Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Friday, August 30, 2013

Chengdu's Huge New Mall, and a Musing Lemming


(From ETGCN, via International Business Times, used w/o permission.)
"Inside the shopping area of the New Century Global Center."

"World's Largest Building, New Century Global Center, Opens In Chengdu, China"
Mark Johanson, International Business Times (July 01 2013)

"Whenever you're talking about the world's biggest, largest, tallest or fastest, chances are China is somehow involved. After all, the People's Republic boasts the world's biggest shopping mall and museum, tallest statue and highest observation deck, among other superlatives. And, as of this week, you can add the world's largest freestanding building to the growing list.

"The New Century Global Center in Chengdu, in Sichuan in western China, is so big that it's got its own artificial sun. Indeed, at 500 meters (1,640 feet) long, 400 meters (1,310 feet) wide and 100 meters (325 feet) high, it's massive enough to hold 20 Sydney Opera Houses or three Pentagons, according to local authorities.

"Of course, you won't find any Sydney Opera Houses or Pentagons inside this 1.76 million-square-meter (18.94 million-square-foot) space. The colossal structure, which opened June 28 under the management of Exhibition and Travel Group, is like an enclosed town, with businesses, offices, shopping malls, theaters, two five-star hotels, a skating rink and even a water park called Paradise Island with an “indoor beach.” The New Century Global Center also boasts a faux Mediterranean village, following the bizarre trend in China for copycat European towns...."

Mark Johanson's article is fairly upbeat, which is just as well since it's in IBT's Media & Culture/Travel section. When was the last time you read something unglowing in that a 'places to go' publication?

That said, the Lemming's impressed with Chengdu's new shopping mall. It's not just big: architects did a good job of making it look good. In the Lemming's opinion.

Where Chengdu's new shopping mall goes in lists of 'world's biggest shopping malls' will depend on who makes the list. Minnesota's Mall of America is 23rd in a 'biggest shopping malls' list on Wikipedia.

That's because whoever put the list together didn't count an amusement park that's inside the mall. Credit where credit is due: there's a notation that the Mall of America would be #11 on the list, if all the interior space counted.

The West Edmonton Mall, several hours north and west of the Lemming, is big, too: and was the biggest in the world until 2004. These days the really big shopping malls are in Asia and the southwestern Pacific, and that's almost another topic.

Marine Theme for an Inland Mall, and Smog


(From ETGCN, via International Business Times, used w/o permission.)
"The hotel rooms are seen in the New Century Global Center."

"The exterior of the new mega-structure is shaped like a wave, while the interior has a marine theme, despite the fact that the nearest ocean is some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away. The Japanese-designed artificial sun, meanwhile, will shine 24 hours a day and offer a welcome respite from the thick smog that typically blankets Chengdu's streets.

"The building forms the centerpiece of a recently developed area known as Tainfu New District on the outskirts of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Like many Chinese megacities, this hub of 14 million is rapidly expanding, with a growing subway system and a new airport planned for 2020.

"Officials had hoped to have the New Century Global Center completed in time for a global forum hosted by the U.S. magazine Fortune that brought presidents and CEOs of some of the world's largest companies to the city for two days in early June. That didn't pan out, but the government isn't shy about its desire for Chengdu to become the economic capital of western China. Chengdu's GDP reached 800 billion RMB ($130.48 billion) by the end of 2012, according to state media, ranking it third among China's sub-provincial cities...."
(Mark Johanson, International Business Times)

"Not shy" is a pretty good way to describe a promotional video the Lemming found. The audio isn't distorted, but you might want to turn the volume down before playing it:
Chengdu probably does have smog. China has been running its industrial and commercial development in fast-forward, and may better air-quality standards in a few years. Then again, maybe not.

The Lemming decided to settle outside metropolitan areas, partly because the air is cleaner out here. Most of the time, anyway. Now and then a manure pit's turned when the wind is just right, and a very organic fragrance permeates the Lemming's abode. More topics.

Another View of a Smoggy, Phoney,  . . . You Get the Idea


(From STR/AFP/Getty Images, via CNET, used w/o pemission.)
"The New Century Global Center (top) looms over the Export-Import Bank of China in Chengdu, in southwest China's Sichuan province."
"China opens city-sized shopping mall, with fake sun"
Tim Hornyak, CNET (July 3, 2013)

" The international tallest building arms race has been dominated by Dubai, with its Burj Khalifa, for several years, but China has upped the ante by unveiling what it calls the world's largest building.

"The New Century Global Center building opened recently in Chengu, a city of more than 14 million people in southwest China's Sichuan province. It's described as 'the world's largest standalone structure' by Chinese officials and is 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide.

"While Boeing's plant in Everett, Wash., is the world's biggest building by volume, the Chinese mall seems to be tops in floor space. Almost the area of Monaco, its 420 acres of floor space could fit nearly three Pentagons, four Vatican Cities, or 20 Sydney Opera Houses.

"The cavernous structure will feature a mix of retail outlets, a 14-screen movie theater, a university complex, offices, hotels, a water park called Paradise Island, a skating rink that's big enough to host international competitions, a pirate ship, 15,000 parking spots, and even a fake Mediterranean village...."

Did the Lemming mention that the New Century Global Center is huge? That's a common denominator in these articles. Also the smog.

Given time, the Lemming thinks that China's leadership will get around to cleaning up their country's air. That's not just empty optimism. The powers that be over there seem to have decided that putting China back on the map for world commerce is a good idea.

If they don't know that folks notice smog now, they soon will. "Soon" by the Lemming's standards, anyway.

"Ersatzery?"

"...Oh, and there's an artificial beach, too.

"But the ersatzery doesn't stop there. While Chengdu's factories, which include a Foxconn plant that turns out Apple gizmos, regularly contribute to the city's smog problem, visitors will enjoy an artificial sun that gives off light and heat 24 hours a day and a 164-yard-long LED screen serving as a stand-in for the horizon...."

Tim Hornyak can't seem to get over the artificiality of Chengdu's new megabuilding.

Artificial light, air at a controlled temperature, and efforts to make indoors feel like outdoors doesn't bother the Lemming quite so much. But then, the Lemming lives in Minnesota, where water is a mineral for several months each year. "Artificial" and "habitable" are far from mutually incompatible here. Yet more topics.

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Friday, August 16, 2013

The History of Playing-Cards: Hand-Crafted Art, Gutenberg, and All That

"A Concise History of Playing-cards"
The World of Playing-Cards

"Playing Cards have been around in Europe since the 1370s. Some of the earliest surviving packs were hand painted works of art which were expensive and affordable only by wealthy patrons. But you can play card games with any old pack so as demand increased new, cheaper methods of production were discovered so that playing cards became available for everyone...

"The history of playing cards in popular art is fascinating and has a long tradition. This section is an online tutorial covering the early history of playing Cards...."

It's an "online tutorial," but the Lemming had fun with The World of Playing-Cards' "Concise History. Your experience may vary.

The title is accurate, by the way. Their history is a quick shuffle through Europe's encounter with playing cards. Apparently they showed up in Europe about two decades after the Black Death, which may explain some of the more colorful playing card art.

