True story.
The driver of a truck full of double-stuffed Oreo cookies fell asleep at the wheel, tipping his truck over and dropping its 14-ton's worth of boxed Oreo cookies all over a highway 50 miles outside of Chicago, Illinois.
YUMMY. :]
MSNBC: Slam Dunk: Truck full of Oreos crashes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24707718/?GT1=43001
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
MSNBC: How China's earthquake struck
Because B and I were wondering, since it doesn't seem that China has any obvious fault lines.
MSNBC: How China's earthquake struck
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24647213/
MSNBC: How China's earthquake struck
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24647213/
Washington Post: Crises cloud China's Olympic Mood
Washington Post: Crises cloud China's Olympic Mood
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24675108
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24675108
some great pictures of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic venues
Here are some great pictures of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic venues. The Aquatic Center is especially gorgeous, and the Velodrome track is an amazing feat of structural engineering (I read somewhere, but I forget where, that the track is actually an updated and improved version of the tracks used in previous Games, designed specifically to improve performance at the Games).
I do hope, however, that Beijing won't fall into the mistake of building these wonderful buildings and then not putting the facilities to proper use by withholding them from the public, or by not giving them proper maintenance after the Games are over.
MSNBC Slideshows: Building for BeijingI do hope, however, that Beijing won't fall into the mistake of building these wonderful buildings and then not putting the facilities to proper use by withholding them from the public, or by not giving them proper maintenance after the Games are over.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type=ss&launch=22395142,3033005&pg=1
MSNBC: China puts quake toll at 32,477, and MSNBC: China quake victims flee due to flood fears
Oh.
....oh. Please keep everyone in your thoughts.
MSNBC: China puts quake toll at 32,477
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24690053
MSNBC: China quake victims flee due to flood fears
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24676343
....oh. Please keep everyone in your thoughts.
MSNBC: China puts quake toll at 32,477
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24690053
MSNBC: China quake victims flee due to flood fears
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24676343
Friday, May 16, 2008
MSNBC: After quake, 1-child policy causes pain
Oh.
Oh. This made me tear up.
Think not only of the children who died before they had a chance to live, who never got the chance to see out the full potential brimming within them, who didn't have the chance to experience the love and laughter of a sibling-shared childhood, but think also of their parents, restricted to one child, their sole child, the product and recipient of all their love and hopes and dreams, taken away, so in addition to losing a child to such a horrible event, they lose their only child, and perhaps some of the parents are not so young anymore. And think of the grandparents. Oh. So horrible.
We continue to pray for them.
MSNBC: After quake, 1-child policy causes pain.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24671025
Oh. This made me tear up.
Think not only of the children who died before they had a chance to live, who never got the chance to see out the full potential brimming within them, who didn't have the chance to experience the love and laughter of a sibling-shared childhood, but think also of their parents, restricted to one child, their sole child, the product and recipient of all their love and hopes and dreams, taken away, so in addition to losing a child to such a horrible event, they lose their only child, and perhaps some of the parents are not so young anymore. And think of the grandparents. Oh. So horrible.
We continue to pray for them.
MSNBC: After quake, 1-child policy causes pain.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24671025
Monday, May 12, 2008
CNN: China's big year anything but joyous
See, what did I say?
CNN: China's big year anything but joyous
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24583648/
China's definitely had a round of unfortunate events, and of course, we keep waiting to see how this affects China's domestic and international policies. It will be interesting to see the CCP/PRC's response in terms of relief and aid, as well as rebuilding and improving both political and physical infrastructure.
On a sidenote, if we are to consider China's dynasty system of ruling based on the Mandate of Heaven, definitely this would have given the CCP considerable cause for concern. While it is true that this rule no longer applies de jure, there may yet be some de facto vestiges, especially with the potentially tentative position the CCP holds. The CCP's hold over the PRC has been an economic one often been compared to the image of a bicycle in motion: once it stops, it will collapse. This situation is definitely one to be handled delicately, for one miscalculation, one misstep, one mishandled event could be the last straw.
Of course, this is not to say that these events signal definite impending doom for the Middle Kingdom, but it's certainly been a tough year for China, all said.
We pray for minimal casualties.
CNN: China's big year anything but joyous
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24583648/
China's definitely had a round of unfortunate events, and of course, we keep waiting to see how this affects China's domestic and international policies. It will be interesting to see the CCP/PRC's response in terms of relief and aid, as well as rebuilding and improving both political and physical infrastructure.
On a sidenote, if we are to consider China's dynasty system of ruling based on the Mandate of Heaven, definitely this would have given the CCP considerable cause for concern. While it is true that this rule no longer applies de jure, there may yet be some de facto vestiges, especially with the potentially tentative position the CCP holds. The CCP's hold over the PRC has been an economic one often been compared to the image of a bicycle in motion: once it stops, it will collapse. This situation is definitely one to be handled delicately, for one miscalculation, one misstep, one mishandled event could be the last straw.
Of course, this is not to say that these events signal definite impending doom for the Middle Kingdom, but it's certainly been a tough year for China, all said.
We pray for minimal casualties.
Earthquake in China kills 10,000 at latest count
A 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit China early this week, at around 2:45p on Monday afternoon, Beijing time.
