May 31, 2004
Admission

Yes, it was me.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:02
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Loans

China officially admits the top 4 state owned banks have bad (non-performing) loans of about 19% of all loans. Unofficially it is estimated at 40%. China is at the top of a decade long economic boom, and almost half of its bank loans have gone bad. Japan took a decade of economic stagnation to get even close. They officially peaked at about 8.5% of assets (loans) in March 2002.

What the hell will happen if China hits bad times?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 06:17
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May 28, 2004
Enemablog

There will be no Enemablog this week or next, mostly because I'm on a clandestine mission for a foreign Government that I'm not permitted to discuss. Instead why not sample some of the very fine blogs on the assorted blog rolls on the right hand side. All are tried and testing by your truly.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 07:20
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Limits

On May 1 the EU added an extra 10 members. Next in line is even more decrepit nations such as Bulgaria (sorry to all those readers from Bulgaria, but let's face facts) and then Turkey. It all leads to that question, what is Europe? Are the EU in a race to get more members than FIFA or the UN? "Look at our club, we're oh-so-popular"? Soon the EU membership office will need a red carpet, a velvet rope and a couple of burley bouncers at the door saying "It's a bit of a wait."

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 03:08
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May 27, 2004
Etiquette

The most awkward possible situation for all men is when two men enter a toilet at the same time. If each is intending to use the urinal rather than a cubicle, it become a matter for which there is no easy answer. The best solution is for the man in front to continue on his path while the other goes into a cubicle instead. It's a compromise but it makes the best of a really bad situation.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:38
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Style

Hong Kong: where the secretaries dress better than the bosses.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 05:34
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May 26, 2004
Asia by blog

The world-famous Asia by blog posts you've all grown addicted to are going on holidays. They will return after June 7th. They just got a deal too good to be true and had to leave in a rush. In the meantime, why not read every single blog in the Asia blog roll on the right, and then move on the Aussie ones. Otherwise leave some good links in the comments to this very post.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 18:26
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My tax dollars

The silver lining in Thailand's purchase of a stake in Liverpool FC is at least they are p!ssing Hong Kong taxpayer money away too. HK can stay focussed on wasting it at home.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:10
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Modern miracles

Why do doctors never have a computer in their rooms? Their secretary seems to, so it can't be that. And quite frankly, I'd rather know that my doctor has access to all the wonders of the internet, the most up-to-date information. Instead it tends to be old magazines, journals from 1978 and random files. Really it is a worry. After all, if doctors don't need computers, who does?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 01:16
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May 25, 2004
Asia by blog

Who's saying what and about whom in Asian blogs this week? Let's find out.

Firstly Harry has the litany of Chinese disasters. Conrad has an interesting piece on the connection between the crooks and the Triads. Daai Tou Laam talks about the pressure on HK's more outspoken radio hosts and Beijing's efforts to win over the people of HK. Glutter posts on the linkage (or lack thereof) between economic growth and democracy in China. And Fumier reports that Phil is famous.

ALN reports on Chinese manufacturers moving operations to Mexico. It is an interesting new twist on the outsourcing debate. Stephen also reports on a silver lining from the horrific maid abuse story from Malaysia.

The Sassy Lawyer has a good round-up of Philippines according to blogs. Note it helps if you can read Tagalog for some of the links. Or you could use some help.

Michael reports on China's attempt to squash the Starbucks menace. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Shanghai Eye has a post on corruption and democracy in Henan and Shaanxi. Single Planet talks about China's overloaded train lines.

Adam, who's back, gives a brief round-up of Chinese domestic news including how to ensure your next film is a blockbuster and on "high" science.

China Herald reports on an ironic investigation of monopolies by the PRC and compares China's two Great Walls.

China Letter talks about China's population policy and the problems this policy presents. This is worth investing some time to read.

Danwei is back and always full of good stuff from China's papers and ads.

Durian Nation analyses Taiwan President Chen's inaugaration speech.

Jeff in Korea provides a round-up of Korean blogs. It appears blog round-ups are becoming more popular. Flying Yangban reports on a national disgrace for South Korea. IA sees a theme in Korean papers. Marmot has an update on South Korea's real enemy and talks about North Korea's uranium exports to Libya.

Expat @ Large is catching more "V signs"...Shaky?

As usual if you have posts you'd like to include leave them in the comments or send me an email. The Sinosplice crew remain blocked but I'm working on a solution...Bloglines only gives me the excerpts of each post.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 13:18
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Politics

It looks like the papers have caught wind of Hemlock's play for Chief Executive of HK in 2008. Why anyone would want one of the most thankless tasks in the universe is beyond me. But if these people are "jockeying for position" then let's use an appropriate Hong Kong solution: let's start running odds. Hemlock's sitting at 4-1, even if he omits himself from his own book. Such modesty commends him for the position.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:48
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Rising oil

The world is faced with a rising oil price. so much for America's invading Iraq for "cheap oil". In the USA it is shaping up as an election issue as petrol prices rise over $2 per American gallon. An American gallon is 3.8 litres. So we are talking about "gas" at US$0.52 a litre.

Let's ignore that in HK petrol costs US$1.50 or so a litre. Instead next time you're in a supermarket look at the price of bottled water. To bottle water you plonk a factory on top of a spring and squirt the stuff into plastic containers, or maybe you filter some tap water and call it "fresh". My research shows that a bottle of ParknShop 1.5 Litre water is about US$1. That's 66 cents a litre.

That's right. Petrol, which is dug out of the ground or sea with massive machinery, shipped, refined and transported, costs less in the USA than plain old bottled water. While I accept it is an American's God-given right to consume copious amounts of petrol in their gas-guzzling cars to their hearts' content, until such time as "gas" costs at least the same as plain old water they will get no sympathy from me.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:45
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May 24, 2004
More mysteries

Conrad has just reminded me of some other great moments in Hong Kong Government advertising. The posters.

There are the run-of-the-mill ones like the reminder to avoid dengue fever (thanks for that - if they hadn't have reminded me I would have asked all the mosquitoes to bite) or for voter registration for a body that cannot actually do anything. But there was one where an elderly man was sitting in his leather chair with his concerned younger woman by his side, comforting him. An advertisement for elderly care? Encouraging volunteers? Being nice to old folks? No. The tag line was something like "Check up on your relatives regularly to make sure they're not dead."

I am not making this up. I encourage others to provide their most memorable Government ads. There's been some great ones. It's a darn site better investment than some others the Government has made recently.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 18:03
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Important breaking Paris Hilton news

Apparently her diet isn't going so well. Bloomberg reports (no link):

Hilton was raised to "overweight/in-line'' from "equal-weight/in-line'' by analyst Lou Pirenc at Morgan Stanley.
I don't know how some analyst at Morgan Stanley can keep tabs on Paris's weight but she does get around. At least she is still "in line", although for mine she's been way out of line for a while.

(Courtesy of Charles)

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:50
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Then against us

Bring. It. On.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:33
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Idiot Box Amusements

If ever you find yourself in a gloomy mood, an evening's viewing of Hong Kong TV will cure your blues. Not the shows. They are mostly recycled American sitcoms, time breaks, poorly acted Cantonese soaps or decade old movies.

It's the advertisements that will bring a smile to your dial. Any particular ad break will always have at least one advertisement for skin whitening products. I do not understand the phenomena but it seems every woman between the ages of 15 and 50 needs to apply various lotions and masks to make her skin whiter than Michael Jackson. If the diet ads are anything to go by, Kate Moss is considered a fatty because she has unsightly thighs and tummy. They are not starting with huge women here - most of them look in good shape already. So Hong Kong's ideal woman is a ghost-looking waif.

The rest of the advertisements are Government announcements. These are ads which tell a story with an impossible to guess moral. Often a merry evening has been spent trying to anticipate what paternalistic message the great Mandarins of the HK Government are trying to ram down our throat.

In one ad break there was one where a boy couldn't play football because it was raining. He was sad. His mate told him it will be OK tomorrow and so it was. The sad boy asked his friend how he knew it would be OK. The friend replied that he didn't, but he had a positive attitude. I think the message was meant to be "cheer up, it doesn't always rain in Hong Kong". I actually thought I had guessed this one: I thought it was advertising the HK Weather Office website. But then they stuck up a graphic saying don't commit suicide. Jeepers, if kids are killing themselves because it's raining then there's little hope for Hong Kong's future.

However the funniest advertisment was to come. Shot with the camera as the protagonist we were walking outside and meeting various people, shaking their hands, looking at their smiling faces and sitting down at a workstation. All seemingly normal interactions of an everyday person. Then the kicker: "Let's welcome rehabilitated offenders back into the community." Where did that come from? Have they just put a particularly bad batch of crims back on the street? I've made a note to myself: make sure I give an extra happy hello to all the ex-cons I meet.

It was enough to make me wish it was raining.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:40
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Experimentation

Some things all women agree upon. One of them is that Irish male accents are the best on the planet. I've yet to meet a female who can resist them. That's why Irishmen can get away with being dog-ugly and still draw good-looking women.

What I didn't realise until now was that this is a biological attraction. Watching 3 years old JC and almost 2 years old PB flirt outrageously with three Irish boys aged 10, 7 and 3 made me realise three things. Firstly I was right to buy that shotgun. Secondly the Irish accent is the most powerful male aphrodisiac in the world. Thirdly female attraction to that accent is genetically based. It is not learned behaviour.

Damn I hope Ubul's a boy. I need someone to maintain the vigil on the porch with me.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:10
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Expenses

The weekend proved costly. When Mrs M called on Friday afternoon to report clouds of steam pouring from the bonnet of the "hunk-of-junk" the bank account gasped for breath. One of the hazards of driving an older car is that when things go wrong there is a decision to be made each time: is it worth spending the money to fix it? this set of repairs will costs about 1/3 of the value of the car. The car was close to be donated as scrap to China's steel mills instead. Mrs M has caved in on her trenchant opposition to all things people-mover and the switch will be made some time soon.

Scanning the car ads is depressing for the family man. Great cars beckon at cheap, cheap prices. Convertibles and sport cars tease you with their immaculate conditions and full service histories. One's mind starts playing tricks. "Honey, we could cram the three kids in the bucket seats and still have room for a bag of shopping!" But alas reality takes hold and your gaze is drawn to those chick-magnets* of the family car. No one tells you these things when you have kids.

* in a repelling sense.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:04
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Starting young

The SCMP reports on a study on gambling:

Almost half of all secondary school pupils have gambled, and the average age they placed their first bet was 12, according to a survey...The study found 48 per cent had tried gambling - 32 per cent in the past three months - with 12 the average age for a first bet.
This is an outrage. Why have 52% of students not tried participating in Hong Kong's favourite pasttime? Do this silent half of the student population expect the horse racing industry to exist on its own? Who will fund the white elephants of Hong Kong if the Jockey Club doesn't exist? These selfish children need to be taught a lesson. Ship them all over to Macau for a school excursion and make them realise without gambling there can be nothing good in the world.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:12
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May 21, 2004
Enemablog

Link-festival of the stars. That time where I put all the posts I found interesting this week into one giant ping-a-thon.

Firstly the blogosphere was made immeasurably richer this week with the launch of Memeblog. A central blog for all memes and carnivals, it's your one-stop-shop when looking for blogging material or interesting link-fests.

In rather less important news there was a fuss over a blog by a staffer in a US Senator's office who reported her pocket-money raising activities and just too many details about herself. Washingtonienne. I first saw it over at Wetwired. Wonkette got onto it and Kevin pointed out how easy it would be to find this "anonymous" blogger. Swamp City finished the job. Which goes to show you need to engage your brain before you start blogging...otherwise real life will catch up with you. Helpfully the Commissar has ruled on true blog identities and asks the key question: When will bloggers start pretending to be out-of-shape, middle-aged men employed by banks? Heh. Indeed.

Kate has an interesting post on "schizoblogophrenia": the difference between what people want from blogs and what they link to. It is something I have been guilty of in the past and is one of the reasons Enemablog exists - to "reward" posts I find with links. For example her take on reality TV will no doubt be soon appearing on cable AND she manages to make a mockery of Singapore in the bargain! What a double. Country Store sees reality TV making a march on the White House.

Fellow Memeblogger Jim had a big week with a post answering the questions about the Nick Berg case. As seems all too common in the blogging world it disintegrated but it is a very comprehensive look at the questions. Ace has a look at the discovery of sarin in Iraq.

Citizen Smash introduces Japanese Haiku poetry as a new form of reporting. It's a big improvement on the current drivel.

The Sassy Lawyer discovers there's more than one way to spell Viagra. There's actually 600,426,974,379,824,381,952 ways.

The Olympics were in the news this week, mostly due to the US flag-waving controversy, but Cranial Cavity has the scoop on the athletes.

There's plenty of focus on the Middle East but Alexandre points out that in the meantime there's a little known genocide going on in Sudan.

