So pathetic are the driving standards in China that there are a huge number of crashes. China is a world leader in vehicular crashes per capita. If only there were some rules that everyone followed. I propose simple ones such as drive/ride on the right side of the road and stop at traffic lights. It seems like total chaos if there are not enough police around to hand out and collect tickets. I find this video quite amusing, but should not, because people in the video get seriously hurt and cars and bikes get damaged. It is funny because sadly it does reflect what we saw on Chinese roads when we visited China.
McDonalds recalls Shrek glasses over fears of toxic cadmium levels
Fear not the monster Shrek, for he is not to blame. But if not Shrek then whom? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned consumers early Friday to immediately stop using the glasses available for purchase from McDonalds, on concerns about toxic levels of cadmium. Twelve million glasses are recalled. Who is to blame? There are at least three parties involved: McDonalds, ARC International, of Millville, NJ, and presumably the Chinese factory that produced the glasses. So common is the fact that China makes most of our products and the fact that so many toxic products have been traced back to China in the past makes this a very good educated guess.
Surviving Beijing fengsha: This woman has it right. Cover your whole head with a scarf.
Sandstorms or fengsha are common each spring in Beijing. Of the many things I learned while living there was how to survive the onslaught. The sand is so fine as to permeate every nook and cranny of your clothes, windows and food. The best thing to do is to get a fine scarf and wrap it around your head in order to protect your eyes. If you usually wear contact lenses switch to glasses. Clean and reclean everything. Try to keep your food air tight. Don’t worry, it will be over in about a month.
Google's China specific search engine is gone, ending self-censorship
You have to admire Google for standing up for its corporate philosophy. I could not see how Google could continue to self-censor its content in China while continuing to uphold its corporate values. I also could not see how Google even agreed to enter the Chinese market in 2006 on the condition that they self-censor. Today Google will dismantle its China-specific search engine and redirect queries to its Hong Kong based site. Of course the Chinese government was outraged, as expected. I believe that for the internet as a community, something was lost today, though I am unsure what. Was it possibly a global sign that we can all get along?
For half a year China has cut off internet access to the Xinjiang region of North West China. Recently a trickle of the wired world has been allowed to creep back. My friend Josh, who lives in Xinjiang, has suffered near irreparable psychological damage that I hope he can overcome. Still, one fact remains: The withdrawal of internet services is not a human rights violation.
The year 2009 was marked by significant news coverage of Al Qaeda attacks, soldiers and civilians getting blown up in Iraq and Afghanistan, much stricter airport security and, here in Canada, increased wariness of those from the Middle East. In the middle of this morass was the news agency Al Jazeera. Most people here in Canada actually did not recognize the agency until tapes from Osama Bin Laden were released only to Al Jazeera.
LCD TV Wall Mount Bracket, probably Made in China. It's cheap at $21US from Amazon.
Some day I will buy a flat panel LCD TV and will need a wall mount. The wall mount will probably be made in China. I do care about the safety of the employees that make my purchases, wherever they may me. They are just like the rest of us, working to squirrel away enough cash to put their kids to school. Particularly galling are safety conditions in China’s factories. The fact of the matter is that the lives of people in a far off land are not front and centre for us. While we give the proper lip service to be socially acceptable, they work in unsafe conditions so we can buy products at a cheaper price. We should care about how the products we buy affect workers in China.
Air quality is something one personally cannot control. I suppose you could rent an oxygen tank and wear a medical mask 7/24 but realistically, few people could do this. Having lived in Beijing and have recently returned for a visit, the bottom line is that Beijing air is hazardous to all living beings in the area. For me it does not matter that the Chinese government says it’s Ok, and that there are places with worse air quality, some of them in China. All the proof you need will be provided by living in Beijing for only a couple of days.
It is not as hard as it was before, a decade ago. I recall the road being in terrible condition because it was a main route to Zhengzhou, so the road was pulverized daily by coal trucks. Now they have expanded to have not one but two highways (gaosulu). Here are the hops: Changzhi’s Dongguan bus station, Licheng, Changning, Longwangmiao, to Quixuiyuan. Two buses. The bus from Changzhi to Licheng is hourly and travels about 48kms and costs 20 RMB. The bus from LiCheng to Changning is hourly on the 15 and costs 5 RMB. The bus from Changning is only twice a day for the last 8 kms.
Steam engine train rides with the Richmond Hill Live Steamers. The smell of coal, steam, oil, the whistle!
Two weekends a year the Richmond Hill Live Steamers, Toronto, Canada, has an open house, where they show off their scale model steam trains. It is a fascinating world of the mechanical and hand built. There are train rides for the kids and adults, while the old timers work and test their engines. The feeling of the club is very relaxed, leaving their work to speak for itself. We had a great time and was glad we went early. Donations to the club are welcome.
