Let me start by saying if you’ve missed this new series on China on National Public Radio, it’s your loss. Superb.

August 8, 2005 @ 7:36 pm | Comment

Epitaph for (anonymous):
“Ask not for whom the bell trolls, it trolls for thee….”
(chortle….)

August 8, 2005 @ 7:51 pm | Comment

Good one, Ivan.

Ben, I;ve been reading a lot about Ms. Sheehan today. Drudge really was evil the way he distorted her statements. What a prick, smearing a woman who lost her son in the Bush McWar in Iraq.

August 8, 2005 @ 8:00 pm | Comment

Re: fatcat’s anthrax question in the open thread below:
I heard about it, it is up north in Liaoning province I think. Mostly people who had direct contact with cows, I believe?
Anyway, don’t worry (note a tone of slight sarcasm), the Chinese news report said it was “under control,” as usual…
We have bird flu, pig disease, and anthrax, but everything is neat and “under control.”

August 8, 2005 @ 8:21 pm | Comment

Well, they had SARS under control, remember? They have a stellar track record when it comes to control.

August 8, 2005 @ 8:29 pm | Comment

Maybe there is yet some other virus making the rounds as well. I’m just recovering from something that knocked me flat on my @ss for 48 hours.

While the typhoon was blasting away, I was down and out for the count, just lying on my bed almost unable to move a muscle, I was so sore and feverish. It was all I could do just to occasionally roll over.

After two days I was able to stagger around my apartment again, Today it’s mutated down to just a bad head cold.

I seldom get sick, even in China, but the few times I have been ill here it has been surprisingly severe.

August 8, 2005 @ 8:38 pm | Comment

Slim, sounds like classic flu to me. Hope you’re doing better now.

August 8, 2005 @ 8:49 pm | Comment

Simple solution. Tell the Chinese that the viruses have all joined Falun Gong. That should result in an immediate and crackdown.

August 8, 2005 @ 9:35 pm | Comment

And we should tell the Chinese that spitting in the street is a Falun Gong exercise.

August 8, 2005 @ 10:53 pm | Comment

It’s apparent that all the action tonight (or this morning to most of you) will be in the Tibet thread below. You just mention Tibet and it’s like throwing a torch into a lake of gasoline.

August 8, 2005 @ 10:55 pm | Comment

Tibet

August 8, 2005 @ 11:49 pm | Comment

FSN,
Your remark about Tibet is completely wrong!

August 8, 2005 @ 11:53 pm | Comment

The Washington Post reports on yet more economic problems exported from China:

The giant panda is the rock star of the captive-animal world, the biggest draw there is, and only four U.S. zoos have them. But officials at the animal parks say they spend millions of dollars more than they take in on the rare bear, whose appeal has not boosted visitor numbers and souvenir sales as much as hoped.

And the expense of keeping pandas is high: $1 million a year to China to borrow the animals, extensive outlays for research required by the federal import permit, construction expenses for lavish new exhibits and spending on basic care.

The four zoos, Washington, Atlanta, Memphis and San Diego, collectively spent $33 million more on pandas from 2000 to 2003 than they received in revenue from exhibiting them.

Euthanize the damned pests!

August 9, 2005 @ 12:12 am | Comment

Simple solution. Tell the Chinese that the viruses have all joined Falun Gong. That should result in an immediate and crackdown.

Posted by Conrad at August 8, 2005 09:35 PM

———–

i like this one

at least my computer has been installed 2 anti-spam softwares to reject mails from these viruses

August 9, 2005 @ 12:18 am | Comment

Ivan, I have one thing to say in reply to your deeply wrong and historically untrue criticism of my absolutely right view: Taiwan.

August 9, 2005 @ 12:33 am | Comment

“the pig disease is under control”

“the london subway restores normal operation, and there is no need to be afraid of another attack”

in this way, people could avoid the unnecessary paranoid, and normal life not affected

we all know it’s a diplomatic language and it takes time to solve the problem

rumor says pig disease appears in suzhou, so the best policy is to eat as little pork as possible these days

August 9, 2005 @ 12:33 am | Comment

Finally, the first sensible advice to ever emit from Bingfeng — i.e., assume the Chinese government is lying.

Words to live by.

Now can we get back to the important issues? Like plans for eradicating the Panda menace from the face of the planet before they wreck havoc on the economies of the world’s zoos.

And if Chinese pigs and birds and civet cats and visiting tourists all harbor nasty viruses, just imagine what those damned bears might be carrying?

I’m telling you, the damned things are a financial and health hazard and ought to be dealt with in short order. I’m just surprised the damned things haven’t all ended up in woks by now.

August 9, 2005 @ 12:40 am | Comment

“Finally, the first sensible advice to ever emit from Bingfeng — i.e., assume the Chinese government is lying.”