Richard has an interesting interview with Columbine murderer Dylan Klebold's parents. It raises some difficult issues with no right answer.

The always interesting Wretchard analyses has a good piece on News as a weapon (May 17th) and a follow-up that tracks a changing news story and muses on the reliability of information. Dr. Rusty has posed the case for censorship in a time of war and responds to some of his critics. The blogosphere is full of things that make you think, damnit. Of course you have to want to think but that's a whole different issue. Lastly on Iraq, via Dean (who also found more support for the Atkins diet), there is an Australian summarising all the good news from Iraq.

Wind Rider at SR has a chart of the effectiveness of Israel's security wall - it is working. Something for Yasser to comment on at his new website, courtesy of Iowahawk. Tom Paine at SR looks at the blogosphere pre- and post-September 11th, 2001.

Chris has found the secret to a long marriage. Mrs M would agree I did a great job of setting very low expectations.

Professor Bunyip tackles the ludicrous beach smoking ban in Manly (and soon my home beach too). While on Australiana, Tim reaches for the bucket over our latest royal.

Six Apart, makers of Movable Type blogging software, finally get around to actually asking their users some questions. Illustrious Munu God Pixy answers. I hope they listen - no-one objects to paying something towards MT but the current plan from Six Apart needs serious reworking.

Helen talks about immigration.

Drama Queen is suffering from that dreaded curse: blogger block. Also known as beal, but now's there's a cure.

Shaky has a story on one hell of a wrong number, as well as pointing to the latest in powerbook computers.

And finally Harry suffers from a case of mistaken identity.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:08
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Headlines

The idea of banning smoking on beaches is stupid in the extreme. But I ask the sub-editors of the News.com.au website to ask themselves what a "non-smoking ban" actually means. While I'm sure many on Bondi would enjoy being forced to constantly light up, I fear that my very own enlightened Waverley Council mean to stop people from smoking at Bondi, not the opposite.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:52
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Rushing to judgements

It is easy to jump on the bandwagon when the latest "hot" story hits the press. The press sensationalise and try and generate emotional reactions. Usually a side is taken, even subtly, and you are exposed to that side of the story.
The full facts are not always evident.

(Be warned that there are some disturbing photographs in these links).

This is not such a story.

Malaysian police have arrested a woman who repeatedly beat her Indonesian maid, burned her with a hot iron and scalded her with boiling water.
The violation, the breach of any standards of human decency are an extreme extension of common attitudes to domestic helpers in Asia. There may be "outrage" over this but the sad reality is this is merely a particularly bad example of a common practice. This was not an isolated event. Physical, verbal or sexual abuse of domestic helpers is a racist scourge in Asia and yet it recieves little attention.

I only hope this woman is punished to the full extent of the law and her treatment stands as an example to others who do the same. She has in effect "raped" this young woman and scarred her for life: her dreams shattered, her body ruined and her mind broken. It is no surprise that this employer is alleged to have abused her own children too. There are no winners in a story like this. But if it lhelps prevent other cases in the future then at least there is some consolation from the whole mess.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:16
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Birthday

Happy birthday to East Timor, which turned 2 yesterday. Australia's left you a nice present. You see it turns out Australia's diplomats are busy people:

At the heart of the dispute are billions of dollars worth of royalties from oil and gas reserves, which lie in the waters between Australia and East Timor, known as the Timor Sea...Australia has said it is only able to meet East Timor twice a year, but East Timor wants monthly meetings in a bid to accelerate maritime border talks that began last month in the East Timor capital Dili.
It is OK for Australia to give them aid; but give them their fair share of oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea is another thing altogether.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:30
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Waiting time

Reuters reports on a study of what German motorists do while stuck in traffic:

A third of German motorists fantasize about sex when stuck in traffic while only 10 percent think of finding an alternate route, according to a motor club survey published Thursday. [Route - get it? Route? Root? Maybe it's an Australian term...]

Eight percent think about how much petrol they have, seven percent about their next meal, and seven percent about going to a toilet. Six percent think about their careers.

One in ten caught focus on their families, seven percent on shopping lists and another seven percent worry about the damage the traffic jam might do to their clutch. Only six percent said they don't think about anything in traffic jams.

Amazingly most are able to do this while picking their noses.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:18
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May 20, 2004
Asia by Blog

Even Glenn Reynolds is taking more notice of Asia. Lots of interesting links from around Asia in the last few days, including two Instalanches...

The first Instalanche is for Marmot's interesting satellite picture of North Korea. "Where's the fire?" Oranckay finds the quietest place in North Korea. This week also marked the anniversary of the May 1980 riots. Marmot remembers. Flying Yangban notes important comments by Paul Wolfowitz on America's troops in Korea and says it is no surprise some troops are moving out..

Conrad talks about voter intimidation in Hong Kong. This week also saw debate on the Harbour Fest inquiry in Hong Kong by Conrad, Chris, Phil, and Giles has a contrary view.

ALN reports that China is adopting America's favourite sport, Wal-Mart bashing, as its own.

Adam sees through John Kerry's China "policy".

Fons talks about those looking to work as journalists in China.

China Letter reports on the world's biggest safari park being built in China and more on Chinese prison reform

Danwei is almost back. Prince Roy has landed in India with a crash.

Durian has a post on China and satire and Andrea talks about China's mixed messages on Taiwan. She was also the proud recipient of the second Instalanche.

Richard talks about another "quiet" trial of a Chinese cyber-dissident.

Lastly Nicholas takes us behind the front lines in Sinapore.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:32
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Pl8%spf25!@

Working in an office means one is constantly faced with a problem: passwords. A monthly email tells us to make sure all our passwords are different and that they are not obvious. For example you cannot use your own name as part of the password, nor can you repeat previous passwords. Most systems require new passwords every month or two and they must have 6 or 8 letters and include a capital and a number.

I use three PCs (3 passwords). Two of these PCs have single systems on them (2 more). The other one has a plethora of systems but daily I'll use five of them (5). Then there are the various intranet sites that require passwords and logins. In addition there's the personal ones like the PIN, internet banking, security codes and so on. Not to mention those for the blogs. It leads to a mess of logins and passwords and is more than any human can remember.

So I do what everyone does. I write them on a piece of paper. Direct contravention of the security policy but what the hell else can I do? We're also not meant to share passwords. Anyone who works in a team has to share passowrds so an absent team member can be covered or certain files can be accessed.

There must be a better way. A much better way. Fingerprint readers? Iris scans? I know they aren't perfect but they are far better than the current mess we deal with.

In the meantime I need to keep having kids just so I can have passwords. Just so long as their names are six letters or more.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:20
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Spreading

It seems that Singapore just can't bear to miss out on something that Hong Kong (well, Macau) already has. When will Singapore give up and admit it will never be Hong Kong?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:57
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Quitting

Yes another talk radio presenter has resigned from hosting Teacup in a Storm, HK radio's main talk radio program. This follows two previous resignations over the past two weeks. All are citing vague notions of "political pressure" that are forcing them to quit. Each of them has made a decision they obviously felt was right for themselves. But if you're going to host a political talk radio program in the middle of a turbulent political time, such as HK is in at the moment, then you should damn well expect "political pressure". If you are going to be at the vanguard of the fight against Beijing you need to expect them to try and work against you. The old cliche says if you can't take the heat get out of the kithcen. In this case I'd say don't go into the kitchen in the first place if it's too hot for you already.

I do not condone the subtle and not-so-subtle pressure China has put on these presenters. But Hong Kong thankfully has some sembelence of rule of law and threats can and should be dealt with by the local authorities. So when morons smear faeces on the offices of a pro-democracy LegCo member the police do something about it. But if you put yourself in the public eye you need to expect a certain amount of pressure. You are not going to please everyone or you aren't doing your job.

There is one caveat to all of this. I am not privy to the exact circumstances of each man who has resigned. Obviously they have thought about their decisions and made what they thought was best for them. However I do wonder if they had enough backbone for the task. No one said winning over Beijing on democracy in Hong Kong would be easy. If you're going to join a battle you need to expect to get hurt.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:19
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May 19, 2004
Memeblog

I am very happy to announce the latest kid on the blog block:

Memeblog

What is it? The idea is to have a central blog where all the various memes and carnivals floating around the Blogosphere can be collated and posted in one handy place. No more ferretting for the lastest Carnival. No more wondering where the Cheddar X went. There's a
sample entry to give you an idea.

Now it's your turn to help. This begging pleading grovelling request is two-fold:

1. Please post about this at your own site (if you have one. If you don't tell people about it instead). This needs exposure to help make it work.
2. Please have a look at Memeblog and start sending in submissions.

If you have any comments, suggestions, ideas or you're keen to join in please let us (Jim or myself) know.

Spread the word so you can say "I knew it when it was just a little-bitty blog".

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:54
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Mr Bell

I just tried ringing the bank manager I've dealt with over the years. His phone number has changed so I rang the central switchboard:

Me: "Can I have the number of Mr. Blah?"
Other guy: "What number do you have sir?"
Me: "1234-5678 but I just tried it and got a message telling me the number is not connected."
Other guy: "That's not the right number."
Me: "I know that. What is the new number?"
Other guy: "What is this regarding?"
Me: "Get this - it's about my bank account."
Other guy: "Can I help you, sir?"
Me: "No. If you could I would have asked you."
Other guy: "Let me try Mr. Blah's line...I have reached his message bank, would you like to leave a message?"
Me: "Yes, but what is his number for future reference?"
Other guy: "Our policy is that I cannot tell you, sir."

Of course. Why give your customers telephone numbers of the staff? They may want to do some business. Let's keep it a secret so you can deal with the inane telephone menu that leads you to a peon who has no idea what you are talking about and says you need to talk to Mr. Blah.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:13
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10 yards

I love Bill like a brother*. But Bill is having trouble with my astute observation that American football is the stupidest sport in the world. We'll get to Wind Rider's "thoughts" too.

Bill says Football - the greatest game in the world. It's got everything - excitement, tons of violence, bone-crusing injuries and some strategy thrown in too. By this he means American football. This is the game where going forward 10 yards in 4 attempts is considered worthy of bashing amour-glad steroid-abused bodies against each other, or even better butting heads like caribou. In a great display of latent homosexuality everyone grabs each other for cuddles everytime the stripy guy says go. There's a few seconds of chaos while no-one's quite sure what the hell is going on. Then everything stops for an hour while the 42 referees confer. They all drop their hankerchiefs on the ground (called flags, I believe. Maybe these guys should check a flagpole for what a real flag looks like) and start calling penalties for obscure rule breaches. Only in America could a sport have a rule book bigger than the Bible (and I'm counting both Testaments). A game takes about as long as the last Ice Age, which is appropriate given many of the games are played in Artic conditions. And they are such wusses they need to have two teams, one for offense (that's Bill's speciality) and one for defence (Wind Rider). Plus the special teams like the kicker, who gets paid a fortune to kick the ball three times. And the coaches who all get to wear headphones so they can listen to music to pass the time away during games. Stupid. Damn. Game.

Bill goes on Cricket: Baseball for homos. I have no idea what they're doing out there but it all looks very gay and silly. That just makes Bill look very gay and silly. He should remember that India, Pakistan and Britain all play cricket and have nukes. Next is Soccer: The most boring sport in the world. 99% of Soccer games end with a final score of 1-0. Yawn. It cracks me up when the whacko soccer hooligans around the world beat the crap out of each other for such a boring game. Actually, he has a point there.

Wind Rider says Well, Bill's quite correct that anyone from a country that spawned a game that makes the refs wear lab coats and silly hats, while making air-sushi chopping motions to communicate the calls for something that only makes ESPN2 at 2am is waaaaaaaay the frick off base calling Football the stupidest game ever. We can partially forgive him for posting his comment because he then compliments me. WR alludes to the purest form of all football, Australia Rules. No body armour. Only one team of 18 men with 3 substitutes. Kicking, running, tackling, marking (jumping) all at the same time. A spectacular game of pure athleticism and 100% action. Umpires (not referees) are in pure white instead of looking like zebras wear those clothes so the crowd can see who has made a direct hit with their beer/paint gun/program.

Just to re-iterate: American football is daft.

* One of those brothers that were given up for adoption and you've never actually met. But a brother nonetheless. And Wind Rider's more like the cousin you got forced to visit that you protested you didn't want to see even though you secretly envied him because he was so cool.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:34
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Bigger pies

Macau got its first taste of a competition in the casino business after 4 decades of monopoly by Stanley Ho. Dr. Ho wasn't too concerned, rightly seeing competition as a way of increasing the pot for all operators and helping to keep his company on its toes. The 35,000 people who broke doors and barriers to get into the place clearly agreed. Sure a well-placed but false rumour of free 200 pacatas chips didn't hurt but gambling-mad China loves a good casino invasion. Macau already brings in about US$4.5 billion in casino revenue, compared to Las Vegas's US$5 billion. The new casinos will only add to the revenue pot because of network effects - more casinos induce more gambling. It is not a zero-sum game.

