more quilts needed

'Local governments have promised that everyone will get supplies for the winter. But late last month, the vice governor of Sichuan Province said at a news conference in Beijing that survivors still needed 330,000 quilts and some heating equipment.

The vice governor, Wei Hong, also said government financing would account for only a fifth of the estimated $438 billion needed for reconstruction. The rest would have to come from loans and investments by private companies and state-owned enterprises, he said.'

Great panda hunters #1

Theodore Roosevelt

the audacity of it

No-smoking signs and rules are generally given short shrift in China and about half of all Chinese men smoke.

beware the quality of bamboo in Taiwan

how can 2 pandas afford 500 security guards and first class airfares?

little Kimmy loves his trainset

... and his other toys too!

loyal Chinese pets

the pig that survived more than a month, trapped in the rubble of the Sichuan earthquake .. much loved by the Chinese

is he really losing it?

are the North Korean people really that aware that King Jong Il is shafting them from behind?

Mong Chongi

this kind of childishly violent madness could only happen in South Korea
and only in South Korean parliament for that matter!

'... Scuffles broke out as dozens of opposition members and their aides attempted to push their way into the office. TV footage showed people from both sides shoving, pushing and shouting in a crowded hall at the National Assembly building amid a barrage of flashing cameras.

Opponents later used a sledgehammer and other construction tools to tear open the room's wooden doors, only to find barricades of furniture set up inside as a second line of defense...'

way to go, mate

A man in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, urinated in the hall of a bank on Dec 5 while waiting to draw money from his account.

Dai had the urgent need to use the bathroom after queuing too long and relieved himself in a plastic-covered rubbish bin.

He then got into a fight with a guard who abused him.

After police took them both back to the station, Dai agreed to pay the guard 500-yuan ($73) compensation.

Later that day the bank's managers visited Dai to apologize for poor service and return the 500 yuan as well hand over 100-yuan compensation.

(West China Metropolis Daily)

an exercise in futility or

'China applied in 1996 for the scenic area around Hangzhou city's West lake to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, a prestigious title aimed at preserving sites of cultural or natural importance.

The Hangzhou government warned in July that all buildings over 24m (79ft) high on the lake's east bank would have to be shortened to clear the skyline'

lots of jobs for the under-employed construction workers, I guess,
but when will Asians learn that cities are not the most beautiful places in their countries?

nice translation-uh

"With high salary, we have sincerely employed [lots of strippers/girls] to stay in our daytime show.

"Jiamei as the director, she will personally lead young girls who are as pretty as jade.

"[We have] beauties from the north who appear in all their glory with thousands of deportments.

"[We have] young housewives who have hot body that will stir up your [sexual] fire.

"They are sexy, horny and enchanting. The performance will begin in few days!"

oh, the rich irony

'To protect the Tibetan culture, the Chinese government has spent heavily to renovate the Potala Palace, the Norbulingka and the Sakya Monastery. Unprecedented renovation of 22 temples and monasteries as well as ancient historical relics started early this year. The government has conducted a program of Collation and Study of Tibetan Sutra and brought over 100 Tibetan linguists to compile and collate different versions of Tibetan Sutra for publication.'

spot them:
- James Hilton never even visited Tbet, rather based his story on the National Geographic Society reports of Dr Joseph Rock's botanical surveys in Sichuan, Yunnan and possibly Tbet.
- Buddhist crusaders, like Richard Gere, make millions from playing villianous Hollywood charaters,
- Devotees of the 'Shangri-La' way of life lived exceedingly long lives if they stayed in the temple complex, but shrivelled up and died very quickly if they left.
- Tibetan marauders were once the scourge of Central China and destroyed their share of cultural properties along the way.

global snapshot

'On the international scene, Islamic terrorists slaughter innocent people in Mumbai, targeting especially Brits, Americans and Jews; Vladimir Putin shreds the Monroe Doctrine by sailing his ancient warships into South American waters; Germany’s Angela Merkel, leader of Europe’s largest economy, decides she is not enthusiastic about joining a worldwide stimulus effort; China adopts the beggar-thy-neighbour policy of guiding its currency down to support its export industries; and parts of Africa remain killing grounds.'

sometimes

God tells us to do the strangest things,
right George?

(article slow to load)

there you have it ..

intelligent men have better sperm
because a scientific study has scientifically found that intelligent men are:
- less likely to smoke,
- more likely to exercise,
- less likely to drink heavily
- and so on

They obviously don't know about some of the professors I work with or studied under!

Other great revelations include the theory that fat men have bad sperm because, well, pandas are also fat and they can hardly bring themselves to copulate ...

oh dear, how sad, never mind

the start of the end for Formula 1 motor racing.

It's about freakin time,
and a smart statement from a racing team that advertises it self as 'earth friendly'

Alas, it may be some time before the other petrol 'heds' see the futility of their ways ... long live earth, it is, afterall, the only known planet with chocolate!

operating online

it ain't easy
- just ask this doctor from MSF after he amputated a limb via text message

don't mess with nature!

or here's what'l happen to ya ...

a well made ad from NZ television

Mr Pilooski

he does magic tricks on old tunes from the 60's like

we need more Gates'es in the world

'Since it began in 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $17.3 billion (£11.6 billion) and still has $35.1 billion at its disposal. In fact, Bill Gates has donated so much that this year he ceased to be the world’s richest man, after 13 years in the top slot – although the man who stole his title, US investment tycoon (and Bill’s sometime bridge partner) Warren Buffett, has pledged the Gates Foundation most of his $62 billion fortune, which he is already handing over in $1.6 billion annual instalments.'

some serious cash going toward fixing some serious problems in the world!