After reading this and other histories of playing cards, the Lemming is quite certain that they came from the Middle East or somewhere else.

The World of Playing-Cards - good grief, that's a long name. Let's call them WoPC. Where was the Lemming? Playing cards. History. Really long names. More history. Right.

WoPC takes you through the social, economic, and artistic sides of playing cards: which isn't as boring as you might think.

These things started as one-of-a-kind handcrafted playthings of the aristokrater. That didn't last. New technology, woodcuts and Gutenberg's movable type, let new players deal in: starting near the end of the 14th century. Breakthroughs in printing tech eventually led to mass produced Harlequin romance books and Hoyle playing cards.

By now, just about anybody in Europe or North America can get their hands on a deck of playing cards. Or, in the case of the Lemming, paws.

There's more to WoPC's history:
And, if you just can't get enough of this sort of thing, IPCS has a history, too:
IPCS says playing cards must have been invented in China, because that's where paper was invented. They may be right. On the other hand, paper isn't papyrus or vellum, which has nothing much to do with Velcro.

The Lemming needs to get more sleep. Definitely.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Taipei 101: Shopping Center, Offices, and a 728-Ton Sculpture

Taipei 101's official website (English version - www.taipei-101.com.tw/index_en.htm) May take a while to load. But once it's in your browser, you should see a cute little 3D animated critter with text balloons saying things like "Hi~~" and "Let's Green On!" They've got information for visitors, folks interested in leasing space in Taipei 101, and some 'about' pages.

"Conception"
Taipei 101 official website, English-language version

"The greatest challenge in designing a statement building is not the construction technology involved, but how the building reflects the culture in which it functions. The spirit of architecture lies in the balance between local culture and internationalism.

"In the West, a tall building demands respect and attention from the spectators. To the Asians, it symbolizes a broader understanding and anticipation of things to come: we 'climb' in order to 'see further'..."

Well. That's nice. Let's see what else the page says about the tower.

"... TAIPEI 101 Tower rises in 8 canted sections, a design based on the Chinese lucky number '8'. It is a homonym for prosperity in Chinese, and the 8 sections of the structure are designed to create rhythm in symmetry, introducing a new style for skyscrapers...."

Taipei 101's Awards page lists some of the tower's records. World's:
  • Highest, ground to structural top
    508 meters
  • Ground to highest occupied floor
    101 floors, 428 meters
  • Ground to roof
    448 meters
That was in 2005, when Taipei 101 opened. Then the Burj Khalifa opened: all 160 floors, 828-plus meters of it. Granted, the top 200 meters of the Burj Khalifa is a spire.

The Burj Khalifa's World's Tallest Towers page has an interactive graphic that shows side-by-side comparisons with quite a few skyscrapers. Taipei 101 is still a pretty tall building, though.

Taipei's landmark skyscraper's architects used a 728 ton tuned mass damper to keep the tower from swaying too much. Instead of making it a strictly utilitarian hunk of stuff, they designed the mass damper as a sort of sculpture. And the Lemming posted about that before:The Taipei 101 shopping mall is billed as:The shopping center's floor guide is a series of interactive graphics: attractive, easy to use, and apparently quite useful for visitors. It also has an example of why translations can be tricky. These are instructions for using the guide, in English:

"Please transfer to the mouse on the picture, then knows the most detailed shop owner and the facility information."

The Lemming had no trouble understanding that. But it's not what a native speaker of English would have said.

The floor guide shows a 7-Eleven on the B1/Grand Market level, by the way. Those things are everywhere, it seems.

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Thursday, June 2, 2011

EU E. Coli Mutant Killer Bacteria New!! Unknown!!! Or, Not

"E. coli outbreak is a new strain"
James Gallagher, BBC News (June 2, 2011)

"The World Health Organization says the E. coli outbreak in Germany is a completely new strain of the bacteria.

"The infection can cause the deadly complication - haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) - affecting the blood and kidneys.

"More than 1,500 people have been infected and 17 have died: 16 in Germany and one in Sweden.

"In the UK, three British nationals have been infected - all had visited Germany.

"Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a WHO spokesperson, is reported as saying: 'This strain has never been seen in an outbreak situation before.'

"Scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute, in China, are also reported as saying: 'This E.coli is a new strain of bacteria that is highly infectious and toxic.'

"Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

"Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)...."

First, and very important: People died, 17 in all that we know of; around 1,500 others are or have been sick. This E. coli outbreak is a serious health hazard.

It's also doing no favors to farmers, folks who make their living in the EU food processing and distribution system, and consumers. That's arguably not as important as the loss of life - but a whole lot of folks who haven't been directly affected by this bug have either lost income, or have to destroy food they bought. My guess is that it'll drive food prices up, too.

Back to E. Coli, the WHO, and scientists who say it's new.

They could be right. Or, not.

Those last to paragraphs in the BBC News excerpt, again, with the Lemming's emphasis:

"...Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

"Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)...."

"Preliminary" and "suggests" are not "definitive" and "demonstrates."

WHO, CDC, and Editorial Style

The WHO says new killer bacteria! China scientists declare mutant peril! CDC Indecisive! Will America's Arrogant Indifference Doom Us All?!

No, the Lemming has not run into any headlines quite like those.

However, the Lemming also wasn't too surprised - or shocked - that the CDC isn't as certain as news editors may be, about this being a new strain of E. Coli.

My guess is that folks at the World Health Organization aren't quite as sure as news reports imply they are:

"Cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) continue to rise in Germany. Ten countries have now reported cases to WHO/Europe.

"As of 31 May 2011, nine patients in Germany have died of HUS, and six of EHEC. One person in Sweden has also died. There are many hospitalized patients, several of them requiring intensive care, including dialysis....

"...Numerous investigations are continuing into the cause of the outbreak, which is still unclear.

"In accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is keeping Member States informed about the latest developments and providing technical guidance on further investigation of the ongoing outbreak. WHO does not recommend any trade restrictions related to this outbreak."
(WHO news (June 2, 2011))

That "the cause of the outbreak ... still unclear" thing might refer to the E. coli strain, how the bacteria got into Europe's food supply, or both, as far as the Lemming knows.

If you're waiting for a rant about journalistic irresponsibility, that's not gonna happen in this post. News media, what the Lemming's read, has done a pretty good job of reporting this outbreak - all things considered.

About the CDC and WHO apparently not being on the same page? Presenting that as if it were a conflict is factually accurate, in the Lemming's opinion, but probably misleading. News media, in America at least, tends to show everything as conflict - as the Lemming learned during journalism courses, decades back.

Quite a few folks who wouldn't be interested in what two guys at the next table are saying might get interested if the strangers were arguing about something. Conflict often sparks interest.

In the same way, perceived conflict in a headline tends to spark interest. The function of news is to sell newspapers, magazines, and advertising. Also inform and persuade. Which is, in the Lemming's opinion, okay.

Provided that folks who read and listen to the news know what's going on.

Back to E. Coli.