That's why Dr. Ho was smiling at the opening of his new rival yesterday. It is a handy lesson for the numerous cartels that run Hong Kong's "free" economy. Competition works and if your company is good enough you will benefit from it. Just don't expect the cartels to be bashing down the door demanding it.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:05
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May 18, 2004
Liverpool Thais

While everyone in Hong Kong is getting worked up about Harbour Fest (well, almost), Thailand is going to hold a lottery to fund its purchase of a stake in Liverpool FC. What a great idea. Instead of using the funds for such silly things as hospitals, schools, police or social welfare they are going to buy a money black hole instead.

In light of this I am considering offering a new lottery to help fund an attempt by the Thai Government to buy 30% of this blog. But there's just so much damn competition in this neck of the woods. But if Liverpool falls through give me a call, Mr. Thaksin.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:40
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Slow turning wheels

Slowly but surely the ongoing festering extradition debacle between Australia and Hong Kong is gaining prominence. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that HK Chief Exec Tung Che-hwa is close to making a formal complaint to Prime Minister John Howard and contrasts Australia's obstructionism with an anti-corruption pact signed late last year.

The chief executive of the Chinese territory, Tung Chee-hwa, is believed to be moving closer to a direct protest to Howard over an unexpected Australian obstacle to a legal case regarded as important to clearing up Hong Kong's construction industry.

The obstacle appeared when the Federal Justice Minister, Chris Ellison, blocked the extradition of the two Australian executives wanted in Hong Kong to stand trial over alleged irregularities at the Tung Chung development. Despite the Australian courts having approved the extradition, Ellison has not explained the grounds for his decision...

As a result, Australia's standing in the key Asia financial centre has been damaged, and the previously smooth-running extradition arrangements between the two legal jurisdictions have been put under strain. Given the potential for misuse of Hong Kong's open financial system and free trading port by money launderers and triads, this would be a major gap in Australia's legal armour...

Hong Kong law officials suspect Ellison's unexplained decision signals a wider interruption to a previously trouble-free extradition arrangement, and some have angrily suggested Hong Kong should go slow on Australian requests. "The initial reaction was if Australia can't be reasonable, why should we be reasonable?" one senior Hong Kong official said.

There have also been racial overtones, with some Hong Kong officials suggesting Ellison did not want to send white Australians back to face justice in an Asian court. "It has given Hong Kong people a very unfavourable impression of what Australian justice is about," Hong Kong's Secretary for Education, Li Kwok-cheung, said in Australia last week...

Hong Kong ministers and officials are increasingly riled that diplomatic protests, conveyed through the Australian Consulate-General, are not being acknowledged as such by either Ellison or the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, who continue to insist relations are not being damaged.

There's plenty more in the article. Read the whole thing. Australia is doing a fine job of disgracing itself in Hong Kong. Unless Minister Ellison comes up with a compelling reason for not extraditing these men it is going to cause even more significant damage to Australia.

Just imagine the uproar in Australia if the situation was reversed.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:54
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Asia by blog

Time to have a trawl around Asia's blogs to see what's going on in the neighbourhood.

Firstly Harry has directed me to one of the funniest sites on the net: the Korean Central News Agency (North Korea's news). For example in its piece titled "US Branded as Worst Violator of Human Rights" comes "The U.S. hue and cry over the "human rights issue" in the DPRK which truly guarantees the people dignity and freedom is nothing but sophism to veil its undisguised human rights abuses. Yankees have turned Iraq into the chasm of death." That's good. IA has some more funnies from the KCNA. Jeff in Korea notes the futility in dealing with North Korea.

Chris points out the fuss over Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple (baby, not computer) isn't really news here. He also points to Expat@Large, who has discovered the joys of HK taxis. He should add to the guide. UPDATE: Shaky has spent his weekend in Tokyo redesigning his site and 'twas him who first found E@L. My apologies.

ALN has taken a photo from E@L and finds a lesson for the construction industry in HK in it.

Mister Tall from Batgung.com has an interesting second article on domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

Conrad finds an alternative for those looking to help the world. He also notes a potential redeployment of US troops from South Korea to Iraq. Given North Korea now has nukes, troops on the ground make less of a difference. Flying Yangban has more, as does Marmot.

At the same time China's newest fist-shaking at Taiwan, means the Americans are sending a gift to Taiwan President Chen's inauguration: the USS Kitty Hawk.

Adam links to a Columbia Political Review article on Chinese bloggers: check the comments for the generally negative reactions to it. Fons reflects on 10 years of internet in China.

China Letter sees predictable propaganda churns out by China now Tibet is hitting headlines again, thanks to the Dalai Lama's world trip.

Shanghai Eye reports on improving China's population. If Joseph's conversation with one local woman is anything to go by, there isn't any need to worry. Interesting thoughts on the process of opening China up to democracy.

The Ruck (who's excited about NFL coming to China even though it is the stupidest game in the world) looks at the Anna Mae He custody case.

Lastly John has a useful Chinese vocab guide.

As usual if you have entries you think should fit in or if you'd like to be a part of this simply leave a comment, send them by email to simon[at]simonworld[dot]mu[nu] or link back to this post. That especially means everyone in the now blocked (at my workplace) Sinosplice network.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:21
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Treats

I was privileged enough yesterday to be given a select viewing of one of Asia's most exciting new ballet companies.

It wasn't easy getting in. This was only rehersals and some of the ballerinas dislike an audience until everything is perfect. However I used my charm and charisma to wangle my way in. I promised to remain absolutely quiet and inconspicuous and held true to my word. Relenting the teacher granted me 30 minutes. And I was amazed by what I saw.

I'm not much of a ballet man. Sure it's impressive but I didn't think it could hold my attention for long before the music would cause me to daydream the performance away. How wrong I was.

Beginning with the flower song before moving on to naughty toes, JC's ballet class was a tour-de-force. Seeing a mess of pink tafetta as a group of 3 and 4 year old princesses stomped around to various classical music "hits" was sublime. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face as the girls did the cooking dance, involving a combination of steps and tippy-toes that culminates in the eating of pretend cake (JC requested strawberry on hers). The grand finale of the "Ariel" dance, who happens to be JC's favourite Disney character of the moment, was astonishing. I felt myself transported to Atlantis itself, feeling Ariel's wonder as she explores the human world before she hurriedly packs away her treasures before they were discovered. For the first time I saw ballet for the art that it is.

I'll try and get you some tickets to the next big performance.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:52
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Quality

The Government report into the taxpayer drain known as Harbour Fest slams everyone involved. From The Standard:

Mike Rowse, the director general of InvestHK, has been broadly condemned by the investigation panel. The panel stated that Rowse had failed ``to adequately discharge the role of controlling officer of the HK$100 million for the event as required by law''. It also said InvestHK, the promotion arm of the government under Rowse, had failed to consider the role of the government to engage the public for the event, which was intended to revive Hong Kong's economy after the crippling effects of the Sars outbreak. Rowse had failed in almost every aspect from start to finish, in his handling of the issue, according to the report.

The panel stated ``it is astonished'' that InvestHK, on behalf of the government, entered into binding obligations with AmCham - the organisers of Harbour Fest - to the extent of HK$100 million under three Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) without consulting the Director of Justice. "This is quite inconceivable in the private sector for a business entity to enter into a legally binding contract involving such a substantive financial obligation without consulting the company lawyer,'' the inquiry team's report said.
*****************************
In dedicating one quarter of its 202-page report to the American Chamber of Commerce's (AmCham) organisation of the festival, the Independent Panel of Inquiry into the Harbour Fest said inexperience contributed to its "modest success''..."AmCham did not have any prior experience with organising mega events like the Harbour Fest nor did it have any experience with receiving government sponsorship to organise events'', the panel said.

The report itself makes entertaining reading. It concludes by effectively saying the whole thing was a sorry mess and lessons should be learnt and we all move on. Staggeringly they then say there is a role for Government in such future events in a "dedicated public-private sector partnership". Most coutries seem to have a rock/pop music concert scene without Government support. If there's a market for such festivals then Government has little place in subsidising them. There are plenty of festivals that come to mind that got by without taxpayer money. And people think Hong Kong is the world's freest economy. The rest of the recommendations amount to common sense. But that's something for whichi you cannot legislate.

The funniest part (and if you don't laugh you'd cry) is the report authors spent 5 minutes on the internet finding the "going rate" for the various artists that performed at Harbour Fest. Admittedly these are rates for performing in the US but with the promoter usually covering transport and accomodation costs the numbers should be broadly comparable. So who did the best in the ancient art of haggling? Prince got US$800,000 more; boy-band Westlife US$300,000 more than usual; Neil Young got US$700,000 more than his usual US$100,000. Wow. Most of them were already doing Asian tours anyway so this was literally money for jam. The only ones who didn't do well were the Rolling Stones who played for US$500,000 less than their usual fee. Losers.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:26
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May 17, 2004
Comparitive religions

My respect for Buddhism just took a hit. From the SCMP:

Hong Kong's chief Buddhist monk has called on the public not to take part in the July 1 demonstration in order to maintain social harmony. Protesting would bring more instability to an already "chaotic" society, he said.

Sik Kok Kwong [president of the HK Buddhust Association], who has a close relationship with senior state officials and leading tycoons, told the South China Morning Post he was worried about the social and political situation.

Sik Kok Kwong warned that demonstrations such as that on July 1, at which tens of thousands of people are expected to voice their discontent against Beijing's decision, would further destabilise society. "It is best if we Buddhists don't participate in politics, and there would be peace. We all should not participate in things like demonstrations," he said, adding that the public should instead maintain social harmony.

While democracy was the ultimate goal as stated in the Basic Law, conditions in Hong Kong were not mature enough for it, he said. Beijing's wishes must be considered when discussing constitutional reform. "Beijing has sovereignty and Hong Kong is only a special administrative region of China. Even President Hu Jintao was elected by only a few people," he said.

He believes "It is best if we Buddhists don't participate in politics and then jumps in. Mate of tycoons, friend of Beijing and hypocrit to boot. I have a feeling it won't do much to dent the turnout on July 1. "Tens of thousands" is likely to prove an understatement. He finishes with this:
Direct elections would not necessarily produce a good chief executive, he said. "If we say Tung Chee-hwa is not good, do you think the person elected by universal suffrage would be better? Whether the person is good or bad depends on his correlation with others," said Sik Kok Kwong, who is a member of the Election Committee that selects the chief executive.

"I think Tung has done a good job. He is very tolerant for he has endured daily criticism. People's hearts are just not content."

Why not let the people of Hong Kong try electing their own man or woman and let's find out? It can't be any worse than the current mob and at least he or she will have a popular mandate rather than just 800 votes of the great and good. What a silly man.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:48
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India teaching China

The recent Indian electoral surprise win by the Congress party has some interesting lessons for China and the Communist Party (the CCP). India's BJP-led Government had delivered economic prosperity, made progress on peace with Pakistan, asserted India's role on the world stage (that's what nukes will do for a country) and managed to slowly liberate the economy to set-up a China-like boom. Initially the BJP campaigned on an "India Shining" theme, emphasising these achievements. Except the 3/4s of the population that live outside cities hadn't seen any of the supposed benefits. Being a democracy this large slice of the electorate let thei incumbents know what they thought of all of this: they voted them out.

This scenario could be almostly exactly replicated in China, with the proviso that China's economy is more developed and more have moved to the cities. However the rural poor are still a majority and many of the more recent immigrants to cities are simply urban poor instead. While the CCP draws plaudits for its achievements unless they can get the benefits to trickle into the countryside they will continue to be under the same pressure as the forces the threw the BJP out of office.

Except China's not a democracy. Nor is it likely to be any time soon. Because the CCP's supposed "power base", the peasants of rural China, can see only limited gains from the best part of a century of CCP rule. Set against the traumas of times past (the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward to name but two) the cost/benefit balance for rural and poor China remains firmly in the debit side of the ledger.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:29
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Slow boats to China

The Economist this week has two articles on China's economy. In their leader they warn that a slowdown in China will have global implications although they are not as pessimistic about a "hard landing" in China as some. What worries them is

the prospect of a “twin tightening” of monetary policy in both China and America...If America's Federal Reserve is forced to raise rates more rapidly than expected and this happens at about the same time that China's economy slows sharply, stockmarkets would take a beating and global growth could stall. Monetary-policy announcements from Beijing are still not as important as the Delphic words of Alan Greenspan, the Fed's chairman. But as the weight of China's economy in the world continues to grow over coming years, one day they will be.
In all the gloom about an upcoming Chinese economic slowdown the reality is China will grow into one of the world's top economic powers.The broader implications of that in geopolitical as well as economic terms are not often debated in all the current discussion about the Middle East.

