The Doubleminded Cleaner - An East Asian Crime Thriller

... Stormy weather never deters me. Mud, water, snow or sleat never hurts me. I was born to be of pure purpose, swift justice and wild imagination. The call me the sweeper, the cleaner, the relentless workhorse that never relinquishes a chance to express a chance to take hold of a mysterious situation. Usually murders; murder of my favorite places: clean floor spaces.

This is my life. To never give up in the quest for peace, cleanliness and the use of soap or detergent.

So why am I here? Honestly, its a long story, or a series of them to be exact. I was never meant for much but through my life as an international servant of clean shoe soles and white socks, my mission never ends. I am what you might call me, what you may see - but never understand ..... i am the mop!

So what is the story - where did it all begin? ... let me begin by telling you a story of my childhood as a young, inexperienced and goalless mop.

It all began in 1654 .....

[to be continued].....

Bangkok Airport Closed

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport Partially Closed

Breaking News
Read more on IHT

Only one day after protesters blocked, the Prime Minister's office in Bangkok, thousands of anti-Government demonstrators today blocked the main entrance of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, according to IHT. CNN furthermore reports that protesters have broken through police lines, most likely to cause flight delays tonight and tomorrow morning.

This blog will not be posting updates. Watch CNN or something...









What a map!!

Wind Power in East Asia

What's the current status of wind power in Asia? Are China and india the only countries with wind turbine developments?

Why aren't any other Asian economies investing into this green source of energy?




What do you think will happen in the future?

Map of East Asia

It's time. We need to show it to you again. It's the best map of East Asia on the internet.

What Obama will mean for East Asia

What will the election of Barack Obama mean for politics, trade and the economy of East Asia?

Who will benefit and who will not? What will Obama do with the North Korea "dilemma"? How will relations between China and the US be in the coming years? Will Obama seek to increase US foreign investments in the emerging markets (Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, etc.)?

Please share your thoughts and comments with us.

Remembering Tim Russert

Source: Wikipedia

I woke up to the sad news this morning of the death of one of my favorite journalists - particularly regarding U.S. politics - Tim Russert.

Mr. Russert collapsed during preparations for his show "Meet the Press" at the NBC studio in D.C. earlier on June 13th.

With his extremely well-informed interviews, courageous questions to politicians and straight forward explanations and analysis, he will be remembered as the creme of the crop of US journalists of our generation.

Tim, you will be missed!!

Drawing East Asia - Submit your own map

Drawing maps can be fun ... and artistic.

East Asia Blog tried it (for about 10 mins) and here's the result

It's fun, and although this was completed at a tremendous speed, it should be fun to see if any psychologists can get anything out of this....

Please submit your suggestion.

Sichuan Earthquake, Western China

A series of earthquakes shook Sichuan Province this afternoon. The strongest measured 7.8 on the richter scale. Thousands have died, with even more injuries. Our prayers and thoughts are with those who were affected by it.

Tremors from a separate earthquake shook Beijing as well, with many people experiencing dizziness. No one has reportedly been injured in the nation's capital.

Have you been affected by the earthquake? Please send any updates.

As always, we recommend that you donate to Unicef as they usually have something creative and constructive to say/do.
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO UNICEF

Thank you.

Anti-France Sentiment in China - Care-e-Fooooorrreeeee

There's a lot of anti-Franceness going on in China these days. Quite ironic, since folks in the US seem to be getting on better terms with their love-hate relationship to their ever-romantic- farmerprotesting-escargo,cheese&wine'loving- "amis". following a barrage of anti-France/French SMS messages and various chinese blogs expressing their malice towards the French following the controversial torch relay in paris last week.

So these days, some of the more active bloggers/sms writers, or readers thereof ( or just people who feel a sense of purpose or duty to protest ), are holding vigils in front of the embassy in beijing and consulates around China, while more importantly, staging demonstrations in front of Carrefour supermarkets.

Now that's great....... I used to shop there..... Not anymore. .... Nope. ....Not after the lucky person number 1,000 drove his/her shopping over my feet while I was trying to navigate through the fruit and vegatable section of this enormously popular and crowded mini-version of walmart. Yes, people love to shop there (and piss me off in the process). ... Or was it because someone stole my shopping cart within me being in the store less than 10 mins - this happened twice in a row back in March...

Therefore you can say, I'm already holding my own anti-Carrefour protest. Not in regard to anything that happened in Paris ( i don't really care about that ) but because I'm tired of being pushed around by eager shoppers. But now that people are planning to boycott carrefour, this juncture would, also ironically, be a great time to shop there! Just me and myself!!!!! ... but then again, no ......... I don't want to find my self being chased down the streets of beijing by others than your ill-tempered beijing taxi driver (another story). so in other words. I'm just avoiding carrefour all together. Nothing against my french "ami" .... I guess it's just destiny....

what do you think? Have you seen any of these protest? are you a happy carre-one-two-three-four customer, or should I say "carre-free" (家乐自由）shop-till-u-dropper?

ps. If you have something serious to say about the anti-france issue, i'm sure you can post it at some other blog. I just want to be amused, that's all :-)

Maz-da-KAR

NICE CAR, eH!?!
What's this got to do with East Asia?
Oooops... Hey, it's a Mazda..... It's Japanese..... and the owner sold it to move to China.....
Get outta here!

Kareta Di Mana?

Rope+Board+Bucket = Shiny Facade

All you need is a) a bucket, b) a piece of wood (any will do) and c) lots of courage.

The result: a great way to clean the windows of this Chengdu restaurant.

December 2007

IT Markets in China

What's more important? Groceries or Printers?
Chengdu Electronics Market, Dec. 2007.