Rare, Yes: New? Maybe Not So Much

"...'We have very little experience with this particular strain, but it has been seen before,' said Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's division of foodborne diseases.

"The CDC said the strain is very rare and added that, while it is not aware of any cases ever having been reported in the United States, it is aware of a few previous reports of the strain in other countries. Britain's Health Protection Agency has said that the strain suspected in the outbreak is 'rare' and 'seldom seen in the UK.'..."
(CNN June 2, 2011)

Maybe Robert Tauxe, the CDC database, and the British HPA are all wrong. Or maybe the New! Unknown! strain just didn't ring any bells in the labs where the samples were studied.

'Wash Your Hands Before Eating' - Mom (or Dad) was Right

The Lemming's read the usual 'cook meat, wash hands, wash produce' advice on the WHO website and elsewhere. You've read it all before, anyway. The Lemming thinks it's a good idea, by the way.

Meanwhile, in Texas

The Amarillo Globe-News reports that folks got sick there. E. coli. Seriously enough, in the case of four children, for them to be hospitalized.

'And the moral of this is:' quite a few things, actually.

The usual thing about common-sense hygiene, of course.

Also, that children are quite often the folks who wind up with really serious E. coli infections. Which makes the European outbreak odd.

European E. Coli Outbreak: Kids, No; Women, Yes

"...Previous E. coli outbreaks have mainly hit children and the elderly, but the European outbreak is disproportionately affecting adults, especially women...."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com June 2, 2011)

That is odd - maybe this strain of E. coli is new, after all.

Or maybe there's something different about the way it's being spread.

If the outbreak was in America, with that particular demographic getting sick, the Lemming might suspect some sort of 'Fat-B-Gone All-Natural Organic Vegetarian Salad' product.

It's early days: and this outbreak will probably stay in the news for a while. It's massive. And that's another topic.

Remember Ebola?

A not-so-high-profile news item. Not internationally, anyway, as far as the Lemming knows:

"Ebola in Uganda"
WHO news (May 18, 2011)

"On 13 May 2011, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda notified WHO of a case of Ebola Haemorrhagic fever in a 12 year old girl from Luwero district, central Uganda. On 6 May she presented to a private clinic in Zirobwe town, Luwero district, with a 5-day history of an acute febrile illness with haemorrhagic manifestations. She was later referred to Bombo General Military Hospital where she died few hours after admission.

"Laboratory investigations at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda confirmed Ebola virus (Sudan species). A sample is on route to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, USA for additional analysis and sequencing.

"A National Task Force has been convened by the MoH Uganda, which is working with several partners including WHO, CDC, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and USAID. A joint MoH, WHO and CDC team was deployed to the district on 13 May to carry out a detailed epidemiological investigation. WHO will be supporting the MoH in the areas of epidemiology and infection control...."

The ebola case is just that - one case. From the sounds of it, folks in Uganda want to keep it that way. Quite understandably.

And that is yet another topic.1

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1 The Lemming's posted about Africa, health care, and related issues, in another blog:
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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Salt as a Radiation Sickness Cure: SALT?!

There's been a run on salt in China. Folks are jittery about what's happening in Japan, understandably, and think salt will protect them from radiation.

Turns out, that's not as crazy at it may sound.

"Chinese scramble to buy salt as radiation fears grow"
Jo Ling Kent, CNN (March 17, 2011)

"Chinese shoppers in Beijing and Shanghai cleared salt from supermarkets shelves on Thursday morning amid fears of a potential radiation crisis from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

"Government officials and experts attempted to calm fears by emphasizing that radiation levels in 41 cities across China remain normal.

"Staff from multiple branches of the French supermarket chain Carrefour reported that their supplies of salt have been sold out since Thursday morning in Beijing....

"...Small, local and independently-run grocery stores in Beijing told CNN they have also run out of salt supplies for the first time in recent memory...."

The idea that salt will protect folks from radiation sickness isn't as daft as it might seem. Not in China. Or here in America, for that matter.

Both countries have a policy of putting iodine in the salt their citizens use.

No, it's not a communist plot. At least, the Lemming thinks that's really, really, unlikely. On the other hand, the United Nations is involved, so conspiracy theorists could probably find something fishy.

Iodized Salt Makes Sense

Why put iodine in salt? Homo sapiens sapiens needs a bit of iodine in the diet: which shouldn't be a problem, since seafood is a rich source of the element. We've moved around quite a bit in the last few hundred thousand years, though: and now quite a few folks don't live anywhere near the ocean.

We do, though, like salt in our food - so that's a reasonable place to add the iodine we're missing. In the Lemming's opinion.

More:
  • "Iodized salt"
    J. C. M. Holman, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, v.18(1-2) (1958)
  • "Iodine in diet"
    MedLinePlus, National Institutes of Health
Back to China and salt.

"...Iodide tablets were also snapped up at many pharmacies in Beijing and Shanghai as of Thursday morning, according to state-run China Daily....

"...The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised individuals against taking potassium iodide tablets unless the government and public health officials recommend doing so.

"Iodine in iodized salt is ineffective for preventing radiation effects, according to the World Health Organization.

"It does not contain an adequate amount of the iodine necessary to prevent radioactive iodine from damaging the human thyroid gland. It would take 80 tablespoons of salt to make up one prophylactic, or preventative, iodide tablet...."

Iodine, Salt, and Getting a Grip

Before some lunatic reads this, downs 80 tablespoons of salt, and the Lemming gets sued:

EATING 80 TABLESPOONS OF SALT
AT ONE TIME
ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU
AND YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT! 

That's about as clearly as the Lemming can put it.

But isn't salt bad for you? 'The government says so.'

Uff da.

Salt, too much, is bad for you. Water can drown you, when it comes to that. But human beings need both - in reasonable amounts. As with so many things, the key is MODERATION, and a little common sense.

More:
Why do Americans keep hearing 'salt is bad for you?' In the Lemming's opinion, it's because salt is over-used in the typical American diet. 'I like a little food with my salt' seems to be the slogan some folks in this country live by. And that's another topic.

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Monday, November 22, 2010

Lots of Lead and Cadmium in Kids' Tableware: Spiffy

"Toxic Metals Found in Kids' Drinking Glasses"
Associated Press, via FOXNews.com (November 22, 2010)

"Drinking glasses depicting comic book and movie characters such as Superman, Wonder Woman and the Tin Man from 'The Wizard of Oz' exceed federal limits for lead in children's products by up to 1,000 times, according to laboratory testing commissioned by The Associated Press.

"The decorative enamel on the superhero and Oz sets -- made in China and purchased at a Warner Brothers Studios store in Burbank -- contained between 16 percent and 30.2 percent lead. The federal limit on children's products is 0.03 percent.

"The same glasses also contained relatively high levels of the even-more-dangerous cadmium, though there are no federal limits on that toxic metal in design surfaces...."

Lead and Cadmium on Tableware: How Bad Can It be?