The second article is a far more thorough look at China's efforts to engineer a slowdown, rather than the global implications of that slowdown. I'm going to quote liberally from it because it is a fine summary of the issues at stake.

Rumours are rife that the People's Bank of China is about to raise interest rates (one-year bank-lending rates are currently 5.3%) for the first time in nine years. The fact that this is even being discussed shows how concerned the Chinese leadership is about the investment boom...The State Council, China's highest executive body, has issued new guidelines requiring companies to use more of their own capital and less debt to fund steel, aluminium, cement and property projects, the sectors which show most signs of overheating. Provincial government leaders have also been told to be stricter about approving investment in these sectors. On May 9th, the State Development and Reform Commission, the top economic policymaking body, instructed local officials to cap price increases in areas such as utility bills and public transport if inflation, currently 3%, rises much more.

Since last summer, banks' reserve requirements have been raised three times, but to little effect. Banks still have more than enough reserves. Tighter restrictions have been placed on property lending, and the central bank has also tried to use persuasion, asking banks to curb their lending to the overheating sectors—again with little apparent success.

In the year to the first quarter, bank credit surged by 21%, GDP grew by 9.7% and fixed investment by 43%. Inflation has risen from just 0.9% a year ago. Many economists reckon that the economy is even hotter than the official figures suggest. Based on electricity usage, annual growth may really be as high as 12-13%; and the true inflation rate is probably above 5%, as a significant number of prices are still controlled in some way by the government. On the other hand, official figures overstate the growth in investment, because the investment survey now covers more firms than last year. Even so, investment is still growing too fast...

This last point emphasises a huge problem with China - their statistics are rubbish. And with bad information it becomes very difficult to know what is going on, especially in a country so vast. While this is an important part of China's economic reform to get right it is also riddled with problems. Local officials don't want accurate numbers. They over-estimate and inflate reports because that's what they are assessed on. That's a natural response to their incentives. What it means is in aggregate China's numbers are junk.
...Hong Liang, an economist at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, thinks that talk of a hard landing is premature, because there are several differences between today and the early 1990s. Policy has been tightened sooner this time. In 1993 inflation was already 15% (it rose to 28% at its peak) before the central bank tightened, while money-supply growth then was twice as rapid as today's. In the early 1990s, real interest rates were negative, falling at one point to minus 13%. Today, bank lending rates are positive (see chart). Even so, the level of 5.3% is far too low for an economy where nominal GDP is growing at around 15%.

A second difference is that unlike a decade ago, there has not been a consumer-spending binge. Private consumption grew by only 6% last year, compared with average growth of 14% in 1992 and 1993. That is one reason why last year China had a current-account surplus; in 1993 it had a deficit of 2% of GDP.

It is not demand that is causing this boom, it is over-investment. That's interesting because every Western company piling into China is doing so to capitalise on "growing demand". It is growing, but it's not booming. That bodes well for the chances of avoiding widespread devestation if things turn sour. The losers will be investors, not consumers.
The debate over the extent to which China's economy is overheating is sometimes a bit confused. The term “overheating” is normally used when an economy is suffering from excess demand, which then causes inflation to rise. But China's boom has been led by investment, which means that supply is booming as well as demand. As a result, the biggest risk to the economy is not inflation, but overinvestment. A glut of property or industrial capacity could depress profitability, bankrupt firms and swell banks' non-performing loans.

China's banking system, which is virtually all state-owned, does not allocate credit efficiently, and the misallocation of funds gets worse as growth speeds up. Bad debts may already be 40-50% of loans. In the long run, to improve this China needs to commercialise its financial system. That will require financial reform, as well as a transformation in corporate governance. But that will take years. Right now, the government needs to slow the economy to avoid another wave of bad loans.

We are at the top of the boom and China's banks have up to 50% of assets as bad loans. Imagine what they'll be like if the economy turns. The other good point is a "slowdown" is relative. China won't stop growing. It will stop growing at such a furious pace.
The measures taken so far have lacked teeth. The People's Bank of China is therefore likely to raise interest rates and to introduce further, stricter quantitative measures to curb lending to the hottest sectors. The recent rash of announcements suggest that the government is starting to panic. The longer the economy grows at its current pace, the greater the risk of a hard landing, which would push up unemployment—something which Beijing cannot afford because of the risk of social unrest.
And that's the crux of the matter. The one thing that scares Beijing is "social unrest". If you don't have a popular mandate (ie if you aren't elected) then legitimacy only comes from being a benevolent ruler. In China that used to mean making sure there was enough to eat. Now it is changing to mean there's enough jobs so people can have a rising standard of living. That's the problem with people -they always want more.
What do economists mean by a hard or a soft landing? In developed economies a hard landing implies negative growth, but not in China, where growth has averaged 9% over the past two decades. A soft landing would be growth slowing from its current 10% to not much less than 7%, the minimum needed to create enough jobs to absorb surplus rural labour and workers laid off by state-owned firms. Even that could still imply a halving in the rates of growth in industrial production and investment. A hard landing means growth significantly below 7%. Official figures suggest that growth after the early 1990s boom never dipped below 7%—a perfect soft landing. But many economists reckon that growth really slowed to 3-4%.

Indeed, the undervalued yuan is one important cause of China's credit boom and rising inflation. China's capital controls are porous, and investors all over Asia are betting on a currency revaluation by buying property in Shanghai or Beijing or putting their money into yuan deposits to take advantage of interest rates higher than the paltry level available in America. The yuan has been more or less pegged against the dollar since 1995. If, as a result of capital inflows, there is an excess supply of foreign currency, the central bank must buy it and sell yuan to keep the exchange rate stable. This injects new liquidity into the banking system, thereby feeding the credit boom. The central bank has been issuing bonds to mop up the liquidity, but this “sterilisation” is getting harder as the amounts swell. The bank has had trouble selling enough bonds in recent months, so the money supply continues to surge.

China's pegged exchange rate is not only causing problems at home. America accuses China of stealing jobs by keeping the yuan artificially low. In fact, it is not so clear that the yuan is undervalued. On the basis of purchasing-power parity (ie, relative prices) it does look undervalued. But almost all poorer countries look cheap by this gauge, and over the past decade China's real exchange rate has risen. Andy Xie, an economist at Morgan Stanley, calculates that, in real terms, the yuan has risen by 40-50% against both the dollar and the euro since 1993.

Bet you won't hear too much about that during the upcoming US elections.
But what about another apparently telling piece of evidence: China's huge trade surplus with America? This, argue American politicians, proves that the yuan is undervalued. In fact it does not. China's overall trade balance was in deficit in the first three months of this year, thanks to strong import growth.
That won't be mentioned much in the US, either.
A third argument is that China's large surplus on its basic balance (the sum of the current-account and net foreign direct investment) and its huge build-up of foreign reserves are both symptoms of currency undervaluation. Mr Xie again disagrees. The increase in reserves, he argues, partly reflects speculative capital inflows. Moreover, if the capital account was opened (which is unlikely over the next four or five years), allowing firms and households to hold foreign assets, the yuan would probably fall, not rise, as the Chinese diversified their savings.

These arguments help to explain why the Chinese have so far ignored American demands to revalue their currency. It is not just crude mercantilism; there is much uncertainty about the yuan's correct value. The Chinese government says it will move towards a more flexible exchange rate in the medium term, but for the moment it wants to keep the yuan stable in order to support broader economic stability. Yet in fact, a flexible exchange rate can offer more stability, partly by providing a safety valve which helps to protect the real economy.

So China has deliberately removed a tool from their eocnomic kit and even they aren't sure if the exchange rate is at the "right" level. Only markets can really settle such issues for sure, but opening the yuan to convertability will bankrupt the entire financial system. So America's politicians may or may not get the yuan exchange rate they want and cause an economic collapse with very definite consequences. That's why American political calls for a revaluation are cr@p.
The strongest argument for a revaluation now is not that the yuan is undervalued, but that an adjustment would halt speculative capital inflows and so mop up the excess liquidity. It would be unwise for China to float the yuan until it has cleaned up its banking system, but it could repeg against the dollar at a higher rate and shift to a currency basket, which is what the government has said it would like to do. The snag, however, is that a small revaluation of only 5% might encourage expectations of a further appreciation and attract more capital inflows. Any revaluation would need to be large enough, say 10-20%, to head off such speculation. But a rise of such proportions would be unacceptable to the government, so the yuan is likely to remain fixed for the moment.

If so, the normal weapon to cool an overheating economy, higher interest rates, is likely to prove partly self-defeating in China because a rise in interest rates would lure in yet more hot money. Besides, interest rates play a modest role in an economy in which credit is allocated with little regard to its price. Despite China's reforms of recent years, the government still controls more than half of the economy. Most state-owned enterprises do not care about the cost of borrowing because they have no need to make profits. Local-government construction, a key feature of the investment boom, also remains unaffected by the cost of money, so long as credit is freely available. Higher interest rates will have the biggest impact on home mortgages and consumer loans. Yet the mortgage business is small, and consumer spending has been relatively weak.

Another way to slow the economy is fiscal tightening. The government says that it plans to trim its budget deficit slightly from 2.9% of GDP in 2003 to 2.5% this year. But if Beijing were truly worried about the economy overheating then surely it could cut public investment and run a budget surplus? Unfortunately, nothing is so simple. Unlike a developed-market economy, China lacks effective tools to fine-tune demand. Just as the interest-rate tool is weak, so fiscal policy is hampered by socio-political factors. That leaves the central bank with quantitative controls as its main policy tool. The risk with such crude measures is that it is easy to overdo things and cause a more severe contraction than intended...

What is China's sustainable growth rate? That is much trickier to answer than it would be for a developed economy such as America's. China's economy is not limited in the same way by the supply of labour or capital. It has a vast pool of surplus labour in the countryside, and masses of capital thanks to unusually high domestic saving and inward foreign direct investment. There is also massive scope for productivity gains as workers move from low value-added agriculture to higher-value activities. In theory, this could allow China to sustain growth of 8% for another two decades. In practice, the limiting factor will be the inability of its financial system to allocate capital efficiently until it carries out financial-market reforms...

China's current pace of growth in investment is unsustainable. Its combination of a badly functioning banking system, excessively cheap money and heavy government meddling is bound to result in some bad investment decisions. It would be wrong, however, to dismiss most of China's investment as wasteful. And even if China's current investment boom turns to bust, it would be foolish to write off China's economic future.

That final point is the most important. If you look only 10 to 15 years into the future, China's economic future is bright. The next few years are far harder to read. But at least China has learnt from the last time this happened in the early to mid 90s. Hopefully this time they are acting early enough to forestall worse happening later. Perhaps Mr. Greenspan could actually learn something from China after all?



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:09
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» Startup Skills links with: Carnival of the Capitalists




Passing on

As predicted, the kdis have generously passed on their illness. Mrs M has been struck by Bornholm's disease. This is a painful tightening around the lungs making it hard to move, especially for a pregnant asthmatic like Mrs M. She seemed to be getting better over the weekend only to take a turn last night again. The doctor says it cannot harm the baby, which is good news, but it can take as long as two weeks to recover, which is not.

The only bright side in all of this is the name of the virus that causes this: coxsackie. One of the best names for a virus I've ever come across. Kudos to the dirty-minded researcher who came up with that one. Coxsackie - it makes me grin every time.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:41
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May 14, 2004
Enemablog

As another week draws to a close it is time for the weekly wrap of what's what.

The Blogosphere's answer to reality TV, Blog Survivor, is back with prizes. Go have a look and get ready for emaciated, bitchy, backstabbing blogging (not much different to what already happens, really).

Here in Hong Kong there's a new political candidate on the scene. Hemlock in 2008. It's time to get the English running Hong Kong again. The campaign picture at the bottom of this entry will soon be plastered over every pole and bumper in the city. What an improvement on what's there now. Even if the design was outsourced and offshored.

Marmot gives us a world tour of stupid territorial disputes, showing that Asia is not alone in this soon-to-be Olympic sport. While on Olympic sports, Giles has found two new ones. He also has an important health warning.

Tom Paine sums up the never-ending battle against anti-Semitism (although at the moment they seem to have bandwidth problems).

The always-interesting Jeff G starts an interesting discussion on wife-beaters and Jim (amongst others) responds as does Ilyka. Dean has a very different view. Helen gives us her common sense view of feminism.

Iowahawk follows reaction to George Bush's apology over the Iraq prison abuse. Ace has another apology that should of been made but wasn't.