News is slowly filtering in, and the numbers are still uncertain, but latest count puts the casualties at about 10,000, with figures still rising. Even with a population of about 1.3 billion, this is still a huge number. The epicenter was in Wenchuan, in Sichuan Province, on the western side of China, but apparently felt throughout most of the country, even in Chongqing, about 200 miles from the epicenter. In Wenchuan, about one-third of the buildings have collapsed.
A big problem has been that most of the roads leading to the area are in mountainous areas (it's slightly east of the Himalayas) with an unstable sediment foundation, and are pretty damaged by rockslides and mudslides, so relief and aid have been slow in arriving. An entire middle school collapsed, with about 900 students still trapped inside, although they've been slowly getting people out. About 6,000 people have been evacuated from the area, and most are afraid to sleep indoors for fear of aftershocks bringing the building down. Apparently, the shocks could be felt on the eastern and southern Chinese coast (Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong) and in parts of Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand, purportedly).
Although it was reported that none of the Olympic venues were damaged by the quake, it has been a hard year for China in general, with the coldest winter bringing down its transportation system earlier this year, plus the train derailing, the Olympic torch protests, and a deadly virus attacking children last month and expected to continue through the summer; there were also the Tibetan riots, and now this.
We've been discussing it in class and are all keeping our eyes on this as further details arrive.
Update: Xinhua reports that two chemical plants in Sichuan trapped 2,300 people inside, killing 600, and leaking 80 tons of ammonia.
-----
CNN: Nearly 10,000 reported killed by huge China quake.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/12/china.quake/index.html
News is slowly filtering in, and the numbers are still uncertain, but latest count puts the casualties at about 10,000, with figures still rising. Even with a population of about 1.3 billion, this is still a huge number. The epicenter was in Wenchuan, in Sichuan Province, on the western side of China, but apparently felt throughout most of the country, even in Chongqing, about 200 miles from the epicenter. In Wenchuan, about one-third of the buildings have collapsed.
A big problem has been that most of the roads leading to the area are in mountainous areas (it's slightly east of the Himalayas) with an unstable sediment foundation, and are pretty damaged by rockslides and mudslides, so relief and aid have been slow in arriving. An entire middle school collapsed, with about 900 students still trapped inside, although they've been slowly getting people out. About 6,000 people have been evacuated from the area, and most are afraid to sleep indoors for fear of aftershocks bringing the building down. Apparently, the shocks could be felt on the eastern and southern Chinese coast (Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong) and in parts of Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand, purportedly).
Although it was reported that none of the Olympic venues were damaged by the quake, it has been a hard year for China in general, with the coldest winter bringing down its transportation system earlier this year, plus the train derailing, the Olympic torch protests, and a deadly virus attacking children last month and expected to continue through the summer; there were also the Tibetan riots, and now this.
We've been discussing it in class and are all keeping our eyes on this as further details arrive.
Update: Xinhua reports that two chemical plants in Sichuan trapped 2,300 people inside, killing 600, and leaking 80 tons of ammonia.
-----
CNN: Nearly 10,000 reported killed by huge China quake.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/12/china.quake/index.html
Saturday, May 3, 2008
China battles EV-71, a deadly child virus
China has recently been hit with an outbreak of the dangerous enterovirus-71, a form of hand, foot, and mouth disease, infecting over three thousand children and killing 24 at last count.
Officials have been ordered to crack down on outbreaks, although several have been criticized for not having taken action to report the outbreak to the public quickly enough. This is especially a concern after the disastrous SARS cover-up in 2003; this time, the Ministry of Health has been dispatched to aggressively and proactively seek out those infected instead of merely waiting for them to enter hospitalization.
This is doubtless bound to draw unwanted attention to several topics that China may not particularly want highlighted, especially with the Summer 2008 Olympic Games looming near. Among these are bound to be it's tight control over public access to necessary information, an appallingly sub-optimal public-health system, and the organization of a proper response team, among other considerations.
Officials note that more cases may soon arise, as the disease's peak season hits in June and July; however, one hopes that this will lead to improved conditions and response in the present and the future, as local officials purport to be checking up on and working to improve overall sanitation and ensure food/water safety conditions to limit the spread of the disease.
View the original article here:
China combats deadly child virus
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24441417
Officials have been ordered to crack down on outbreaks, although several have been criticized for not having taken action to report the outbreak to the public quickly enough. This is especially a concern after the disastrous SARS cover-up in 2003; this time, the Ministry of Health has been dispatched to aggressively and proactively seek out those infected instead of merely waiting for them to enter hospitalization.
This is doubtless bound to draw unwanted attention to several topics that China may not particularly want highlighted, especially with the Summer 2008 Olympic Games looming near. Among these are bound to be it's tight control over public access to necessary information, an appallingly sub-optimal public-health system, and the organization of a proper response team, among other considerations.
Officials note that more cases may soon arise, as the disease's peak season hits in June and July; however, one hopes that this will lead to improved conditions and response in the present and the future, as local officials purport to be checking up on and working to improve overall sanitation and ensure food/water safety conditions to limit the spread of the disease.
View the original article here:
China combats deadly child virus
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24441417
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