The Lemming gets interested - but not necessarily worried - in headlines like "POISON IN YOUR DRINKING WATER?" I also get interested in headlines like "SPACE ALIENS AT OSCAR AWARDS!" Whether or not the Lemming takes an article seriously depends on several things, including how sensational it is, whether there's a context given for numbers given, and quite a few other factors.

Let's say the was in the supermarket checkout line and saw "LEAD FOUND IN TEACUPS!" I'd be interested - and would probably see what another news service had to say on the subject. Like Reuters, the BBC, or The Associated Press: folks whose livelihood depends on hanging on to at least a few shreds of credibility.

It's not cynicism. It's a smattering of knowledge.

There are trace amounts of just about everything in the food we eat, the utensils we use: and in us. Take iodine, for example. It's toxic. In large doses. Americans use iodized salt because human metabolism requires tiny amounts of iodine to function well. Folks living near oceans get it in seafood - which has fascinating implications regarding where we came from. And that's another topic.

The AP article cites the amount of lead found in some tableware - at "between 16 percent and 30.2 percent."

That's a number. Interesting, but not - alone - terribly informative. The AP also gives a context for that number. For lead: "The federal limit on children's products is 0.03 percent."

So, the lead levels are 10 times the minimum allowed level.

That doesn't sound good: and it isn't.

Turns out there's cadmium in some made-in-China products, too. In excessive, illegal amounts.

Bottom line? Lead and cadmium are everywhere, so "zero tolerance" makes as much sense in product regulations as it does anywhere else. But high levels of these metals are not good for people.

Here's some background:
  • "Cadmium"
    Toxic Substances Portal, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services (September, 2008)
  • "Cadmium"
    Fact Sheet, National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services
  • "Lead: Topic Home"
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services

Lead and Cadmium in Tableware: Not, Apparently, a Small Problem

Okay, so a handful of products have too much lead. Big deal. Recall them, and move on.

Good idea: Just one problem.

It's not just those glasses. Some of the other brands involved are: Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Burger King, and McDonald's. Coca-Cola has recalled the products fingered by the AP - the Lemming's guess is that the others will, too. This is a recent development.

The problem is that quite a few of these products are used by kids. Toxic paint can flake off, get on their hands - and then into their mouths, where the metals get into their systems and stay there.

Adults can be affected, too, but since metal poisoning is a cumulative thing - we don't have as long to build up dangerous levels. Kids do.

Old-School News: Sometimes They Get It Right

The Lemming doesn't have the good old fashioned notion that 'they wouldn't print it, if it wasn't true' attitude. My respect for journalism is - somewhat conditional. And that's yet another topic.

That said, in this case the AP seems to have done what journalists are supposed to do: collect data, analyze what they've found, and see if their conclusions can be verified.

Then rushing into print.

Like this time. The AP even detailed how the reporters arrived at their conclusion.

"...The AP testing was part of the news organization's ongoing investigation into dangerous metals in children's products and was conducted in response to a recall by McDonald's of 12 million glasses this summer because cadmium escaped from designs depicting four characters in the latest 'Shrek' movie.

"The New Jersey manufacturer of those glasses said in June that the products were made according to standard industry practices, which includes the routine use of cadmium to create red and similar colors. That same company, French-owned Arc International, made the glasses that Coca-Cola said it was pulling.

"To assess potential problems with glass collectibles beyond the 'Shrek' set, AP bought and analyzed new glasses off the shelf, and old ones from online auctions, thrift shops and a flea market. The buys were random...."

"...The irony of the latest findings is that AP's original investigation in January revealed that some Chinese manufacturers were substituting cadmium for banned lead in children's jewelry; that finding eventually led to the McDonald's-Shrek recall; now, because of the new testing primarily for cadmium in other glassware, lead is back in the spotlight as well.

"AP's testing, conducted by ToyTestingLab of Rhode Island, found that the enamel used to color the Tin Man had the highest lead levels, at 1,006 times the federal limit for children's products. Every Oz and superhero glass tested exceeded the government limit: The Lion by 827 times and Dorothy by 770 times; Wonder Woman by 533 times, Superman by 617 times, Batman by 750 times and the Green Lantern by 677 times...."
(Associated Press, via FOXNews.com)

There's quite a great deal more in the AP article, as found of FOXNews.com's website - and in the AP-on-Google version of the same AP story.

China, Business, and Poisoning Your Customers

The Lemming doesn't particularly like regulations. In large part because some are - daft, to be polite about it. (Remember the TSA's latest SNAFU? (Monday, November ))

On the other hand, Federal bureaucrats aren't the only nitwits around:Regulatory agencies get started for a reason. Sometimes the regulations even make sense.

Like keeping lead and cadmium levels in tableware down to comparatively safe levels.
Business 101: Don't Poison Your Customers
You'd think that someone who runs a company would realize that it's not a good idea to poison the customers. Or, as in some recent cases, end users.

But as the disgusting cases of the poison peanuts and sickening eggs demonstrated: running a company doesn't magically endow a person with common sense.

It must seem like a smart idea, to some of these folks, to cut costs - or make a product look better - or avoid the fuss and bother of cleaning rat poo out of the food factory - and hope for the best.

It's not just end users who suffer.

Folks who work for innovatively suicidal nitwits like the poison peanut king and the salmonella-egg dude sometimes lose their jobs, or their health. The boss doesn't always emerge unscathed, either.

The last I heard, some chaps over in China who put melamine in baby food and other products were on death row. The stuff registers on tests as a protein, so they got better prices for 'high protein' food. Then people started dying. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (October 4, 2008)

My guess is that the folks running China aren't happy with what the melamine mess did to their reputation - and cash flow.

Then there's the matter of lead and cadmium in tableware.

The Lemming doesn't think that everybody should start making their own 'hand thrown pottery jars.' Remember Larry Groce and "Junk Food Junkie?" Yet again another topic.

Toxic Tableware: Something to Monitor

The Lemming is also pretty sure that lead and cadmium in tableware isn't 'some kinda plot.' As my father used to say: 'Never ascribe to malice, what can be explained by stupidity.' Or world-class nitwittery.

A common-sense approach to this seems to be keeping an eye on the news: and panning for those nuggets of fact.

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lemming Tracks: China, Internet Traffic, and Why It Matters

"Update: Report sounds alarm on China's rerouting of U.S. Internet traffic"
Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld (November 18, 2010)

"A report submitted to Congress on Wednesday by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission expressed concerns over what the commission claims is China's growing ability to control and manipulate Internet traffic.

"The report points to two specific incidents earlier this year where actions taken inside China had a direct impact on Internet traffic in the U.S. and other regions of the world.

"In one of the incidents, traffic to and from about 15% of all Internet destinations was routed through servers belonging to China Telecom, a state-owned telecommunications company.

"In an e-mailed statement Wednesday, China Telecom rejected the claims, but offered no further comment.

"The rerouting happened on April 8 and lasted for about 18 minutes. The traffic hijacking affected U.S. government and military networks, including those belonging to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, as well as the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Commerce, NASA and the U.S. Senate.

"Commercial sites, including those belonging to Microsoft, Dell and Yahoo, were also affected.