It's been a big week for blogs. Following the disgusting beheading of Nick Berg it seems that much of the "Big Media" did not provide the information many were looking for. So they naturally turned to the internet, as Instapundit shows. Ace notes the double-standards at play. The power of Google and blogs combined and lead to massive spikes in traffic to many sites, as Kevin demonstrates (also try here and here for other examples) and fellow Wizbang-er Paul thinks this proves the power of blogs. He's right. Blogs come into their own on issues that aren't well-served by the general media because there are so many of them, because they aren't subject to editing and because if you fill enough niches one day you're going to hit gold. Belmont also has an interesting take on the double-standards over Abu Ghraib and Nick Berg in the media. Meanwhile Harry finds another American atrocity. The last word goes to Mr Green, who neatly and succinctly summarises the difference between the two cases.

With all the bad news streaming out of Iraq, Bill's wife Alice is part of Operation Smile and doing something to turn the tide for only a small donation.

Via Paul, Hog on Ice helps us understand the curious American tradition of "frat-hazing".

Emma explains yet another benefit of working from home. It gives new meaning to "home-work".

While trafficking in people is undeniably bad, especially in these enlightened times, there is absolutely no excuse to permit trafficking in children.

LeeAnn meets stupidity face-to-face and lives to tell the tale.

Binary Circumstance explains a tad about that bastion of democracy, the USA, and how the Electoral College works.

Da Goddess will soon turn two.

Tim Blair notes the end of footy as we know it.

The good Professor plucks victory out of the (academic) jaws of defeat and lives to tell the tale.

Movable Type, the free software used to make this and numerous blogs, is now offering Version 3. Problem is the only free version they are offering is for single author blogs; otherwise it's US$100 a pop. While I understand the need to make a commercial return on a product, this seems to be shooting themselves in the foot with both barrels. Judging by the reaction (look at the trackbacks and while you're at it ask yourself why any such announcement would have trackbacks enabled?) it is not a popular move and will see plenty of blogs look to move to other free systems such as Wordpress or the soon-to-be Minx. It seems they've taken a well-liked program and imposed overly-onerous restrictions on the free version. Given blogging remains mostly a hobby rather than a way of life for 99% of bloggers charging such a high price for the new version is unlikely to work. They will need to repackage their licences and quickly to contain the damage from this. In the interim many will remain on the older (still free) versions.

Oh, and I helped cause a Beltway traffic jam.

hemlock-08b.jpg

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:31
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Newton's fourth law

The amount of pizza ordered will never quite be enough to satiate an entire office at a Friday lunch.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 13:52
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Caption time

"Look at my manicure. I'm a metrosexual."

bling_bling.jpg

The real story is here. I have a feeling we could all do better.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:40
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Double or nothing

By now you know that China has put the kibosh on any chance of full universal sufferage in Hong Kong for 2007/8. With the headline "Moderate democracts set for talks in Beijing" the SCMP reports:

Moderate democrats are poised to visit Beijing to discuss a proposal for political reform in Hong Kong with central government officials.

The South China Morning Post understands a dozen moderate democrats, most of them social workers, will propose a "one man, two votes" formula when they go to the capital next month or in early July. Their proposal would give each elector in the 2008 Legislative Council poll two votes - one in a geographical constituency and one in a functional constituency.
It's an interesting tactic. If "one man, one vote" didn't work, why not ask for "one man, two votes" instead. Surely Beijing wouldn't say no to that?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:31
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In between

PB has fully recovered and JC is well on the way to recovery from some disease I'd never heard of before. Kids do they - they get all sorts of illnesses with Latin names that could mean anything. Why not call it as it is. For example, "Your daughter has 'high fever with cough and crakiness and a mild dose of sleeplessness'." So much easier to understand than poximelia or whatever they just had.

Now Mrs M are entering that twilight zone where the kids have recovered but before we come down with it. It will happen - it always does. And when it does the kids will be fine and expect to do all their normal activities while their parents struggle for life.

Kids: giving parents strange illnesses for centuries.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:45
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Some thoughts

There is a saying that if you have nothing worth saying then say nothing. The blogosphere is a clear contradiction of that. At the same time the blogosphere appears to be desperately trying to prove the million monkeys typing theory. Nothing close to Shakespeare, yet.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:34
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May 13, 2004
Sinking elephants

What happens when you build an incredibly expensive project meant to show off your world-class city and facilities, only to find no-one wants to use it and it is sinking in the ground? Ask Shanghai. As part of the Pudong Airport development the local Government built the world's only commercial maglev train. Cost: US$1.2 billion. It takes 8 minutes, compared to 45 minutes in a cab. Except the station is 10 minutes walk away from the passenger terminal at the airport with few signs or directions. The city terminus is a taxi ride away from everywhere. The line is literally sinking into the ground. Ticket prices were too high so they cut them by a third. It will never make the cost back and is unlikely to ever be widely patronised.

A perfect example of the white elephants projects that are all over China, built by regions and cities more interested in the jobs and prestige (and kickbacks) than the rationality and practicality of the project. China's economic boom is made of many such projects. China's economic bust will be due to such projects.

China: Boondoggle country.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:27
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Asia by Blog

Time for a tour of what's happening in Asia...

May 12th marks an important day in Hong Kong history. Hemlock has announced his intention to run for Chief Executive. This is clearly the best argument yet for full democracy in Hong Kong, now. Chris notes the Asia Blog Awards flap makes the papers. Giles has found another way China is tightening its grip on Hong Kong. So Mr. B's tour of HK's wartime fortifications could come in handy.

DTL has a story on the ongoing crackdown on China's press (with a more recent example at Asia Media) and another on water pollution in China. China Herald has a short story from a reader of local Shanghai-ese standing up to forcable removals (May 11th, "protest...) - you people on Blogspot need to take advantage of their new "Post pages" service so you have permalinks that work!

The Sassy Lawyer has more on the Philippines election "quickcount" and finds herself choosing between the lesser of two evils. She also talks about the "showbiztocracy" and the unusual move from politics to show biz.

BOYI has the makings of a great caption contest with this picture. What's going on under that desk?

Adam does some fact-checking on an article Richard found by American conservative Paul Weyrich. I disagree with Richard's comment that it shows how the right views China: it simply shows that ignorance about China exists on all sides of the politics. China Letter has more on the China prison abuse story I mentioned yesterday. Durian Nation also finds the hyopcracy amusing and finds China's newest tool in the war against crime: mobile execution vans.

Cranial Cavity compares North Korea's News Agency with Robert Higgs with interesting results.

Shuxie takes a taxi and gets a lesson on minorities in Singapore out of it.

Marmot does some research on variations of the word Mongolian after seeing a phrase used by Daniel Drezner.

Glutter posts an article on China's attempts to control blogging. UPDATE: Yan points out her article is about internet censorship, not just blogging control.

The Ruck tells us about at least one Hollywood type that doesn't mind China's piracy trends.

If you've got any interesting links or blogs you think should be included, let me know.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 13:50
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Modernising influences

China is doing its best to make their TV viewing even more soporific than ever. From the SCMP (via Asia Media):

Mainland television presenters have been told to tone down their already tame performances or they will be taken off the air. Appearing on television with dyed hair, dropping English words into sentences and imitating expressions used by Hong Kong and Taiwanese presenters are examples of going too far, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television...

Presenters' appearances come in for particular attention, with the circular stating: "TV hosts should not wear bizarre clothes or show too much skin, and hairstyles should not be strange or dyed colourfully." Presenters are also warned they should maintain the purity of Putonghua and also ensure standard Chinese characters are used. Some of the trendier mainland presenters tend to pepper their sentences with English words like "hi", "cool" and "okay", but this practice should also be stopped, the media watchdog said. Many trends and styles on the mainland are copied from Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the watchdog also considers this undesirable.

Other clauses in the circular say movies and TV series featuring murders or terrorism should be limited and should never be shown in primetime. Indecent or suggestive wording is banned, as is any "superstitious content". Scenes showing people smoking, gambling, taking drugs or spitting should be avoided.

Presenters are also warned against doing anything that might be considered to be promoting religion on air.

Imagine American or Australian TV with these rules. If they added a ban on reality TV it might actually lead to an improvement! I'd be selling shares in any Chinese hair dye or fancy-dress companies. In the meantime China can rest easy knowing the Government cares deeply about insomnia and finding cures for it.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:34
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May 12, 2004
Quick learning

The Abu Ghraib incident is having wider ramifications.

China announced a campaign to weed out government officials who torture and maltreat prisoners, the latest in a string of moves apparently aimed at the United States over the abuse of Iraqi inmates.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate said it would investigate and punish anyone who "commits crimes connected with infringement of human rights"...the campaign would focus on five key human rights areas including illegal detention, torture and maltreatment of prisoners, and malpractices that cause serious losses of people's lives and property.

In an unusually frank admission, the Procuratorial Daily said 1,064 cases of human rights violations by officials were carried out last year, largely illegal detention and police extorting confessions through torture. It said 66 people died or were injured in these cases, without going into details.

At the same time China is putting out stories expressing outrage on the Iraq prison abuse. In an attempt to gain the "upper hand" in the morality stakes they end up looking hypocritical instead. 66 people died through prison abuse according to China's own figures - no doubt the real number is higher. Clamping down on prison abuse is to be applauded and can be seen as the silver lining in the cloud. As always there is great irony of China taking the US to task on human rights issues.

The problem is I don't recall China being in a war. These are regular prisoners, not prisoners of war. That's not to excuse the abuse in Iraq, merely to set each in context.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 19:15
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Forbidden things

Newspapers are playing an attempt by Louisiana to ban low-cut jeans as bad news for Britney. But the article actually exposes something far worse:

The proposed bill, approved by the state's House Criminal Justice Committee last week, would outlaw wearing clothing in public that intentionally exposes undergarments or "any portion of the pubic hair, cleft of the buttock or genitals".
Let me firstly say I can't wait for "cleft of buttock" to go onto the statue books. Secondly I could not agree more with this law. Of course it means nothing for Britney and her hipsters. She doesn't expose her pubic hair, her butt crack or her genitals through her clothing. Indeed part of her allure is that she almost shows them but doesn't (the other part of her allure is she looks like juvenile jail-bait, but that's for another time).

This law would rightly outlaw such ludricous fashions as those boys who wear their jeans so low their underpants hang out; mechanics who's butt crack is exposed to all; those women who wear only bras; and other crimes against good fashion and taste. It's almost worth moving to Louisiana for.

Lastly let's think of all the Google hits I'm going to get from this post.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:00
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Believing what you read

The SCMP reports China is banning chequebook 'news' - they will no longer print paid reports or advertorials.

Three leading mainland newspapers - including the People's Daily - have announced a blanket ban on printing paid reports lavishing praise on local authorities and officials. The move is part of the central government's efforts to root out corruption and restore the official media's credibility...

Advertorials masquerading as news stories or features are common in the mainland's print media and represent a significant source of revenue for media organisations. The People's Daily and other party papers often set aside special columns or pages for articles lauding the achievements of local governments or local departments, complete with large photographs of heads of parties or organisations...

Such advertorials have proved very effective for officials seeking promotions, as the People's Daily is a must read for all party officials up to top government leaders. However, the practice has helped breed widespread corruption in mainland media organisations. Apart from the paid advertorials, local officials often bribe journalists to write puff pieces about their personal achievements.

Further proof of both the quality of China's newspapers and the cadres in Government. Rising through the ranks is a matter of bank balance and connections. Competence is not a factor.

Time-honoured newspaper traditions are falling foul to China's drive to stop corruption completely undermining the public's faith in the Government. But where we will now find out about all the glorious prestige projects of the provinces and cities? Think of the children.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:25
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Wastage

I took a taxi today to avoid talking to that guy who's name I still do not know. Does that make me a bad person? I just want a few minutes to myself on my way to and from work - is that too much to ask?

Anyway, the story of the purchase of a stake in Liverpool FC by the Thai PM gets more interesting. Forget about the second bidder. There's much more to look at.

Thaksin Shinawatra, who founded the vast Thai telecommunications empire Shin Corp before entering politics, said he was leading a consortium of Thai investors which aimed to invest "more than" Bt4bn (£60m) in the Premiership club.

The consortium is believed to include Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thailand's reclusive but influential liquor baron, whose Chang Beverages - a local beer brewer - is locked in a bitter legal battle with Carlsberg, sponsor of the Liverpool team shirts.

The telecoms mogul turned politician also suggested some taxpayer funds could help finance the purchase, which he said was "an investment in the future" that would boost Thai football players so they could compete in the World Cup.
(My emphasis)

We'd better thank our stars all Tung Che-hwa could waste our tax dollars on was a bunch of aging rock-stars and a little-watched video. Thai tax money on a football club? What about the Thai taxpayers that support other clubs? Will it become compulsary to swear allegiance to the King of Thailand and Liverpool FC? Will it be treason if you support Fulham or (perish the thought) Man U? If you're going to do something with tax dollars, why not try something like this?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:40
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May 11, 2004
Cleaning

What is it with money launderers wealthy men and English football clubs?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 18:36
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Learning

You would have thought he would have learnt after the first 80 times. Obviously the laws of alimony differ in India but think of all the honeymoons.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:19
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Asia by blog

It's time to see what's what amongst Asian blogs.