—————

“it’s under control” is a vague statement

even it says the situation is under control, the government announces the latest infected, including the number, location and channel, and send people to stop the spread of the disease

i don’t think there is any reason the government need to lie

August 9, 2005 @ 12:47 am | Comment

Conrad, it’s clear the CCP are working up to Panda flu. First the birds, then the pigs, then the pandas. Why do you think they offered a couple to Taiwan?

Of course you all know the story about the pandas at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park and the city’s richest man…

August 9, 2005 @ 12:47 am | Comment

Bingfeng:

I’m sorry. I thought you were making sense for a change. Whatever was I thinking?

It won’t happen again.

August 9, 2005 @ 12:50 am | Comment

Bingfeng:

I’m sorry. I thought you were making sense for a change. Whatever was I thinking?

It won’t happen again.

Posted by Conrad at August 9, 2005 12:50 AM

————

they are making changes, and we need more changes, but certainly not a statement like this: “we are going to have more pig disease, stop eating porks, destroyy the pork business, leave china, shun those from sichuan province”

August 9, 2005 @ 12:56 am | Comment

Bingfeng, can you elaborate on that rumour about pig disease in Suzhou?

Simon, what story?

August 9, 2005 @ 12:57 am | Comment

Conrad, it’s clear the CCP are working up to Panda flu. First the birds, then the pigs, then the pandas. Why do you think they offered a couple to Taiwan?

Of course you all know the story about the pandas at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park and the city’s richest man…

Posted by Simon at August 9, 2005 12:47 AM

————

inspired by “US invented SARS to attack china”?

anyway, good humor 🙂

August 9, 2005 @ 12:59 am | Comment

Bingfeng, can you elaborate on that rumour about pig disease in Suzhou?

Posted by Fat Cat at August 9, 2005 12:57 AM

————

not humor, i read a blog saying there was a case of pig disease in suzhou

i am not kidding, although no need to get paranoid, eat as little pork as possible is the best policy for those of us who live in greater shanghai area

August 9, 2005 @ 1:02 am | Comment

Vietnam has stopped importing frozen pork from China. This turns out to be a economic disaster as well as a health threat.

August 9, 2005 @ 1:07 am | Comment

Panda Attack!!!!!

August 9, 2005 @ 1:08 am | Comment

The Panda menace continues:

A Chinese class went on an excursion to a park where pandas are breeding.

A 14-year-old student got lost and was attacked by a giant panda inside the animal’s enclosure. It is not clear how he got there.

A court now decided that the school is to be blamed for the incident because apparently the students were not supervised properly.

The student will be awarded $3,600 for the wounds he suffered when the panda bit his head and arm.

Panda attacks have occurred before. The animals, a “national treasure” of the Chinese can get aggressive when they feel threatened.

http://tinyurl.com/8q9y6

August 9, 2005 @ 1:17 am | Comment

The school should be held responsible. How much was the Panda awarded for psychological damages and did it get a tetnus shot?

August 9, 2005 @ 1:21 am | Comment

Nasty vicious creatures. The bamboo munching is just a ruse to create a false sense of security.

A similar tragedy nearly unfolds at a zoo in China, when a tourist turns his back on a panda bear. Grasping the man’s jacket with its mighty teeth, the bear thrashes the unwise man about until tourists rush to his aid and release him from the jacket.

http://tinyurl.com/a8jqj

August 9, 2005 @ 1:26 am | Comment

All wildlife animals will attack when they are under stress. I’m not too sure if keeping pandas in zoos is a good thing. But then setting them free may not be a good idea either, considering the fact that most of the natural habitats have been severely disrupted anyway.

August 9, 2005 @ 1:26 am | Comment

Seriously: A few years ago, when more of Nixon’s recordings came out, there was an audiotape of him talking to Kissinger while on the airplane to China. Nixon corrected Kissinger’s mistaken belief that the panda was a true bear (the panda is not in the bear family, not ursa) and there’s a great moment when you hear Nixon saying: “We have to KNOW these things, Henry!”

August 9, 2005 @ 1:31 am | Comment

Fat Cat:

For the love of Christ they cannot be allowed to run free. Are you insane. Just consider the consequences:

The Panda’s Bamboo is Running Out

The panda’s are getting angry and are starting to attack near by villages and the people are getting killed. We are live in one of the towns and the village. The people are runnning as we speek, the panda’s are comming! “Run for your lives O God the panda’s are here!” Get to the helicopter and escape. The people in Hong Kong are all died the panda king is and the top of the mountain and is controlling the other panda’s so a highly trained group and good panda’s called the super panda’s went to the mountain and killed king but a evil panda called lam ho long had come to save the king.

http://tinyurl.com/8l8hs

You have been warned.

August 9, 2005 @ 1:32 am | Comment

By the way Conrad, if you can come up with a good Sichuan style recipe using Panda meat as a substitute for pork, and if you are convincing enough, you may just get rid of all Pandas in a couple of days’ time.

