Social Media Training

30 Oct 2010 - Beijing city officials are being trained to use the mainland's fast-growing social media in the latest government move to guide and monitor public opinion, state media said. The City's Communist party school is offering a training to "bureau-level leading cadres" to help "leaders catch up with internet currents", the Legal Evening news reported. The training will "raise cadres' understanding of information dissemination, and social and public sentiment in order to better respond to sudden crisis", it said. Mainland blogs, chat rooms and other sites have become lively outlets for expression given traditional media are tightly controlled and freedom of speech is curtailed. In particualr, Twitter-like microblogging sites have grown fast, with tens of  millions of people believed to have opened accounts in the past year alone. The propaganda machine has reached the 21st century.

No MIni-Skirts

29 Oct - The mayor of the southern Italian seaside town of Castellammare di Stabia got his way on Monday, when the city council approved a ban on football games in public parks and squares, blasphemy out loud and "very skimpy clothes". Conservative Mayor Luigi Bobbio said that miniskirts and other provocative outfits would still be allowed as long as they were not too revealing. "its a matter of commonsense, of common decency,: he says. A handful of local female politicians protested in front of the town's city hall during Monday's vote, if any, wore miniskirts. The measures also included a ban on men going around shirtless. Violations will be punished with a fine of up to EUR 500. The measures went into force immediately, Bobbio said.

Superbug

29 Oct 2010 - More than 7 years ago I arrived in Hong Kong in the middle of the SARS outbreak. I clearly remember the scary world of empty streets and masked faces. SARS killed almost 300 people in Hong Kong and many more worldwide. Luckily, it never came back. It seems somewhat ironic that I picked up that the first case of the antibiotic-resistant superbug infection was detected in Malaysia. The female patient has made a full recovery and - according to the Ministry of Health spokesperson - poses no threat to the public, the Ministry continues to take precautionary measures to ensure that the bacteria does not spread.

Dead Celebrity

28 Oct 2010 - Michael Jackson's sudden death sparked an outpouring of grief around the world, but fans also opened their wallets to make him this year's top-earning dead celebrity with USD 275 million, Forbes Magazine mentioned. Jackson brought in more than the combined total of the other 12 celebrities on the list, and he was ranked third on last years' over all list. Elvis Presley came in second and The Lord of the Rings author Tolkien came third, just before Charles Schultz, the creator of Charlie Brown. John Lennon ranked number five. "Jackson's top spot should come as no surprise given the renewed interest in his music, videos and all other things related to Michael Jackson," Forbes writer Lacey Rose said.

Mister Donut

28 Oct 2010 - A Mister Donut store in Taiwan has been fined thousands of dollars for "smell pollution" after neighbors complained that the aroma of the sweet, fried pastries was overpowering, an official said. The shop operated by food giant President Chain Store must pay TWD 100,000 (HKD 25,300) after inspectors checked out the complaints, showing it is not only bad smells which fall foul of environmental regulations, The Taipei city official said. "Our team of odour inspectors ruled that the smell from the store was above regulated level after receiving complaints from nearby residents that it was too much for them," she said. inever there was job like "odour inspector" - maybe it is something to be introduced for Hong Kong. The Hong Kong residents fighting extension of a garbage dump would have somebody to turn to?

Whale World Record

28 Oct 2010 - We have the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Asia Games, the East Asia Games et cetera; people aim for the highest possible and break new records all the times. The number one spot will bring fame and glory, but little attention goes to animals who set amazing records. A female humpback whale swam 9,650 km from Brazil to Madagascar, a journey that set a world record for a migrating mammal. The findings help researchers understand the behavior of the whales, Peter  Stevick of the College of the Atlantic in Maine wrote in the Biology Letters. The whale, identified by her natural marking and DNA, was first seen off in Brazil in August 1999. She will not even be mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records.

Great Picture (23)

26 Oct 2010 - Some pictures show misery, disaster and accidents. This accident happened yesterday in Hong Kong when a bus plunged off an overpass, but miraculously the taxi drivers were not seriously hurt - possibly because they were fast asleep in their cars and had a guardian angel watching over them? The bus had no passengers on board but the busdriver was critically wounded. The picture was published in the SCMP, and made by Felix Wong.