Richard and Crooked Timber show the kind of idiocy that passes for political discussion in Hong Kong. Another good reason the Liberals are destined for oblivion if universal sufferage ever arrives in HK. Is there any other place in the world where business has its own political party? Richard also points out another gem of Chinese hypocracy. DLT also points out a nasty piece of work on fear and freedom of speech in HK. Kamelian x-rays points out a bit of US law about Hong Kong. UPDATE: Conrad responds.

The Sassy Lawyer wonders who really wins in the Philippines elections. Durian Nation notes a potential split in Taiwan's KMT.

ALN points to some interesting economic research (yes, it does exist) and shows how the weather can influence perceptions of China (via T-Salon, which with the whole Sinosplice group is now blocked at workplace for no apparent reason).

Conrad rightly sees Giles' Best Blogs in Asia as part of Hong Kong's long tradition of intellectual property theft. There's little doubt that Phil's original Asia Blog Awards remain the widely-accepted benchmark by those that matter, namely bloggers and their readers. If Giles manages to gain exposure for sites, then all well and good. However I can't help but feel there were better ways to go about it than this.

I've already asked him, but what is it with Shaky and webcams? Harry gets Love Hotels, mirrored ceilings, round beds, TV and ninjas all into one post. Plus it's a handy way to see if the new Blogger links work.

Marmot suggests the setting up of a Living in Korea blogazine. Kamelian x-rays isn't convinced on the benefits, is experiencing a serious case of beal. The whole "Living in" series are a great blogging tool and Living in China is a good example of a blogazine and aggregator. For example look at the interesting article on the interaction between the English language and Chinese blogospheres.

Overall it seems like things are slow around Asian blogging at the moment. And it doesn't help I can't see any of the Sinoplice blogs. To make it worse, unipeak is blocked too...any other similar proxy servers around?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 13:38
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Control

Following on yesterday's post on China's efforts in economic control comes a report from The Standard of Beijing trying to assert its authority over the provinces.

For the first time, a central government newspaper has lashed out at local officials and private investors for seeking to bypass Beijing's attempts to control the economy, citing the now infamous Jiangsu Tieben Steel and Iron Company as an example...

The Tieben project in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, violated various central government land requisition regulations, bank lending and environmental protection. Before being halted in March, the steel plant, with paid-up capital of just 300 million yuan (HK$282.9 million), was able to raise more than 10 billion yuan for a project with annual production capacity of 8.4 million tonnes...To bypass top levels of regulation, Tieben and Changzhou officials divided the steel project into about 20 smaller ones which were eventually approved singly.

While the world puts pressure on Beijing the reality is in a country as big as China the centre has only a limited impact on the economy. The central authorities would like to bring about a soft landing but this means various provinces giving up on prestige projects, forgoing the kudos and kickbacks such projects provide.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:02
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Confusion

PB is sick as dog but Misti the wonder dog is as fit as a fiddle. Which makes me wonder where the hell do these sayings come from?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:42
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May 10, 2004
Heavenly Competition

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has his own website, dispencing advice in all sorts of things like how to ruin a country with a corrupt theocracy and a handy guide to the latest Fatwas. Still you have the option of cutting out the middle-man and going straight to Allah.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 18:42
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Shock

Here's a massive surprise: it turns out that North Korea won't be giving up its nukes after all. Which means these guys were right and that Instapundit and Tim Blair have found that North Korea's word isn't worth the mouthpiece it's spouted from. They are in good company: the ongoing 6 party talks are a great stalling tactic which will achieve nothing unless China gets some backbone and puts pressure on the North Koreans. Do not hold your breath - North Korea provides a headache for the Americans and is useful for China geopolitcally even at the cost of having a failed nuclear armed state on its border.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 18:11
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The Laws of Economics and Communism

As part of Beijing's efforts to pop the emerging bubble in its economy they have announced planned price controls. Obviously Beijing doesn't subscribe to Alan Greenspan's "bubbles are only obvious after the fact" philosophy, which is just as well. It was only recently that China's biggest worry was deflation but the powers that be recognise an emerging inflation threat when they see it. Again, Mr. Greenspan could learn from the CCP on this score. However as noted previously, it's not easy being a central banker in an economy like China. So they revert to what they know best, command-style central price controls.


China plans to impose price controls on local governments in the latest attempt to curb inflation and prevent Asia's second-largest economy from overheating.

Provincial governments will be barred from raising prices for three months when local consumer prices rise more than 1 percent from the previous month or by more than 4 percent from a year earlier for three months in a row.

The problem is it won't work.
"The prices of 90 percent of commodities are decided by the market, rather than the government,'' said Li, of Haitong Securities Co. in Shanghai. Still, local governments "don't cooperate well with the nation's macroeconomic control and are inclined to raise prices for short-term profit.''
It applies mostly to utilities such as gas, electricity and transport. Shame the rest of the world doesn't want to help Beijing. When oil hits US$40 a barrel that's a direct cost that goes into things such as electricity and transport. When centrally mandated price controls ignore such basics as rising input costs, the end result will be more losses for state owned enterprises. And in China that means the state owned banks will bail out these utilities with more loans. Which makes their bad loan problems worse. And at the very peak of the China boom bad loans are estimated to take up to 40% of bank assets. At the top of the cycle. Furthermore the centre (Beijing) does not wield much control over the provinces, despite appearances to the contrary. As a province do you refrain from raising pricesor do you try and sneak them up and hope Beijing doesn't notice? This is the free-rider problem writ large: the pay-off for cheating by an individual exceeds the punishment, while the collective benefits only accrue if everyone obeys together. It's still no fun being a central banker in China.

Yes, we are witnessing the laws of economics and communism meet. Any takers on who's going to win? I know who I'm backing.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:42
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Last call

Malaysia once again prepares to show China that democracy isn't so bad when you know how to do it "right".

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:40
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When not to

The infamous Abu Ghraib prison photos (warning: the link is to the photos themselves) are so blatantly wrong and a badly timed self-inflicted blow for the Americans and British in Iraq. Rumsfield needs to resign over this - that's where the buck stops, after all. But that said one bigger question needs to be asked: why the hell were these soldiers taking photographs of their handy-work? The stupidity of it defies belief. Were they looking to take keepsakes home to show Ma and Pa what they did in the war? Did they want to prove what good work they were doing? That these people, who no doubt went to Iraq to serve their country, have instead destroyed their lives and sullied their country instead. It re-enforces Conrad's point that sending reservists into a combat zone has done more harm than good.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:20
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AIDS in China

The first step is to admit to the problem.

The State Council, Chinese cabinet, in a circular publicized Sunday admitted that AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) epidemic is still quickly spreading in the country and a series of urgent measures must be taken to change the situation.

In the 12-page circular, local governments at all levels and relevant organizations are required to pay extreme attention to combat AIDS, and major governmental leaders at all localities should be responsible for the AIDS spread. "Those officials breaching duty or hiding epidemic reports willbe severely punished," the circular says, calling for establishment of local AIDS prevention and treatment working committees in regions seriously afflicted by the AIDS.

Wu yi, China's erstwhile health minister and now Vice-Premier, is heeding the lessons of others. It will be interesting to watch what happens from here: despite appearances the central Government does not have a tight grip over what the provinces do. Here's hoping this time it will be different, before the epidemic becomes a disaster.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:54
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Sellers market

I shudder to think what the streets of Macau or Sha Tin after race day would be like if this catches on.

It also turns out the lottery isn't always what you expect, either. Who would have expected people earn US$1,000 a month might try and cheat a lottery with a prize pool of US$2 million?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:36
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Voting

Election day in the Philippines today, with a race between a high school drop-out movie actor versus the Ivy League educated economist. Hong Kong's (as well as Singapore's) large Filipino voting contingent (130,000 registered) are an important part of the system, having been enfranchised last year. Which is ironic given no-one else in Hong Kong has been enfranchised recently. These are the same people that suffer constant racism in Hong Kong. Make that a double irony, then.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:45
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May 07, 2004
Enemablog

Yes, the weekly blog round-up has been christened by no other than my Da. Sort of. I've taken the liberty of changing Enemalogue into Enemablog because that's my perogative and it gets me out of giving out a prize. I like to look at this as a way of purging all the links that get clogged up in the system over the week, leaving a sense of relief and release once done. So without further ado...

Even though it is only May, Giles has set up an Asian Blog Awards. This is a strange one, because Phil ran the original awards only last Christmas and rightly feels slighted by this new effort. As I (tried to) say in Phil's comments (they seem broken) while any publicity is good publicity, especially if it drives more traffic for Asian blogs and there was no copyright on the idea, Phil had specifically stated he intended to run the thing again, bigger and better and as a group effort. I should note here that I volunteered to help Phil so I am not an impartial observer. Nevertheless like all marketplaces, in the end the best product wins out. In this case if this year is anything like Phil's last effort then his version will maintain its position as the dominant Asia Blog Awards "brand". This will be Asia's next big blog bust-up.

Tom Paine from Silent Running had a big week. Firstly he exposed, then reported the removal, of a disgraceful piece of anti-semitism in the heart of downtown Melbourne. His concluding post finishes up by finding the silver lining in the whole sorry episode.

A funny and fact-filled addition to the HK blogging firamement is Chase Me Ladies. The layout sucks and its on Blogspot, but the content can be good and the comments better.

Chris discusses how work-loads vary on any Hong Kong working day.

Richard discusses censorship in China and discusses a prayer to be uttered every night by all world leaders.

Via Kate, Norbizness gives us the ultimate in "just add water" blogging. Frank gives a concise guide to cordial political discussion; what passes for "political discourse", especially in the blogosphere, would gain a lot by following this guide.

Wind Rider tells us about the coolest General in the US Army. At the same time Bill is doing his best to beg for links and hits in the only way he knows how, by insulting people. Luckily I didn't fall for it. While we're on stories, Ted brings breaking news in a big police case. I'll bet Ted would be delighted to know they've found water on Mars.

Jim gives us an insight into a little known part of Islamic life and finds the fine line between prostitution and capitalism. He's also started a neat little meme on your first and last albums, and I've added my own bit on the best album you own too.

Trey has problems with his homework.

Ozguru recognises genius when he sees it. We could and should all learn from his example.

Mr. Green, back from hiatus, demonstrates that guns don't hurt people, stupidity does.
He's got the perfect medication for it. While we're on stupidity, Allah gives Thomas Friedman a deserved full-court fisk. And Laurence at ATS points out an oft-overlooked contradiction of Yasser Arafat's (yes, another one).

Via Ted, Terps shows that racism exists in all sorts of places. Meanwhile Yobbo finds another benefit to the end of affirmative action - university students actually studying and succeeding instead of complaining.

Goldie calls for the first world blog meetup.

Via the good Professor, Ken Parish has a good post on the way forward for Australia's Aborigines after the abolition of ATSIC.

Rachel Lucas is back. Now I get to see what all the fuss is about. Kudos to Tuning Spork.

Finally Luuka the bear that did finally lands in (newly renovated website) Rob's patch in Jersey.

And with that, I'm off to celebrate my birthday (May 8th - it's on most desk calendars).

UPDATE: I forgot to mention Survivor. Then I was reminded. So now I didn't forget after all.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:41
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Savage Love

Everyone has a routine. Soemtimes it is small things, little moments that are eagerly awaited and enjoyed. One of them is my weekly reading of [NOT work safe] Savage Love by Dan Savage. It is weekly in the expat newspaper HK Magazine. Just read it. It is always interesting to see who you share the planet with.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:31
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Extradition update

Thanks to Tony for pointing me to another article on the ongoing Hong Kong/Australia extradition farcas. I've written about this before. Now HK's Secretary of Education, Arthur Li, has gone as far as diplomatically possible to slam Australia over the cases.

In Melbourne yesterday, Professor Arthur Li said Canberra's decision late last year to block the extradition of two white Australians to face criminal charges in Hong Kong risked being interpreted as having a racist component. "It has given people in Hong Kong a very unfavourable impression of what Australian justice is about," Professor Li told The Age.

Although visiting Australia to speak with education authorities, Professor Li spoke yesterday of the potential diplomatic fallout over the decision by Justice Minister Chris Ellison to block the extradition of construction industry executives, Chris Voigt, 46, of Brisbane, and David Roger Hendy, 42, of Perth.

If politicians continue to wonder about Australia's place and reputation in Asia, they should look at things like this and realise they make rods for their own backs.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:36
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Review time

I have just returned from attending one of the best concerts held in Hong Kong in years.

The Annual International Concert for JC's pre-school was a well-attended event held in City Hall. With a queue eager for the 10am start, an air of nervous anticipation was hidden behind nervous laughter and worries about who's child would screw up first. The morning was well compared by two of the parents who managed to link the various acts and when necessary (e.g. when one class took far too long to remove themselves from the stage) stall with interesting annecdotes.

