next 4 days are all above zero.