Taiwan Elections

Today, the people of Taiwan will vote to choose their new president to succeed to controversy-ridden Chen Shui-bian, the former mayor of Taipei (Taibei). Most polls still indicate that Ma Ying-jiu is likely to win, but recent developments in Tibet could - although unlikely - cause a last minute upset in favor of DPP's Chang-ting "Frank" Hsieh (or Xie in mainland Pinyin romanization), who is the former mayor of Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong). It should be interesting to see how the Mainland will react if Hsieh wins. My take: not much, as he also supports improved ties with Beijing. The International Herald Tribune has a good "info page" for newbies on the elections:
Link

Here are some highlights:
- 17 million eligible voters
- There will not be much time to vote: polls will only be open during an 8-hour window (between 0800-1600 Taiwan time)
- The results should become available in the evening, Taiwan time.







I've attached two pictures from the internet to this post. Can you find the difference?

Happy Holidays from Shanghai

Happy Holidays!

The most wonderful time of the year has hit Shanghai like a storm and left in the aftermath are a myriad of Christmas decorations (angels, rheindeer, wreaths, and some new shapes). While some areas are clearly marked with santas, snowflakes, and holiday tunes, other areas appear as if the holidays never happened....


So where are some good places to enjoy the "western" aspects of the holidays?
- Xintiandi has been decorated to the nines, and despite the massive crowds of people on weekends, its quite cozy.
- To see the large-scale decor, the large angels, etc. Jiu Guang and Plaza 66 malls on Nanjing lu have the most impressive props. Also check out Best Brand Mall in Lujiazui.
- For the best holiday music, check out the Coffee Break coffee shop on Xin Hui Lu, a block from Yu Fu Temple. I made a holiday CD for them, and they haven't stopped playing it since (6 days and running, at this point).
(please submit more ideas for spending the holidays in Shanghai)

And if you're REALLY tired of xmas, just go to the Shanghai train station. Every day is the same there. Millions of people, many beggers, and the constant specter of a pickpocket following you around....

As an expat in Shanghai/China, spending the holidays far from the "western" style festivities is an exciting and sad prospect at the same time.

On one hand, the typical holiday routine of seeing ones family members, giving and receiving presents and (in Denmark) dancing around the Christmas tree is something that I miss much more out here.

On the other hand, the holiday season in western Europe and the US is often very chaotic and everyone so focused on fulfilling the inevitable holiday requirements, that the joy of Christmas is left behind at some department store across town.

So while I hope you all enjoy the Christmas season and have lots of fun with your family and friends wherever you might be. Shanghai is overall a great place to be, but sometimes I feel like I'm in a big department store, with 50424 floors..... shop till you drop!

Bangladaid.... Support UNICEF.

Bangladesh has been hit by one of the worst disasters in decades. Thousands are dead and many more will succumb to the devastating combination of existing poverty and the destruction from Cyclone Sidr.

You can help. Donate as little as $5, and you can tell all your friends that you've done your part in helping the poor souls of Bangladesh fight a very difficult time ahead. UNICEF, one of my favorite aid organizations, will definitely help thousands of Bangladeshis, but they need your help!

UNICEF's Website

The Energy Blog

I just found out about a very interesting blog. It's called The Energy Blog. If you are like me and find it fascinated to hear about new developments in the sector of energy, and particularly clean energy, check out this blog

The Energy Blog (http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/)

Now go reduce some carbon emissions!!!

Bloggin' 从 Shanghai

UPDATE - UPDATE: East Asia Blog is now blogging from Shanghai.

Why the change? I'm super busy so don't expect daily posts, but once in a while I'll send some funnies or updates from China.

What will that mean? No more news stories or debates about issues most people don't really care about anyway. Most visitors - by the way - were people looking for a map of East Asia.

So? Instead, I'll post pictures or events from the day-to-day life here in China.

And now??: To kick off this new twist to East Asia blog, here's a picture I took with my phone in the city of Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, where going to the dentist is as easy as going to 7-Eleven (or Lawson, in Shanghai)
.

(That's right - you can walk from the street right into the dental office).

... now say "aaaaaaaah"

North Korea Closes Yongbyon Reactor

Breaking News from the Hermit State

North Korea has allegedly closed down its controversial Yongbyon nuclear reactor. The move is a surprise to most analysts who remained skeptical of Pyongyang's previous hints at such a move. While the secluded country might still change their position on just about any issue at the drop of a hat, the decision is a new milestone in the negotiations towards denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Hopefully this could be an early step towards a long-term peace negotiation between North Korea and their historical enemies (i.e. South Korea, US, Japan).

Let's not hold our breath for a reopening of North Korea, but let's pray that the improved engagement with Kim Jong-il could help restore hope to millions of North Koreans who remain in abrupt poverty.

IHT/NYT article about the development

Where in East Asia....???

It's time to poll our visitors:

Where in East Asia have you been?

Who's been to the most countries?

What is your favorite place in East Asia?

Post your countries in the comments box...

Blue Ear Disease

Someone has found out what's been killing millions of poor pigs in southern China. It's a disease called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), or Blue Ear Disease.

While doctors are betting their chips on the fact that the illness won't affect humans, I'm sure it will cause lots of agony among our four-hooved friends.

So what's the bottom line? A large number of diseases originate in China. Why? Well, because Chinese farmers still has lots to learn in terms of hygiene, but to give them the benefit (and why China is mentioned and not Indonesia, Cambodia, or many-many other developing countries), they have nearly 1.4 billion people with approx 60 percent living in rural areas - so the statistical propability of diseases coming from there is quite large.

Another good news: Shortly after the name of the disease was released, Beijing announced they would create stricter rules for slaughterhouses for the good of public health. So I guess they are learning from the mistakes....