The theme was "International", meaning various classes presented songs from around the world with the kids dressed in appropriate national costumes. After battling through that Disney die-hard "It's a Small World" the cuteness meter kept climbing as samples of Chinese, Japanese, Canadian, American (Disney again), Indonesian, Brazilian and Austrian (if the Sound of Music counts as Austrian) song and dance were paraded by kids. They aquitted themselves with honour, obligingly looking for Mum and Dad in the audience, finding them with a smile and a wave, before completely forgetting which way they were meant to be running.

A hushed awe came over the audience before the presentation from the Philippines. Yes, JC was the star of the entire presentation with her quietly affection performance during a bamboo slapping dance (don't ask) and her affectation of the shy girl from the country making her way in the big bad world of show biz. The standing ovation (of two, Mrs M and myself) was well-justified by this nuanced performace. Let me be the first to say that I see great things ahead for this star...it wouldn't be too early to lay bets on an Oscar.

The grand finale was yet another rendition of "It's a Small World". It didn't improve on the first. Finally a rousing rendition of the school song followed by an amazingly orderly dispersal of the crowd saw a great morning's entertainment conclude with the announcement of McDonald's for the performers.

When asked to comment, Tung Che-hwa, Hong Kong's Chief arse-lickerpledge fealty to the Motherland.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:32
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Update

Nothing happening. Film at 11.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:58
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More dangerous than alcohol

Good news: China has shut 8,600 internet cafes since February, because they were "admitting juveniles".

"They have brought great harm to the mental health of teenagers and interfered with the school teaching, which has aroused strong reaction from the public," said the GAIC...

The Chinese government has launched a nationwide check on all Internet cafes from February to August so as to halt the entry of minors as well as to prevent access to detrimental information through the Internet, according to a circular released in February jointly by the Ministry of Culture, the GAIC, the Ministry of Public Security and other relevant government departments.

It used to be tennagers sneaking into bars for a drink. But obviously the internet is far more dangerous than that.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:34
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Rushing

Hong Kong has a reputation as a busy, bustling city. The chaotic traffic cedrtainly testifies to that, as does the large crowds of pedestrians that push against and into each other. So it puzzles me greatly that anytime a Hong Konger reaches an escalator they stop dead. This morning, for example, heading the escalator at the Central Post Office I was rudely pushed out the way by a man in a hurry. This is not uncommon. But as soon as his feet hit the escalator he stopped while I casually walked past him up the steps. The only people that ever walk up escalators are tourists or expats. I do not know why. Even more puzzling in this city that drives on the left is why everyone stands on the right when on escalators. I've talked about this before but I cannot grasp the logic behind standing on the side that naturally should be the "overtaking" lane in a city that drives left.

Hong Kong: puzzling Westerners for decades.

It could be worse. It is becoming expensive to take a stroll in a park.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:35
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May 06, 2004
A tale of two papers

The Sydney Morning Herald has a new website that has completed the move to look like a tabloid paper, despite pretentions to being a broadsheet. On the main page the news takes up about 1/3 of the screen, with plenty of distractions on the sides - the regular celebrity gossip and oddities that are the grist of the modern news site mill. By way of contrast, the website of the fully tabloid News group is far more simply laid out, with the celebrity gossip and the like pushed to the bottom of the page. The news itself dominates more than 2/3s of the page, with only the sidebar taking space. It is easier to read and easier on the eye and obviously substantial thought has gone into it, something that cannot be said for the "new" SMH site.

It would appear that in their websites each of the papers are trying to emulate the other. And the SMH have botched their website renovation.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:45
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Asia by blog

Yesterday's Asia by blog has proved a resounding success, if the sole email I got in reply is anything to go by. Durian Nation got the idea. Link back to here or leave a comment if you think there are other posts or blogs that should be going into this. I use the Asia Blogs roll and the Asian ones in the Good Stuff roll from my sidebar. I'm always open others.

China Letter has a great post that covers China, the Uygur and his personal relationship to both. I don't often say this, but this is a must read.

Before I go on I should mention that Giles has set-up an Asian Blog Awards. You need to register before you vote, but that's a small price to pay in order to reward the sites you love (that would be this one in the Hong Kong category). Now, on with the link-fest.

The Philippines goes to the polls soon. Sassy Lawyer has some thoughts.
Richard and Douglas talk about religion, especially the Mormons, and China.
Nicholas gives us some stories from life in the Singapore army.
Madame Shutterfly has a photo exhibition planned in support of the HK Dog Rescue gallery.
Marmot talks about China's demand for an apology from Japan, and notes that Japan and South Korea won't be going to war this week after all.
Bre gives up on Singaporeans.
Alex tries her hand at Haiku.
Conrad talks about the grizzly murders in Boracay this week of 4 people and notes some subtle racism.
Shaky has some pictures of China that have been doing the rounds. (I can't recall which blogger had these first - I'd be happy for anyone who can point to the original).
Hemlock, while counting his money, sees the Great Garlic Disaster of 2004 as China's way of consolidating its grip on "industrial safety mayhem".

By the way, apparently London's Chinatown may be moving.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:10
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Music

Jim wants to know about the first and last album you have purchased. It ties in with something I was going to write about anyway, and it's always important to kick a meme along. I've even added another twist.

My first album that I purchased was Crowded House's eponymous first release. I clearly recall returning to my uncle and aunt's house, where we were staying at the time, and delicately placing the LP on the turntable. Yes, LP on turntable. That's how we did things back then kids. It started my life-long love affair with Neil Finn, the only man I'd question my sexuality over.

My last purchase was actually made by Mrs M, and it's Norah Jones's latest effort. Nice mesh of her jazzy roots and her selling out for commercial gain.

Now I'm going to add to Jim's meme. What is the best album in your possession? For mine it is Jeff Buckley's Grace, the very best album of the 1990s. His untimely death meant this was and remains his only true studio album, before the desperate rush to cash in saw the release of anything he'd ever done. His album contains the all-time definitive version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, both lyrically and musically a superb song risen to the sublime (including the lyrics that inspired The Minor Fall, The Major Lift). It combines a collection of solid rock and roll songs with an operatic voice, at times quiet and peaceful, at others unleashed rage and fury. It raised the bar in modern music by proving that rock can be art.

To this day I have not found an album that beats it.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 13:06
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Technical announcements

Just been mucking around a little. There is now a box at the top of the sidebar that you need to tick in order for links to open in a new window. Otherwise any links will open in the same window, taking you away from Simon World and increasing my hit counter when you hit the "back" button to return (if you return, that is). Also I've added the little-requested search button so you can prospect for the gold in them thar' hills of entries.

Kudos to Jim for getting the About Me Q&A started.

Finally there's a "Show comments" at the end of each entry so you can read the comments on the same page, without opening a new window.

UPDATE: Thanks to Pixy and Madfish there's now in-line show/hide comments too.
UPUPDATE: Actually that's a lie. It seems the in-line show/hide conflicted with the Show comments feature (it was always opening new windows, which defeats the purpose). Back to the drawing board...

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:05
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Workplace relations continued

There's an out-of-town visitor sitting in our row this week. She's obviously been shopping at Shanghai Tang. That's why she's come to work wearing their fluorescent pink Chinese smoking jacket. And I forgot my sunglasses today.

In better news, JC's teacher reported in this morning's parent-teacher meeting that she is extremely smart. We already knew that. She's also easily distracted. I told her I didn't know where she got that from, and to leave me alone while I play with the blocks.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:48
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Are they new glasses?

Honey, you don't have a headache...

This guy, he has a headache. How the hell do you have an accident that results in that many nails being driven into your head? I'd love to read the insurance claim.

home_nail.gif



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:29
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May 05, 2004
Cat out of the bag

I spent the morning organising some flights home for the family at Christmas time. By then Ubul will be four months old, so we needed to book for him/her too. The itinerary has just come back. The travel agent has had to book Ubul under a dummy name.

They used Mister T.

Apparently some travel agent already knows the sex of Ubul, and that he will be a bad-ass black man with heaps of gold jewellery and a job as the brawn of the A-Team. Bet none of you saw the one coming. We might leave the naming contest open a little longer...

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:24
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Athens

Three bombs outside an Athens police station is a serious matter. Three blasts, timed and clearly co-ordinated, with phone warnings and exactly 100 days before the Olympics show a high degree of planning. The people behind this need to be caught quickly.

Then they can be put to work getting the Olympic venues ready.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:13
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Asia by blog

As an ongoing series I am going to link to some of what's going on in various Asian blogs, to give you a feel for what is happening in this part of the world.

Firstly the always interesting ALN talks about Bush rejecting union calls to punish China. ALN is always worth a read - it is one of the few blogs that actually provides interesting and worthy material. The same applies to China Letter, which is on blogspot so no specific links but always with interesting stories from China and on the plight of the Uygurs, one of China's minorities.

Michael, a man with impeccable taste and the force behind the "Living in" meta-blogs (like Living in China), has an excerpt of the life of a young gay man in Shanghai. Douglas looks at the perverse impact of a ban on condoms in the Philippines. Durian Nation has a comment on the Taiwan Times, including a link to their Sept 11 editorial that needs to be read to be believed. Conrad shows that the war in Afghanistan is fought on many fronts, both large and small. Meanwhile Giles notes in "Subtle Hint" that HK is under attack.

Michael Friedman, who came up with the Kos advertising boycott has an entry on America's growing Asian population. Interestingly Chris points out that racism is alive and well here in Hong Kong, especially to fellow Asians. The Marmot shows that Asia still contains plenty of rivalries, some of which manifest themselves in pointless and stupid ways.

Incestuous Amplification talks about the North Korean missile situation and takes aim at the ignorance of some other commentators on the matter. Alexandre shows us what May Day really means in Singapore. Single Planet notes that even the Great Firewall has it's bad days. Both Fons and Joseph Bosco note an article from the Guardian on propaganda and censorship in China.

Finally, Richard gets the low-down on the low-down.

There you have it. If you have other links you think would work within this theme, start your own post and link back to here. Any comments or feedback are appreciated.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:07
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Deflating

I had to ring Cathay Pacific. I was put through to a helpful Customer Service Executive. But what is with calling everyone Executives these days? An executive works in an office with an oak desk and chesterfield couch, talking to his (always male) chums from the club before heading to lunch while he plans his yearly ski trip. It is not someone sitting in a call centre fielding frequent flyer questions. Title inflation. The scourge of the business world.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 13:16
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Respect

My brother Paul has finally made it in the corporate world.

In his own words:

After only 5 years in the corporate world, I have finally reached the iconic status that all people truly desire.

Everyone at work has to make a lifestyle choice, weighing up the invetiably higher paycheck in return for longer hours. There are ways the company's we work for provide rewards, bonuses or freebies. Some of us get free drinks on Fridays, better work hours, free car parking. Some of us just work bloody long hours in order to get the extra money.

But at the end of the day, there is probably something more important at work than money, and that is respect. From personal experience, I have worked at a firm that paid less but where my work was valued and my opinion was listened to, and then went to a firm that paid better but others took credit for my work and then blamed me for the hours i spent doing the work.

It was like an old Dilbert cartoon, where they we offered a choice between low pay, but their work was valued, or high pay, but at the end of every day, their work would be burnt. And the cartoon characters thought that both were a better choice than what they currently had....

In my current job, I am in a position where most people treat me with respect. With 5 years corporate experience, I have a good idea of who it is important to know in a business. The head of the company wouldn't know me from a bar of soap, but he is totally irrelevant to my job, so any effort on my behalf would be a waste of time. But I know all the secretaries, and one of my co-workers, who has been here for over 20 years, happily organises for anything I need to find out from any other department. The Sales and Marketing people live in fear of my phone calls, HR and Legal come around for a chat before they do anything major to get my opinion.

But until today, I didn't have the respect of the most important person.

Since we moved to Mascot, I have been reporting on a nearly daily basis to this person. It's hard dealing with a person so frequently when they act like they don't know who you are. It is a bit infuriating, but you learn to live with it. But today, that all changed. The man in the coffee shop recognised me and made my large Mocha without asking what I wanted. I was still standing in line when he told me my large mocha was read and waiting at the counter. He even stamped my coffee card twice to commemorate the special occassion.

Today is a great day.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:47
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Baggage

I return home last night to find JC has a new handbag, a Barbie one (of course). Who would have guessed there could be so many variations of Barbie bags? Anyway, I asked her where she got it. She told me her teacher gave it to her. Puzzled, I asked her if her teacher gave all the girls in her class a Barbie bag. She told me only she got one. Puzzling. What was even more puzzling is the money that was inside the bag. Admittedly it was small change, a few dollars. But if I understand correctly, JC got not only the bag but some money as well.