At last!

Nepal's civil war seems to have been settled,
the corrupt monarchy have been evicted
and the doors to the world's favourite atrium are back open to the public

remember what you eat

cos your body remembers what it is you eat

How to adapt 500 million farmers to the 21st century

a 5 part documentary from a chinese speaking bbc reporter and crew

Sino-Russian border trade

a sign of the future trade relationship between the 2 BRIC super-economies;
one has oil and the other cheap commodities
(beware the dairy products!)

what really happened

in the Korean war,

- ex pres, Roh Mu Hyun, had many detractors
but as a human rights lawyer, he left a legacy of 'living with the truth' for South Koreans

post slump analysis

from PJ O'Rourke

Who is he really?

how much do americans know about their new pres?

Where reality meets the road

capitalism is flawed by greed,
is this the age of modern socialism?

local Pandas show signs of life

yeh, right!

Mr Bush in 400 words

thanks to Liberal Larry for the pic

just down the road from me

a brand new airport with a view of a 5000 metre glacier,
yahoooooo

the growth of psycho-analysis in China

powered by a healthy aversion to the kind of drug taking that is slowly but surely destabilising the health and sanity of the west

and their crazy grandparents

estimates have more than 40% of Japanese citizens will be older than 65 by 2050...
who's gonna make them do their homework and wipe their butts?

oh, those crazy Japanese military types

this comes just days after the other top guy got fired for denying Japanese war atrocities during the 20th century

rebuilding after the Sichuan earthquake

how much do you think it will cost?

I am constantly amazed at the number of jobs that machines don't need to do in China
(cos there are so many people wanting to work for a wage, regardless of how laborious the task)

Sarah Palin- the last of the culture warriors

thank the mighty white God for that!!

only 5 communist states left

which will be the next to turn?

folks with too much time on their hands

the title of the book is Eunoia (the shortest English word using all 5 vowels)
and it means 'beautiful thinking'

Environmental warning signs

beware!!

Iceland

from Bjork's perspective,
she's not a happy camper!

state the obvious

US researchers claim that the meditative, exercising art of tai chi is good for your health.
What's next? Hamburgers make you fat??

the hypocratic oath

spuds, lovely spuds

Looks like India and China are now the biggest growers of potatoes ..

South Korea, rhymes with diarrhoea

Recently elected President, Lee Myong Bak is ripping this country apart,
not just with his hardline on sending vital food-aid to the North Korean brethren
but also with his intolerance for the peaceful traditions of the past
and misreading of South Korean issues like 'mad' US beef etc.

or is it just that all South Koreans are hardliners by nature?

yes Boss ha shipshiyo

how the traditionally patriarchal South Korean workplace is adapting to the 20th century

John Peel's not dead

he's just turned into a train, right?

time to shove off, Mr Kim

UNITED NATIONS: North Korea is facing its worst food crisis in a decade, with a large shortfall expected this year, according to a new report released by the United Nations on Thursday. At the same time, the number of children suffering from diarrhea has increased sharply.

blogging is deadddddd

"Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004..."

so, I guess that makes me a member of the afterworld?

Rock Paper Scissors

When did RPS begin?
The sport of RPS is believed to date back to 200 BC in Japan where it was used to settle disputes and where it is still in practice today. Better known in America as Ro-Sham-Bo, it is believed to be named for the Comte de Rochambeau, a French General who fought alongside George Washington in the American Revolution. The World RPS Society, the body that oversees and promotes the sport of RPS, was formed in 1918.

Rule Governance
These rules are governed, maintained, published, updated, authorized and approved by the World RPS Society under the guidance and authority of the World RPS Steering Committee. Any changes are in strict violation of the World RPS Society's Responsibility Code. Any changes to the rules require a seven-eighths majority ruling by the World RPS Steering Committee, unless, a temporary waiving or amendment is agreed upon by the players prior to play commencing. All temporary amendments are considered ephemeral unless otherwise agreed upon, but must not include any variant throws beyond the basic trinity such as, but not limited to, dynamite, bird, well, spock, god, water, lightning, bomb, matchstick, water, and/or Texas longhorn.

a big game of chess with Kim Jong Il

North Korea will have gained far more through its delisting from the U.S. blacklist of terrorism-sponsoring states than it will have lost through its agreement to accept international verification of its nuclear programs.

Ahhhhh, the single life

There comes a point in every man’s life when he must check out of Guyland, wrote Martin Deeson two weeks ago in these pages. This, for those of you who missed it, is the place in a man’s life when he lives singly and without responsibility. A place where he is no longer a boy but not yet a man; where he trips over beer cans in the morning on his way out the door, and asks for the woman he wakes up with to jot down her e-mail rather than her phone number to save him the embarrassment of having to ask her name.

Link to the Times online for the full story