"It's unclear if Chinese telecommunications companies did anything with the hijacked data, the commission said in its report. But the kind of access that Chinese authorities had to the data could enable surveillance of specific users or sites, disrupt transactions, prevent a user from establishing connections to specific sites or divert them to other spoofed sites, the report noted.

" 'Incidents of this nature could have a number of serious implications,' the report said...."

Which in the Lemming's opinion, is a very low-key, understated way of putting it.

It's "incidents," by the way. Here's what Computerworld has to say about number two:

"...The second incident involved a more widely reported botched attempt by Chinese authorities to block users inside China from accessing sites such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

"Because of a network error, users in the U.S. and Chile also found themselves unable to access those sites, and were directed to incorrect servers -- just as they would have if they had been inside China.

"Today's report makes it clear that there is little evidence to show that either incident was planned or executed deliberately. Even so, the incidents show that China and other countries have the capability to do so, if they want to.

" 'Although China is by no means alone in this regard, persistent reports of that nation's use of malicious computer activities raise questions about whether China might seek intentionally to leverage these abilities to assert some level of control over the Internet, even for a brief period,' the report noted...."

So Internet Traffic Went Through Another Server: So What?

When this story broke, yesterday, the Lemming thought it might be like last week's San Diego contrail: interesting, even intriguing; but not all that significant. (November 10, 2010)

Turns out, there's a lot that could be done with all that rerouted Internet traffic. It's like Computerworld wrote: "...the kind of access that Chinese authorities had to the data could enable surveillance of specific users or sites, disrupt transactions, prevent a user from establishing connections to specific sites or divert them to other spoofed sites, the report noted....

Then there was the other incident (again, from Computerworld): the "...botched attempt by Chinese authorities to block users inside China from accessing sites such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

"Because of a network error, users in the U.S. and Chile also found themselves unable to access those sites, and were directed to incorrect servers -- just as they would have if they had been inside China....

Apathy, Lemming Style

The Lemming's discussed the name of this blog before. I'm "apathetic" only in the sense that I do not share the occasionally-hysterical (in my opinion) assumptions and phobias of America's dominant culture.

There are things that the Lemming cares about. Like being allowed to share and distribute information. Or to have information kept private: like access codes for my bank account, or how to shut down a country's coastal defenses.

Would it be nice if nobody had to have any secrets at all? Sure. It'd be nice if everybody looked like movie stars and had a mansion on the Côte d'Azur. Maybe. We don't live in a perfect world, though: and recent efforts to 'fix' things haven't met, in my opinion, with unqualified success.

Like the various workers' paradises.

No, this blog isn't "political," but China's leadership style is about as hard to ignore as an elephant in the parlor.

Internet Traffic, China, and Coincidences

China's a big country, both in area and population. It shouldn't be any surprise that some Internet glitches involve Chinese servers.

Coincidences happen.

But it's not always a good idea to assume that something 'just happened.'

Say, for example, that you live in a neighborhood where stuff disappears: a television set here; a computer there; a set of bedroom furniture somewhere else. After a few years, someone points out that these items generally show up in the house of this guy down the block who doesn't have a job, but has a house full of nice stuff. Including a television set, computer, and set of bedroom furniture identical to the missing items.

Coincidence?

Could be. Not very likely, though.

The Lemming has a great deal of respect for Chinese history and culture. The lot that's running the place now? Not so much. Although they seem to be learning that it's okay for their subjects to have wealth. (November 14, 2010) And that's another topic. Almost.

The sad fact is that China's leadership has - or wants to have - the sort of stranglehold on what people are allowed to see, hear, read, and - by extension - think; that has been the dream of crackpot religious leaders, red-white-and-blue 'real' Americans, and at least some college professors. Remember political correctness?

And no, this isn't a "political" blog. But, like the Lemming said: elephant in the parlor. Ignore the obvious, and a person's likely to get stepped on. Hard.

What does the Lemming think about the recent reroutings of Internet traffic through China? It could be a coincidence. But the situation looks a lot more like that hypothetical fellow with the house full of other people's stuff.

I think China's leaders are fiddling with the Internet - and don't want folks to notice.

Freedom: It Matters

Someone who has absolute trust in some government might be quite content to see what Dear Leader wants us to see, hear what we're supposed to hear, and read nothing but the 'proper' material.

The Lemming isn't one of those people. I think that freedom of expression - and the freedom to either attend to or ignore ideas expressed by others - is valuable. Also a safeguard against crackpot ideas from some agency. (Example: TSA "pat downs" might be the only alternative - but the Lemming thinks the idea should be discussed - openly - and elsewhere.)

China's leadership has a track record for not being comfortable with its subjects being exposed to unapproved ideas. The Lemming has been told that they've got good reason for wanting that sort of tight control. Given their recent history, I can sort of see why they don't want their subjects to find out too much about what's going on - and that's yet another topic.

Bottom line? I think that anybody who values freedom of expression and isn't comfortable with censorship should be very, very interested in all the 'coincidences' involving China and the Internet.

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Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Fake Chinese Vase was No Fake

"Treasure in the attic fetches family $86 million"
Christine Kellett, The Sydney Morning Herald (November 15, 2010) (It's tomorrow there by now)

"It's being called the 'antiques story of the 21st century'.

"A British mother and son who found a rare Chinese vase while clearing out the attic of a dead relative hit the jackpot when it sold for $86 million.

"The small, family-owned auction house that underestimated its value by 40 times is now laying claim to selling the most expensive piece of Chinese porcelain ever, trumping the likes of Christie's and Sotheby's.

"Art historians across the country are scrambling to solve the riddle of how a Qing dynasty masterpiece ended up gathering dust in the roof space of a modest north-west London bungalow.

"And, in a new twist, claims have now emerged that the owner of the vase was told it was a fake after taking it for evaluation by experts on an Antiques Roadshow-style television program...."


(The Sydney Morning Herald, used w/o permission)

Which is a pretty good example of why it's a good idea to get a second opinion.

The vase is about 16 inches tall, and was bought at the auction by an "anonymous Chinese businessman," the article says.

For $86,000,000.

There's more detail in the article - including a brief look at what's been happening in China lately, that apparently let an individual have $86,000,000 to spend on a piece of pottery. Or porcelain. Or china. Or something like that.
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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Lemming Tracks: China, the Nobel Peace Prize, and Common Sense

This isn't a political blog, but the situation discussed in a Los Angeles Times article was too preposterous for the Lemming to ignore.
"Chinese media stay resolutely silent on Nobel winner"
Los Angeles Times (October 8, 2010)

"Imprisoned Liu Xiaobo wins one of the world's highest honors, but most of his countrymen have no idea. Web search engines return error messages for his name. The few who try to celebrate are arrested.

"The silence was conspicuous in China on Saturday.

"Dissident Liu Xiaobo languished in a prison cell, possibly unaware that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a day earlier. His wife was incommunicado after telling a reporter she was being taken away by police. And the Chinese news media appeared determined to pretend that nothing had happened.

"As for most Chinese, they didn't have to pretend. Many of them don't know Liu exists, let alone that he has been honored with the world's most coveted award.