August 9, 2005 @ 1:33 am | Comment

video of a panda attack

http://www.nearlygood.com/video/pandabear.html

August 9, 2005 @ 1:34 am | Comment

This time China Daily has gone TOO DAMN FAR!

Beer fountain warns us of moral decadence

Plans for a fountain of beer at the Harbin beer festival have been scrapped after a trial run prompted a nationwide outcry last week.

Organizers planned to use 90 tons of beer for the fountain.

The fountain is not only a tasteless promotional tool but also the manifestation of a trend that is of more concern than marketing professionals that lack imagination.

Society desperately needs to promote values that will encourage enterprises to use wealth sensibly and encourage citizens to abandon their dreams of unreasonably luxurious lifestyles.

They’ll probably spend the money protecting the f*cking pandas instead.

August 9, 2005 @ 2:22 am | Comment

Conrad, what did the school kid expect? If a panda’s breeding, he wants a little privacy, not a little kid watching him. If it’s panda porn you’re after, Discovery Channel is waiting for you.

The Ocean Park panda controversy involves robots, Li Kashing, a millenial New Year’s party and one hell of a roast.

August 9, 2005 @ 3:23 am | Comment

God, now I’m going to have nightmares about giant pandas chasing and eating Da Shan. Oh wait, that would be a GOOD dream!

August 9, 2005 @ 4:01 am | Comment

ROTFLMAO! Don’t they teach people not to feed the bears over here?

There’s an iron fence there to seperate the panda’s from the people for a reason…

August 9, 2005 @ 5:54 am | Comment

Gracious, another Chnese blogger in need of some serious therapy.

August 9, 2005 @ 7:20 am | Comment

Gracious, another Chnese blogger in need of some serious therapy.

Posted by richard at August 9, 2005 07:20 AM

———–

ummm, sounds so nice …… to a chinese blogger

August 9, 2005 @ 7:35 am | Comment

What you did with that post is utterly sleazy, my friend Bingfeng. You title it, “china should be attacked by terrorists, a blogger says”

Then the very first thing you do is link to MY blog, not the blog of the one who makes the assertion! You never give that link, only mine. And you toss in a link to Simon for no discernible reason.

And you never mention in your post our exchange in my comments earlier (guess you forgot):

i am very surprised that richard cite this article, in which the author, not matter with what excuses, says that china should be attacked by terrorists

Posted by: bingfeng at August 8, 2005 11:55 PM

August 9, 2005 @ 7:43 am | Comment

richard,

i updated that post with your explaination, you might not notice it.

in no way i am suggesting that you support taht assertion, if you read the post carefully you should clearly understand what i mean.

i will make a few amendments later but i will keep the post there!

August 9, 2005 @ 7:51 am | Comment

Thank you. I actually received emails telling me you attacked me on your site. So I appreciate the edits.

August 9, 2005 @ 7:54 am | Comment

yes i see that yahoo mail to you.

shame on those saying bad words of others behind them!

August 9, 2005 @ 8:03 am | Comment

Via ESWN, I see that at least one industry is thriving in Iraq!

August 9, 2005 @ 8:25 am | Comment

Herein contains the deathknell of all pandas: one simple sentence. “Their (*insert body part*) are good for men.”

And Conrad … may I ask which drugs you’ve been smoking / popping lately? Or is the straing of being “reformed” getting too much for you?

August 9, 2005 @ 8:28 am | Comment

I’ve been giving a lot of serious thoughts on this panda attack and I’ve come to the conclusion that it should be euthanized for acting like an animal.

I mean what the hell was it thinking? After watching that video it became abundantly clear to me that this particular panda didn’t learn a damn thing from its human sensitivity training.

Unbelievable!

August 9, 2005 @ 9:19 am | Comment

You know there really is panda p0rn, right? They have panda mating videos for the pandas kept in captivity in case there’s any confusion about what needs to go where…

August 9, 2005 @ 10:21 am | Comment

And I heard it’s working.
That’s modern science! : )

August 9, 2005 @ 11:36 am | Comment

Congrats Richard. Judging from the ‘Tibet’ and ‘Terrorism China’ posts, your new zero-tolerance policy towards trolls appears to have had immediate results. I’m sure it’s at least part of the reason.

August 9, 2005 @ 2:03 pm | Comment

Let’s hope it lasts, Martyn. They’re out there, and certainly some will be back. I think we’re ready for them.

August 9, 2005 @ 7:31 pm | Comment

Sometimes for class discussion I use a news article concerning the Swiss complaining about Chinese eating the Swiss national symbol, the Saint Bernard.

I ask how Chinese would feel if the Swiss started raising pandas on large Alpine farms, strictly for human consumption. How many students would sample panda meat if they visited Switzerland?

To my surprise, over many classes, the average was 50% of students stating, yes, they would try panda meat!

Most of the other 50% said they would be outraged.

August 10, 2005 @ 10:45 am | Comment