No Kissing

26 Oct 2010 - Amourous couples at theMandarin Gallery on Orchard Road in Singapore have to find a new make-out spot after the mall put up no-kissing signs in its plush rest areas. The kissing crackdown, together with bans on sleeping and eating, started in July. Three individual signs, framed as one, show a fork and spoon, a cartoon man lying down snoozing and a kissing cartoon couple holding hands, with a heart between them - all with a bold red line drawn through. It was put up after a handful of complaints to the mall management about bad behaviour by inconsiderate shoppers ranging from people hogging couches to young canoodlers. Tenants whose shopfronts face the lounge areas say the signs - especially the kissing one - are much needed, even if they may raise a fewe eyebrows. I guess that point the Mandarin  Gallery tries to make is that one is welcome for shopping only.

Raising Orchard Road

24 Oct 2010 - I am still in Singapore and I read in the Strait Times newspaper that the Singapore Government plans to raise Orchard Road to a new level, literally, under a SGD 26 million project to stave off future floods. A low lying stretch of the shopping belt, from Orchard Parade Hotel to Cairnhill, will be raised by an average of 30 cm to prevent rainwater from overflowing onto the roads. Work will begin in November and is expected to be finished by the middle of 2011. It sounds like a major exercise, but raising the road appears a "tried and proven" method that can help prevent a recurrence of the flash floods that deluged parts of Orchard Road in June and |July this year. Maybe the Singapore Government can consult the Maldives before the islands sinks into the sea because of global warming. And maybe this is also something for the motherland?

Quote of the Day (23)

24 Oct 2010 - Some people tend to joke that Singapore is boring, but I disagree. The place has changed a lot over the last years and has now a rather groovy soul. But Singapore still suffers from the stigma of being a place where chewing gum is banned, and vandalizers are caned. What do Singaporeans think of the stigma themselves? Alfian Sa'at says: "I think it's been one big tedious and frustrating striptease when it comes to liberalization policies in Singapore. They'll flash a bit of thigh, but then cover up some other spot. So you are hopeful and tantalized for a moment - yay, there's a multi-tier film rating system - and then it stops short of expactations. Ditto with coming up with Speakers' corner and than telling you that a "cause-related gathering" of ONE person outside its parameters can result in a police officer telling yo to move on". Arrrr, maybe Singapore has still some way to go?

SGP = HKG

23 Oct 2010 - People in Hong Kong like to compare. They compare everything and often argue that others are more privileged than themselves or that life is not fair to them. But people also take great pride in the "miracle called Hong Kong", although recently more critical voices about the functioning and the future of the territory are heard. people often compare Hong Kong to Singapore, and of course they argue that Hong Kong is better. Singaporeans seem to be more relaxed about this rivalry, and point out the uniqueness and the comparisons between the two sisters. I came across an interesting article that compares the two, so it also happens here in the Lion's city: Teh Marik = Milk Tea, Universal Sudios = HK Disneyland, Casinos= Macau, Fishhead curry = Curry Fish balls, Kopi = Yuen Yang, MRT = MTR, Geyiang = Mongkok and Love Lettrs = Egg Rolls. The sisters have so much to offer ...

Clean Asia Games?

23 Oct 2010 - The last week has mostly been grey and hazy in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, which is preparing itself to host the Asia Games in November. Hazy days are nothing special, most days are rather grey. But the city Guangzhou Government chose to take a different take on things and launched a massive propaganda campaign  to pronounce the city ready to take on the grand event. Speaking at a press Conference Mayor Wan Qingliang said "Guangzhou's sky is bluer and the water is clearer. Some citizens said they could enjoy the sunshine during the day and the moonlight during the night. Many could even count the stars in the night sky while taking a stroll." People in the audience were shocked and in disbelief. Residents cannot recall any night in the last year when they saw stars shining in the sky in downtown Guangzhou. Guangzhou's rivers are clotted-up and black. Does Guangzhou really need this kind of nonsense to turn the Games into a success. Get real!

5,117 Steps

23 Oct 2010 - People move less and less, and get fatter and fatter. The Western world is affected, but increasingly the phenomena is seen in the East as well, where many people struggle with obesity. Americans do not walk a lot: they prefer the car. The number of steps the average adult Americans walks a day, numbers 5,117 according to a new study. They are outpaced by Australians, Asians and Europeans. Adults in Western Australia average 9,695 steps a day, followed by the Swiss with 9,650. "Five thousand steps is pretty inactive," said David Bassett of the University of Tenessee, the lead author of the study. And just imagine all those mountains those Swiss have to climb while making those steps ...