"This is the paradox of China: It's an economic superpower that is very much a part of the world and yet, at times, separate from it...."

The Lemming sympathizes - a little - with the folks who run China. For whatever reason, those Nobel Prizes are pretty hot stuff when it comes to public relations.

And, apparently, this particular Nobel Prize is some kind of plot.

Continuing with that Los Angeles Times article:

"...On Saturday, the world was there, with TV news reports of the toxic sludge in Hungary and other global events. There was one enormous exception, however: The Nobel Peace Prize, meant to appeal to the best in humanity and break down borders, didn't much exist for Chinese speakers.

"Only the Global Times, an English-language newspaper put out by the Chinese government, carried a stinging rebuke in its Saturday editions.

"Liu, the newspaper's unsigned editorial said, is 'an incarcerated Chinese criminal.' Awarding him the prize was a 'paranoid choice' that was 'meant to irritate China.' The Nobel Peace Prize has been 'degraded into a political tool that serves an anti-China purpose.

" 'It seems that instead of peace or unity in China, the Nobel committee would like to see the country split by an ideological rift, or better yet, collapse like the Soviet Union,' the editorial said....."

That was an English-language paper in China, remember. Chinese-language news? Not a peep, apparently, about that "criminal" and the nefarious Nobel Peace Prize committee.

Yes, the Lemming does sympathize - a little - with the folks who are running China.

Here they are, convinced that they have all the right answers and that everybody who doesn't agree with them is an enemy - not of them, but of China.

Then some non-Chinese group goes and gives a prize to somebody they locked up for not agreeing with them.

It is, from the Chinese leadership's point of view, an outrage.

Someone being locked up for disagreeing with the government, and that accusation of paranoia, reminded me of my 'good old days' - which I don't miss - and a sticker that read, "the paranoids are after me."
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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Three Dozen Centuries of Juggling

"Research in Juggling History"
Professor Arthur Lewbel (November 1995, revised March 2002)

"While some reference works on jugglers from the Vaudeville era to the present exist, to my knowledge no one has attempted a rigorous investigation into the history of juggling prior to Vaudeville. This article summarizes material I have found during some years of casual research in this area, and some of my own analyses and conclusions. This is not intended as a definitive study, but will I hope provide a useful starting point for anyone interested in pursuing thorough research.

"This paper ends with a bibliography of articles and books that specifically discuss medieval or earlier juggling. Though short, compiling this bibliography proved extremely difficult. Using computer searches for finding juggling publications is almost impossible, because the very vast majority of published material containing the word juggle does so only as a metaphor for coping with many problems at once, instead of being literally about juggling. Most of the few references that really do concern juggling then turn out to be either fiction or instructional materials. Almost all of the references I ultimately did find were in places that are too obscure to be found by computer searches.

"A wealth of information can be found on topics related to juggling history. Hundreds of books and articles can be found concerning jesters, jongleurs, fools, clowns, magic, etc. These generally will mention juggling only in passing, if at all. Some histories of ball play and ball games, while not directly about juggling, may be useful for descriptions of balls that jugglers might have used. ..."

As you see, this isn't the lightest reading you'll find on the Web. On the other hand, it's a pretty good resource for someone who's interested in learning who was juggling what and when.

The professor traces juggling back quite a long ways - over three dozen centuries to ancient Egypt. The article's an overview, touching on juggling in places including China and the Americas.

Then, if you want to dig deeper into the subject, there's that bibliography at the end of the page.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

And You Think You Have a Rough Commute?

"China Traffic Jam Could Last Weeks"
The Wall Street Journal (August 24, 2010)

"A 60-mile traffic jam near the Chinese capital could last until mid-September, officials say.

"Traffic has been snarled along the outskirts of Beijing and is stretching toward the border of Inner Mongolia ever since roadwork on the Beijing-Tibet Highway started Aug. 13. The following week, parts of a major road circling Beijing were closed, further tightening overburdened roadways.

"As the jam on the highway, also known as National Highway 110, passed the 10-day mark Tuesday, local authorities dispatched hundreds of police to keep order and to reroute cars and trucks carrying essential supplies, such as food or flammables, around the main bottleneck. There, vehicles were inching along little more than a third of a mile a day. Zhang Minghai, director of Zhangjiakou city's Traffic Management Bureau general office, said in a telephone interview he didn't expect the situation to return to normal until around Sept. 17 when road construction is scheduled to be finished and traffic lanes will open up...."

Here in Minnesota, there's a joke that we have four seasons: fall, winter, spring, and road work. The Lemming can expect the usual route from one town to another to be blocked - maybe not every summer, but fairly often.

Our roads are okay: it's this state's crazy climate. We've got everything from jungle-level heat and humidity to subarctic storms. Sometimes in the same month.

One thing about living in Minnesota: It's not boring.

Back to China and that 60-mile, multi-week traffic jam.

It looks like their problem can be boiled down to one word: infrastructure.

"...Though triggered by construction, the root cause for the congestion is chronic overcrowding on key national arteries. Automobile sales in China whizzed past the U.S. for the first time last year, as Chinese bought 13.6 million vehicles, compared with 9.4 million vehicles in 2008. China is racing to build new roads to ease the congestion, but that very construction is making traffic problems worse—at least temporarily.

"China's roads suffer from extra wear and tear from illegally overloaded trucks, especially along key coal routes. Coal supplies move from Mongolia through the outskirts of the capital on their way to factories. There are few rail lines to handle the extra load. Though the current massive gridlock is unusual, thousands of trucks line up along the main thoroughfares into Beijing even on the best days...."

It's a temptation to say something witty about the state of China's road system, but I think that, under the circumstances, they're doing fairly well.

Part of the current traffic issue is that more folks living there can afford automobiles. Considering who's been running the country for the last several decades, that - and having roads that are in good enough shape to have a traffic jam - are remarkable accomplishments.
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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Chinese Porcelain: 4,000 years, Four Photos

"Chinese Porcelain"
TravelChinaGuide.com

"Porcelain, also called 'fine china', featuring its delicate texture, pleasing color, and refined sculpture, has been one of the earliest artworks introduced to the western world through the Silk Road. The earliest porcelain ware was found made of Kaolin in the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC), and possessed the common aspects of the smoothness and impervious quality of hard enamel, though pottery wares were more widely used among most of the ordinary people. Anyway it was the beginning of porcelain, which afterwards in the succeeding dynasties and due to its durability and luster, rapidly became a necessity of daily life, especially in the middle and upper classes. They were made in the form of all kinds of items, such as bowls, cups, tea sets, vases, jewel cases, incense burners, musical instruments and boxes for stationary and chess, as well as pillows for traditional doctors to use to feel one's pulse...."

This page is on the TravelChinaGuide.com website, a sort promotional and information presentation by "the largest online tour operator in China!" ("About Us")

The "Chinese Porcelain" page has three more photos - of two bowls and a box made of (or with?) porcelain.