At last my massive investment in school fees is paying (albeit small) dividends! I spent the rest of the evening following Misti the wonder dog around to see if I can recoup some the massive vetinary investment we've made in her, too. No luck yet but I'm hoping she'll cough up some money some time soon.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:10
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Discipline

If this is what they do to teachers I'd hate to be a student.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:03
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Wastage

What is the point of the HK$500 note? It is rapidly becoming like the HK$1000, a pointless note that is not accepted in most transactions. It sits in your wallet, waiting for some opportunity to break it into the ubiquitous red $100 notes instead. And what's with an exchange rate of HK$7.8=US$1? I never did my 7.8 times tables at school, let alone my 5.7 times table to convert to Aussie dollars.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:57
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May 04, 2004
Maths

You can tell the last couple of days have been slow at work by the large number of posts, even by my standards. Which leads to the formula:

Amount of work = 1 / Number of posts per day*

Here endeth the lesson.

*Note I say nothing about the quality, just the quantity.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:37
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Breathing

The world has much to learn from China. China is smart enough to group all of its holidays into two seperate one week breaks. This means all tourist venues can be as crowded as possible, and workers miss none of the workplace gossip. One other benefit is that all the factories shut down for the week. So the air is breathable this week in Hong Kong, while the factories of Shenzhen and Guandong are closed.

Lest you Americans think this means nothing to you, Tom points out you should care too.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:29
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DVD Review

As part of a new series, I am going to occasionally review various movies, books and music. With a slight twist.

First up is any of the range of Baby Einstein DVDs. There are numerous DVDs in the series that apparently have different names, yet appear exactly the same to the adult eye. They consist of a series of loosely connected images represented via photos, videos, puppets and toys. There is no narrative, no actors and no point. There is an annoying meandering musical backing track. Without the use of narcotics it is hard to see how this could even pass as entertainment. Yet for some reason JC and PB find this one of the most fascinating series ever made. Meanwhile I can comfort myself into thinking this is educational and it isn't bad parenting to encourage the kids to watch as much TV as possible.

So overall I heartily recommend this series. It can keep the attention of both a 3.5 year old and a 20 month old for 50 minutes. It might not make any sense, but it is not for us question how these things work.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:44
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Career paths

When I was at school apprenticeships were for trades such as plumbing, electricians, mechanics and the like. Apparently there is wider choice in Germany now.

Brothels failing to employ a certain number of apprentices will not be exempted from the financial penalties that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government wants to introduce on all companies later this year.
What they failed to report was the joy of thousands of German schoolboys and the multiple work experience applications flooding brothels. I can see it now. "Now Fritz, the jacuzzi needs chlorinating every morning. Make sure the condom bowl is refilled before 5pm. If you keep this up one day you too can have a brothel of your own and you will be your own pimp."

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:11
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What did they win?

Previously Shaky has talked about one thing common to all photos in Asia: "v" signs. This requries the human(s) in the photo to make a v sign, irrespective of the place, time or reason for the photograph. During my visit to Shanghai I witnessed numerous "v" signs. I don't understand why. Have they won something? Is it a secret Asian way of saying "Having a great time and wish you were here?" Is it a vain attempt to make the photograph more interesting? To boost self-esteem? To make sure people realise there's a human in the photo? If I were working in a photo lab I'd be asking for danger money to protect my sanity from all those friggin' v signs.

Or is it just a plot to drive gweilos crazy crazier?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:24
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Rest easy

Now I can sleep better know that North Korea won't sell nukes to Al-Qaeda. Well, sort of.

"We're entitled to sell missiles to earn foreign exchange," Kim Yong-nam, deputy to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, said in an interview with Harrison.

"But in regard to nuclear material our policy... is that we would never allow such transfers to al Qaeda or anyone else. Never."

So al Qaeda don't get nukes, but there's plenty of other things the friendly North Koreans can offer. Not to mention other countries that may then on-sell to al Qaeda. Isn't tourism an easier way to earn foreign exchange? "Visit North Korea. We're unclear on the nuclear."

Guess I won't be sleeping so well after all.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:51
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Old is new

Hong Kong could learn from Shanghai. It won't, because of the combination of arrogance and avarice that drives this city and its attitude to the mainland. But that is Hong Kong's loss.

Shanghai boasts a broad avenue of colonial buildings called the Bund. Not even decades of Communist rule have dented these magestic buildings, the sense of history and the uniqueness of the place. In HK there remains few such buildings. Instead there is a mad rush to knock everything down and building skyscrapers instead. Shanghai is in a building frenzy too. Yet Shanghai has managed to build interesting new office and apartment towers (as well as plenty of bland ones) while keeping its older historical buildings intact. Shanghai is dotted with parks. Not country parks with tarmac trails, but real parks with grass and boulevards and people walking backwards and playing cards and statues of Marx. On the other hand, Shanghai has nothing to match the fast-disappearing Victoria Harbour, the vibrancy and pace of Hong Kong. But if you didn't know which city you were in you would assume Shanghai had been the British colony and that Hong Kong had been Chinese all along.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:21
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Public secrets

Does anyone else find it strange that the Vatican's Secret Archives are actually published on their website? If they really want to keep it secret, they should call it a blog.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:37
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Questions to ask

1. Where do you live?
2. How many kids do you have?
3. Where do they go to school?

OK, now tell me all about this car you're selling.

(Courtesy of Charles, who knows the right people to make this work)

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:44
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Creeping

Even more proof of the current mini-bubble in Hong Kong property.

Meanwhile Henry Tang, HK's Financial Secretary, enters the "Stating the bleeding obvious" contest. It's good "The government has learned a good lesson from the experience" given it cost HK$100 million. I know schools are expensive in HK, but this takes the cake.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:29
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May 03, 2004
Systems

Last week I had the pleasure of spending time as a tourist in Shanghai. It is a beautiful city and I highly recommend a visit. Over the next few days (i.e. as I remember things) I will post about various parts of it. However one thing is extremely important for all people visiting Shanghai. There are no road rules. While the over-arching political system is authoritarian Communism, the roads work on complete anarchy. When you have three near-death experiences in a single cab ride you realise your life insurance needs updating.

The roads of Shanghai are wide are well-planned. This means the what appears to be three lanes actually ends up being eight. In the rules of the road it must read "Gaps are a waste and your patriotic duty is to fill it as soon as possible". In many places you give way to anything bigger or faster than you. Not in Shanghai. Rusty taxis built in 1965 have just as much right to fill that impossibly small space as anyone else, including the thousands of bicyclists all fighting for the same space. Traffic lights are obviously considered mere guidelines. Green means go. Yellow means go. Red means go. Turning at intersections involves a careful dash between oncoming traffic, random pedestrians and even more random bikes. All in front of the ubiquitous traffic police, who's main job is to point and shake fingers at cars that actually obey traffic lights.

What is truly amazing is in four days I did not witness one accident. Somehow. On the other hand China has 300 traffic related deaths a day. A day. That is 110,000 deaths a year. Not to mention the 1,500 injuries each day (560,000 a year). And don't think it is because the country is so populous.

"According to our research, the death toll and death rate per 10,000 automobiles here is eight times more than that in America," he said.

The most important factor was still the negligence of drivers. Statistics showed that last year some 78.5 per cent of the deaths, about 86,000 people, were caused by improper driving.

I can understand why. My advice: if you're visiting Shanghai (or anywhere else in China), wear brown underpants and learn to pray.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 18:01
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Manipulation

Late last week China forced its banks to stop some lending. This caused some anxiety, with people fearing China is stepping up its campaign to engineer a slowing in its rapid economic growth. A much more likely explination is the authorities wanted to prevent a rush of loans before the week-long May Day holidays. Forbidding some lending would stop the figures for April lending looking extra high and putting even more pressure on themselves to "do something".

This is how China does things. Controlling the statistics is just as important as actually doing something about the problem. When you have a capitalist market economy mixed with command style state-owned companies (who have no profit motive) and regulators that have none of the normal economic tools to control things, forbidding some lending becomes a sledgehammer solution to a mighty big problem. Expect more of the same in the months to come, both to control growth and to control the statistics.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 16:30
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Construction

JC's school had an "International Fair" yesterday. This comprised of 10 classrooms turned into countries and the kids ran around with their passports collecting stamps, painting, colouring and the like. If only all airports were like that travelling would be so much more enjoyable. As part of the bribery to get parents to come the school raffled off some prizes. At the end of the afternoon I discovered we had won a hulking great big box. That's obviously Daddy's job. So I picked the thing up and immediately realised there was no way I was going to be looking the elegant, sophisticated and yet in touch with my feelings father that would create envious stares from all the yummy mummies. (Mrs M standing next to me was also a factor here.)

Carefully I carried the box back home with the aid of a shopping trolley (we live in the same complex as the school). On opening the box JC and PB were delighted to discover it contained a toy car that just needed to be assembled by Daddy. Daddy looked and thought, "It cannot be too hard, after all, it's a kid's toy." How wrong he was.

The instructions contained 27 different steps. At random points the diagrams differed from the parts, even though they were helpfully labelled part M or part F, instead of "Orange thing with a metal bit". Step 6 required hammering, as did steps 7, 11, 12, 18 and 26. Actually, steps 12 and 18 didn't require hammering, but they got it anyway. Step 20 said to screw some bolts into certain holes. Except the holes didn't line up. So Daddy had to drill through the PVC to make the holes line up.

After finishing step 27, Daddy looked at what he had wraught and agreed it was a damn fine job. But he was puzzled. There were still two orange things with metal bits, one bolt, one nut and two plastic thingys left over. Daddy did the only thing he could do. He got PB to sit in the car and drive it around to make sure it was road-worthy. Given a clean bill of health by a 20 month old was all that was needed for Daddy to consider it a job well done. The extra bits went straight in the bin. Not the box, though. That'll be a cubby house. Now JC and PB have 3 cars between them.

It's a worry when the kids have more cars than we do.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:29
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Prize time

I have been asked by Bre in her comments to this post and by Grinder about the prizes various people are expecting for all the contests going on at the moment. It is time for some honesty. Except for where I explicitly mention a prize, there will be no real prizes. If you're lucky I'll remember I had a contest and mention it. If you're unlucky, you'll be forgotten and your efforts will have been in vain.

HOWEVER, to keep you interested, in some random contest, either existing or new, the prize will be real. And when I say real, I don't mean a lame picture I Googled and posted in aid of a lame cop-out. I mean a God-honest, corporeal object of a guaranteed minimum value of US$10. The thing is, I will only decide which contest it will be after that contest closes.

It's pathetic, but it's a good way to keep interest in otherwise pointless contests.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 15:11
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Inflight dining

Having just returned from a delicious dim sum at City Hall with Giles, amongst others, we have hit upon the answer to the woes of inflight dining. Cathay should offer dim sum, with the trolleys doing a continuous loop of the aircraft. I would never travel any other airline if they did. Sure there could be practical problems, like how anyone could ever get to the toilets. But that's the beauty of it - just like in the restaurants you need to be able to navigate between mad trolley drivers and ludricously narrow aisles. And there wouldn't be any waiting once you made it.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:45
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May Day

May Day: that Communist celebration of labour and the working class, the poor and oppressed proliteriate. The start of a one week holiday for all of China (the other being in October), with an estimated 90 million mainlanders travelling. And how are they spending this week of the working class? By spending as much as they can.

...research confirms the free-spending ways of cashed-up mainlanders who can throw down thousands of Hong Kong dollars on a single item without batting an eyelash...over the weekend the priority of the day was shopping, shopping and more shopping stopping only long enough enough to refuel at a restaurant to regain energy for more shopping...What's happening is mainlanders are coming to Hong Kong seeking out name-brand items that sell for less here than on the mainland and are skimping on food and accommodation.
Who would have thought Hong Kong has become a cheap place for Mainlanders to shop?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:34
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Ammends

It appears I owe someone an apology. From the SCMP:

A widow who shared her bed with a rooster for 2-1/2 years is heartbroken after she was forced to give it away because of complaints about its crowing..."I cried and cried for weeks," said the woman.

The former hospital worker still shares her one-bedroom flat with three ducks and two hens.

She said she bought the rooster, known as "Ah Lui", in the Aberdeen wet market for $25. After her husband's death just over three years ago, she started sharing her bed with the male chicken. "The rooster was very obedient and loyal," said the woman, who asked not to be named. "We used to sleep together but had different blankets.

According to Chinese tradition, a rooster could take on the spirit of a deceased husband or act as a proxy groom at a wedding if the real groom could not attend. But the woman said she did not think of Ah Lui as carrying her husband's spirit, she was simply very attached to him as a pet.

The woman said she had a daughter with whom she had not been in touch for more than 10 years. She said she treated her poultry "as my own children". The three ducks and two hens live in a small kitchen on a newspaper-covered floor. A strong odour hangs in the air.

Trust me when I say there's more, including details of a botched castration. I now unashamedly apologise to the woman with the picture of the rooster. I didn't realise it was her husband.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:05
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