Inconvenient whistling

22 Oct 2010 - Only in the United States of America, where people can be sued for, well, almost nothing. A man is facing an assault charge for hitting a town hall custodian on the back of the head with a roll of toilet paper, because he was angry the cleaning man was whistling while he worked. Police in Framingham, in the US state of Massachusetts, say Allen Kerner, 55, was in the town hall using the bathroom while the custodian whistled as he replenished toilet rolls. The custodian told police he was in a stall when he was struck. Kerner yelled at him and fled, but he was caught outside. There are probably more serious assaults than being hit on the head with a roll of toilet paper, but with a bit luck the whistling cleaning man walks out with a couple of hundreds of thousands.

Bear on the Loose

22 Oct 2010 - Some news is too good to be true. Singapore authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the Dutch electronics group Philips over their most recent marketing campaign in the city state. In the online video campaign a wild bear appears to be roaming in one of the cities residential areas. Some citizens realized it was a stunt, but the zoo sent some of their staff with a tranquilizer gun on a search for the animal. Philips has apologized for what was in fact a human being in a bear costume. A spokesperson said that the company did not want to cause harm Police said they were investigating Philips for causing a public nuisance under section 268 of the penal code. Unfortunately I did not see the video yet (but would love to), because I wonder what the bear was advertising for? The Philipshave perhaps?

Divorce Record

21 Oct 2010 - After all the happy reports about marriages and weddings earlier this week, it is time for some reality. The number of couples seeking divorce every day on the mainland has reached 4,500, according to state media. The Civil Affairs Ministry said 848,000 couples registered for divorce in the first half of the year, up nearly 10% over the same period last year, the Legal Evening News said. The number of mainland couples splitting up has increased by nearly 8% every year since 2003, when the Government simplified regulations on divorce, the paper said. It is not clear if people also easier get married, and what the main reasons for the increase in break-up's is. Or did many Chinese married couples lead miserable lives, because it was simply too difficult - or expensive - to divorce?

Dying Salamanders

19 Oct 2010 - It has been some time since I wrote about the Shanghai Expo, which is probably a good sign. However, the Expo got in the news again. Thedeats of 15 Chinese giant salamanders at the World Expo are no big deal, officials said. The salamanders were at the Shaanxi province pavillion for three weeks in August. Nine died then, and six died after they were removed to a "quiet indoor" place in Shanghai - they prefer dark, quiet environment and rapid running creeks with water below 25 degrees Celsius. An official from the Hanzhuong Fishing Affairs Supervision Station sniffed at the death of"just a dozen". Chinese giant salamanders, which can grow to a length of up to 1.8 meters, are the largest in the world and have a history of 350 million years. It seems no difference is made in the valuation of salamanders' (and other?) life.

Money From the Sky

18 OCT 2010 - What would you do if money would fall from the sky? Would you stuff your pocket and run? Ot take an other approach? Unfortunately money does not grow on trees, but it seemed to fall from the sky in the United States city of Indianapolis. Police say three bundles of money feel from the back of an armoured car near an intersection in the city. A car hit one of the bundles, sending bills into the air. Witnesses (so there were bystanders; people just witnessing the whole event without getting directly involved) said about 10 people stormed through traffic to fill their arms with cash dollars. Two others stopped to help collect he money and guard it until police arrived.

SARS Thriller

17 Oct 2010 - Last week Hollywood Director Steven Soderbergh re-created flashbacks of the SARS era in the territory, while filing for his new blockbuster movie Contagion. The action thriller about the spread of a deadly virus starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard is among the handful production that have been allowed to film in Hong Kong's International Airport's no-go zones. One scene filmed at the airport featured Paltrow and Coutillard playing WHO experts. Earlier last week, both ladies were seen at Aberdeen's Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, which was transformed into a casino set. Other scenes were filmed in To Kwa Wan, Mong Kok and Shek O. Around 300 people were hired for a scene in a To Kwa wan factory doubling as the home of "patient zero". The 300 amateur actors played an army of medical staff who turned up to sterilize the apartment.

Planning Sex

17 Oct 2010 - While the Chinese Government is still in panick how to respond to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to mainland intellectual Liu Xiaobo, who is jailed for 11 years for non-patriotic behavior, I picked up the following article. Three gay men have been sentenced to an unspecified number of years in jail and another was ordered detained by Baixa District Peoples' Court in Nanjing for intending to have sex, Xinhuanet reports. police said they discovered the four men in a hotel room while on patrol in the building. The men were not decently dressed and several unused condoms were found in the room. This raises a lot of questions and concerns: people can easily be detained in the mainland, for example for the intend of having sex? What was the police doping in the hotel? What is "not decently dressed"? And shouldn't the guys be applauded for having condoms available in times of  HIV/AIDS? Wakakaka.