It's a pretty good introduction to the last four millennia of porcelain art in China. The writing style is, I think, better suited to a print format: but the photos help break up the lengthy paragraphs.
This isn't a criticism, at all: but I suspect that whoever wrote - or possibly translated - the page grew up speaking a language other than English. The grammar and syntax are quite clear and textbook-correct. But a few sentences aren't what I'd expect a native English speaker to create.

For example: "...Official kilns advocated concise patterns of decoration; Ru kiln in Hebei Province added treasured agate into glaze so that the color and texture appeared to be uniquely daintily creamy and could be compared with jade...."
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A Really Weird Fashion Design: and My Take on Yunjin

"My name is Cecil, I play the ukulele…"
Oddly Enough, Reuters blog (April 5, 2010)

"Hey there, Gorgeous! You come to this bar often?

"I myself make this scene a couple times a week. Gotta spread myself around where the hot chicks are, am I right?

"Yo Joey! My usual! Double Crème de Menthe on the rocks!

"Anyhoo, my name's Cecil. I'm a Leo, I play the ukulele, and I've been to ALL five of the Great Lakes.

"I sell homemade lunch meat door-to-door. It's a good living, Cutie-Pie.

"Oh, this outfit? It's IMPORTED. From China...."

Ladies, if this reminds you of that 'date from Hell' - sorry about that.

The last line in the excerpt, "...this outfit? It's IMPORTED. From China....", is for real. That Reuters photo was taken at the "Hempel Award 18th China International Young Fashion Designers Contest during China Fashion Week in Beijing, March 25, 2010."

I don't know who dreamed that up. Or why. Or what, in the name of all that is sane and coherent, the designer had in mind.

Related posts:
In fairness, not all fashion designers - well, clothing designers, anyway - are insane. Someone got sobered up long enough to create these distinctly non-hideous garments:


(From CCTV, used w/o permission)


(From CCTV, used w/o permission)

The idea of the project behind those photos was to create a market for 云锦/Yunjin, or cloud brocade. Folks have been making Yunjin for about 15 centuries - but younger artisans have become few and far between. I've written about this before. (January 1, 2010) Bottom line, in my opinion: It's not the biggest crisis in the world, but it would be a shame if there was a break in the Yunjin tradition. And it looks like it would be a bear, trying to re-create the technique.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Google, China, and Keeping Up With the News

"Google-China move hurts businesses, academics"
CNN (March 23, 2010)

"Businesses and universities could be substantially affected by the departure of Google from China.

"Most of the country's nearly 400 million Internet users may not be affected by the closure. But academics, university students and other researchers rely heavily on Google's search services to access information not available through Chinese search engines, like Baidu.com, China's most popular search portal. Small businesses that depend on Google applications such as Google Docs and Gmail may also suffer, analysts said.

"A recent survey of more than 700 Chinese scientists conducted by the journal Nature found that 80 percent regularly use Google to search for academic papers while 60 percent said they use the site to stay on top of new research...."

Oops. By the time this article was posted (3:58 p.m. EDT), ZDNet and others were discussing recent developments. It's so hard to keep up, these days.

I see the point: academics and small business operators who depend on Google services would be hurt if Google won't cooperate with the Chinese leadership's preference that the masses be fed 'correct' information. On the other hand, I think Google made a reasonable choice. They've got their reputation to consider, and playing censor for a workers' paradise wouldn't improve their image. In many circles, anyway.

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Google, China, Censorship, Compromise: "Totally Wrong;" or, Not

"Google decides to stay in China after all"
ZDNet (March 23, 2010)

"In a compromise move, Google announced they will not abandon the China market after all. Instead, they will move their servers and domain name to Hong Kong, while keeping their developers and sales personnel where they are now on the mainland.

"Google's Hong Kong site will now offer uncensored search results in simplified Chinese for mainlanders, and in traditional Chinese for Hong Kong residents. Visitors to google.cn were already being redirected to google.com.hk on Tuesday morning. 'We believe this new approach [is] a sensible solution to the challenges we've faced,' said David Drummond, senior vice president of Corporate Development, on the Google blog Monday. 'It's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China.'

"Not surprisingly, China sees things differently. According to the official Xinhua News Agency the head of the Internet Bureau called Google's actions 'totally wrong,' and said that 'Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market by stopping filtering on its searching service.' The official also denied responsibility for a recent spate of cyber attacks. '[We] express our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conduct.'..."

China: Inter-Dynastic Periods Never Were Very Tranquil

Before anything else, some background about my view of China. I've been a historian, and realize that the position of China in the 8th through early 20th century - particularly from about 1839 to 1949 - is an unusual one for the Middle Kingdom. Here in America, we've heard quite a lot about the Opium Wars (disgraceful situation): not so much of the efforts of the Abbasid Caliphate to hack their way into the minds and hearts of the Tang Dynasty. But that's another topic.

I think there's a good chance that China may resume its position as a major landmark on the world's cultural, economic, and political landscape - and not as the anachronistic hodge-podge of ancient culture, foreign ideologies, all run by people who (in my view) are desperately trying to reconcile their notion of an ideal state to awkward realities.
"...I'm glad to hear that Hong Kong isn't, ah, quite as 'protected' as the masses in the rest of China. I suspect that the party leaders in Beijing realize, at some level, that it wouldn't be a good idea to choke the intellectual and financial life there.

"But that's another topic.

"I'm somewhat impressed that Google's willing to buck the system in the only remaining major worker's paradise on the planet. Not terribly surprised, though: too many people know what's going on in China and Google has a reputation to lose. We don't always call it 'losing face' in the West, but the old-fashioned idea of having values and sticking by them apparently hasn't been entirely lost....
("Google Stops Censoring Service: And This is News" (March 22, 2010))
"There's More to China Than Censorship and Porno Spam
"...I'm still getting 'spam' comments - and they're still very often in Chinese.

"If I didn't know more about China's culture and history, it would be easy to get the impression that there wasn't much more to the country, than naughty chat rooms and young women just aching to be exploited.

"China's gotten through inter-dynastic periods before. I think the chances are pretty good that the Middle Kingdom will emerge from this one, too, with a stable and vibrant society. Which is definitely another topic."
(Google Pulling Out of China? I've Heard Worse News" (March 14, 2010))

Back to Google, China, and Managing the Masses

"Censorship" is a hot-button word for many people. Understandably. I'm against it, by the way.

I also realize that when one group has control of most information channels, there's a real temptation to filter out things that are embarrassing to the group that's on top - or doesn't fit their world view.

For example, I'm old enough to remember when rock music and women wearing slacks were - according to one group - Satanic; and the dying gurgles of McCarthyism.

That was then, this is now, and there's a different lot in charge. They don't seem to like opposition any more than most folks. Remember when cable television was "divisive?" I do. Now it's the Internet. And those upstart news networks. (More: "What is an Information Gatekeeper?," Another War-on-Terror Blog (August 14, 2009))

China's leaders are, in a way, in an unenviable position. They are committed to an ideology which is not only foreign to their culture, but in my view doesn't work very well. Not when the masses are human beings.1 It's not that I sympathize with them: but I think I understand why they don't want their subjects to know too much about the outside world.

It could be called "protecting the masses from foreign lies" or something else euphemistic. I think what China's leaders are doing is censorship.

And I think Google has done a pretty good job (for now) of balancing their reasonable (in my view) desire to make a profit and their (again in my view) admirable desire to not cooperate with state control of information. Under the circumstances, I think that China's official view that Google is "totally wrong" shows that the company is on the right track.

China isn't Alone

On the whole, I like living in America, but I'm not an American chauvinist. Over the years (decades, centuries) this country has been - imperfect. ("United States of America: 232 Years in the Freedom Business," Another War-on-Terror Blog (July 3, 2008))

Not all that long ago, I think we had a very close call, when a strange alliance of interest groups had a shot at 'protecting' the rest of us from the Wicked, Wicked Web. ("Odd Allies: Opposition to Waterboarding and Web Censorship," Another War-on-Terror Blog (March 9, 2008))

When someone makes emotional appeals like 'save the children!,' I get - cautious. Which is definitely another topic.

Related posts:More, about my take on emotions, in other blogs:1 In my youth, both socialism and communism were attractive ideas. I soon realized that they didn't work well in human societies. Maybe if we were more like mole rats, psychologically.

They look good on paper, though.
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Monday, March 22, 2010

Google Stops Censoring Service: And This is News

"Google Stops Censorship, Making Block by China Likely (Update1)"
Brian Womack, via Bloomberg (March 22, 2010)

" (Adds Chinese government comments in eighth paragraph.)...

"Google Inc., following through on a pledge to stop censoring search results in China, began serving mainland Chinese users via its unfiltered Hong Kong site, a move that could prompt the government to block the service.

"The company began redirecting traffic from its Google.cn site to Hong Kong, a part of the country that isn't subject to censorship laws. The move, which escalates a two- month dispute with the government over censorship, was 'totally wrong,' the official Xinhua news agency said.

"By relying on Hong Kong, Google is trying to find a way to fight censorship laws while still keeping a presence in mainland China. The approach may not work for long because the government will probably block the site, called Google.com.hk, just as it has before with the main Google.com page, said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech Inc. in San Francisco...."

I'm glad to hear that Hong Kong isn't, ah, quite as 'protected' as the masses in the rest of China. I suspect that the party leaders in Beijing realize, at some level, that it wouldn't be a good idea to choke the intellectual and financial life there.

But that's another topic.

I'm somewhat impressed that Google's willing to buck the system in the only remaining major worker's paradise on the planet. Not terribly surprised, though: too many people know what's going on in China and Google has a reputation to lose. We don't always call it 'losing face' in the West, but the old-fashioned idea of having values and sticking by them apparently hasn't been entirely lost.

I'm getting off-topic. Following contemporary mores for a moment, I'll blame my environment: specifically a sleep-deprived weekend. ("Lemming Tracks: Back to Work" (March 22, 2010))

Besides, in strictly economic bottom-line terms, Google may have decided that it's better to lose a few bucks by being banned in China, than dropping a bundle in lost revenue everywhere else. Google is an 800-pound gorilla, but there are other online businesses with similar services.

These are interesting times.

Related posts:
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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Google Pulling Out of China? I've Heard Worse News

"Google '99.9%' Sure To Shut China Search Engine: Report"
Epicenter, Wired (March 13, 2010)

"Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world's largest search engine, is now '99.9 percent' certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

"It said in a report on its website Google had drawn up detailed plans for closing its Chinese search engine.

"The newspaper cited a person familiar with the company's thinking as saying that, while a decision could be made very soon, Google was likely to take some time to follow through with its plans.

"That would be in order to bring about an orderly closure as the company takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by authorities, it said...."

I have respect for the culture of China's people. The lot that's running the place now, not so much. It's likely enough that some of them think they're doing the right thing: and someone was sharp enough to not send in tanks at a recent demonstration. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (June 5, 2009))

China is, like it or not, where the powers that be killed 12 people who didn't like the way they were running things. It's all right, though, if you believe the (official) news: the dead guys were "mobsters." (Another War-on-Terror Blog (July 19, 2009)

Back to the Wired article:

"...Google shocked business and political circles in January when it threatened to pull out of China if it could not offer an unfiltered Chinese search engine. The threat came after cyber attacks originating from China on it and about 30 other firms...."

"Filtered" seems to be a polite way of saying that China's leaders wanted their subjects to see what the leaders wanted them to see - and nothing else. I think I understand their position. I don't agree with it, or think it's a good idea in the long run: but I think I understand.

More:

"...'If you don't respect Chinese laws, you are unfriendly and irresponsible, and the consequences will be on you,' China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Yizhong, told reporters on Friday in answer to a question on what China would do if Google.cn simply stopped filtering search results...."

That sounds familiar. Back in the sixties, quite a number of red-white-and-blue-blooded Americans felt much the same way about those "irresponsible" college students. A different set of people feel much the same way about journalists who don't say the 'right' things As one earnest fellow said recently, " 'truly, there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies' ". (Another War-on-Terror Blog (March 9, 2010) Times change: people don't, so much. Which is another topic.

Shocked at Google's Decision? Not Really

I'm not as "shocked" as the Wired correspondent says "business and political circles" are about Google's decision. Not after the G-Mail hack became public knowledge - on top of years of cyberattacks on business and government networks around the world that 'just happened' to come from servers in China.

Quite a few people - even 'open minded' Americans - at least say that they believe freedom is a good idea, and that censorship isn't.

Given the image Google has tried to project - and to a great extent, in my opinion, has earned - of valuing the unimpeded flow of information, helping arrange for China's leaders to censor what their subjects could find online is simply bad for business.

I also think that the folks who run Google really believe what they say: and that the Chinese leadership's policies stuck in their craw.

Hacking Google's system didn't help China's bargaining position. America isn't China: and here it's not considered polite to steal from people you're doing business with.

As I said before, I think I understand the position taken by the People's Republic of China's leaders. They're committed to imposing a foreign philosophy on their subjects: many of whom have caught on that there are better ways to run a country.

If the leaders really believe that they're doing the right thing, and have enough self-righteousness, it sort of makes sense to try controlling what goes on inside the heads of their subjects - and killing the ones that can't be controlled.

Or at least making sure that they disappear.

There's More to China Than Censorship and Porno Spam

Not quite a month ago I changed the 'comment' policy on all but one of my blogs (February 16, 2010)

The reason was that I had started getting quite a few comments that were mostly links to - I think the polite term is 'adult entertainment.' Many were either partly or entirely in Chinese.

Since a fair number of folks who visit this blog probably understand that language, and may have my attitude toward pornography (I don't think it's a good idea), I wanted to both discourage spammers and shield people from the vulgar expressions.

I'm still getting 'spam' comments - and they're still very often in Chinese.

If I didn't know more about China's culture and history, it would be easy to get the impression that there wasn't much more to the country, than naughty chat rooms and young women just aching to be exploited.

China's gotten through inter-dynastic periods before. I think the chances are pretty good that the Middle Kingdom will emerge from this one, too. Which is definitely another topic.

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