September 2007 Archives

This is bound to be my last post for a while. I'm on a flight to Guangzhou tonight, where I look forward to hanging out on my old stomping grounds. I've written before about "sultry GZ" (as a friend refers to it), and I can't wait to get back there. (Which reminds me that I've been meaning to endorse the blog Guangzhou Bang. My endorsement doesn't mean much, as I'm not exactly a blogging expert. But from a personal level, GZ Bang is a great way for me to keep up with what's happening in one of China's most important but least covered cities.)

I'll be spending a night in town tonight, before popping down to Hong Kong on Saturday to meet one of my dearest friends and his fiance. I've known my friend since high school, and he doesn't exactly have an extensive traveling resume (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I know he lived in Victoria for a while... and Vancouver... and Ottawa... and Windsor. I know he's been to Chicago. And Bellingham, Washington. Maybe there is another border town here or there that he's made it to over the years. Regardless, stepping off a plane in crowded and noisy Hong Kong will surely be a sensory overload for him, and unlike anything he's ever experienced.

Ever since I've moved here, he's the friend I've wanted to visit the most, if only because he doesn't really go to too many places. I think, like most foreign travelers who make their way to China, he's probably got a lot of preconceived notions about what life is like here. I fully expect all of them to be smashed -- both good and bad.

After a couple of nights in Hong Kong, the whirlwind tour will take us to Guangzhou for a night, and Shanghai for two (where the Special Olympics will be underway). I'll be back in the capital sometime on the 5th, and will attend a wedding on the 6th. So it will be a hectic week.

Anyway, I hope everybody has a great holiday, and I'll see you next week.

I have a Windows Mobile phone (an iPaq, to be exact) that is hooked up to Push Email. Basically it works like a Blackberry, with any email I receive sent directly to my phone. As I use Gmail, which doesn't offer a Push Email service, I need to re-route my email through a third-party provider. There are a couple of good ones out there, but I currently use Mail2Web.

The fee for opening an exchange email account is quite low. But that's about to change, all thanks to the Canadian dollar. This is part of an email I received earlier today, which announced the prices are going up:

We charge our customers in US Dollars, though we incur our expenses in mostly Canadian Dollars due to the fact that we are based in Toronto, Canada. The drastic impact of the falling value of the US Dollar against Canadian Dollar is clearly visible within the below chart. As you will see, during the last 5 years, US Dollar lost more than 50% of its value and this has direct impact on our bottom line.

Click here to view the chart -> http://softcom.biz/blogphotos/dollar.jpg

I've gotten in many debates with friends about the surge in the Canadian dollar (or more accurately, the fact the greenback is tanking). I think it's a good thing, as a low dollar results in false productivity. Unlike our southern cousins, Canada just posted a $14 billion surplus and now has a strong dollar. With our natural resources, oil, and minerals, it's understandable why Prime Minister Stephen Harper is so robust on Canada's potential.

That's all fine and good, but it's hitting me where it hurts. I'm now going to pay 150% more for my push email service.

I am constantly amazed by the logic the Foreign Affairs Ministry here in China applies when it comes to coverage of international events. And the most recent election of a new Prime Minister in Japan is a prime example of it.

Allow me to explain how the system works (as best I can, because after two years working in state-run media, I still have trouble figuring it out!) I know many people presume that there are hard and fast rules about what you can and can't say in the media here in China. That, however, is really not the case at all. It is widely understood that the 3-T's: Tibet, Taiwan and Tian'anmen, are sensitive subjects, with the last one being a complete no-no. But beyond these issues, and a handful of others, there are no real clear guidelines on what can and can't be talked about.

But that's not to say that there is free reign either. The ongoing protests in Myanmar are predictably untouchable. Any talk about the leadership situation in China is tantamount to dancing on the head of a pin. Beyond that, though, any and all internal and external coverage of events comes with a daily dictate from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The leadership of said media outlet receives the information, and disseminates it to the staff. For the most part you can readily figure out what can and can't be said or asked on any given occasion as long as you have any sort of inkling of what China's foreign policy positions are. However, a recent one baffled me a bit.

While doing one of my programs on the election of new Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, I was told in no uncertain terms that the Yasukuni Shrine was not to be mentioned. This surprised me for a couple of reasons. First, when ever Sino-Japanese relations are discussed, the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine is virtually always at the forefront of the debate. Trying to talk about the two countries' relationship is like trying to talk about US politics without mentioning the war in Iraq. The second, and more confusing aspect of this is that Mr. Fukuda was the politician who spearheaded a drive about 5 years ago to create a secular memorial to Japan's war dead that would not contain the 14 Class A war criminals that are enshrined in Yasukuni. So that leads to the question of why the Foreign Affairs Ministry would poo-poo any discussion about Yasukuni in connection with Fukuda. The best guess I can come up with is that the government doesn't want to remind people about the issue. Well...little late for that now, given the long-running controversy.

Baffling is the only word I can use to describe it.

Wow... I never thought these words would come from my mind and on to this blog, given my contempt for the blatant hypocrisy I have to deal with every day working in state-run media, but.... here it goes: Back off on China when it comes to Myanmar.

Ok... I've said it. Now let me explain why.

Over the last couple of days as the anti-Junta protests by the brave monks in Myanmar (yes, I'm not the BBC, I'm not calling it Burma at this point) have escalated, there has been much attention in the media, particularly from the BBC and other 'liberal' foreign media, such as CNN, to the China angle when it comes to this story. And at first blush, it might actually make sense. China does have economic ties with Myanmar and is one of the few countries in the world with any sort of influence on the military Junta. There's no denying those facts. But I think it's becoming just a bit too convenient for the media to be on China so quickly over this situation.

China does have investments in Myanmar. But so does Russia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand and India. In fact, as these protests began heating up, democratic India, ally of many a western nation, pledged 150 million US dollars in direct investment in Myanmar for gas exploration. So why isn't the world all over this move?

China vetoed a UN resolution calling for sanctions against Myanmar a few months ago. Sure it did. But so did Russia. Why does China only get mentioned in this move? Besides, Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world and, while deplorable as the military Junta is, the Burmese people need economic development to survive. You sanction the regime; you sanction and hurt the people, because the Junta is going to be just fine.

China has a shoddy track record when it comes to dealing with despotic regimes. Can't deny that one bit. But I think in the case of the Myanmar protests right now, I think the media should be looking outside the box a bit when it comes to jumping on the bash-China bandwagon right away, and take a look at the other players involved in this scenario.

This is actually a personal email, written by my girlfriend, I thought I'd share. As I mentioned before, she works as a journalist at one of Beijing's top daily newspapers. This is regarding Mattel's apology to China for design-flaws in some of its toys. Originally, China was criticized for sub-standard quality control procedures, but Mattel has since concluded it was at fault. I have left the email intact, without any edits. Just thought it might be interesting to share one person's opinion, which followed this line in a news story she sent me: "The Chinese manufacturers of the toys were not to blame for the massive recalls, a senior Mattel executive said during talks in Beijing."

How can the American people do whatever they want ? and why they always right ? can you murder a people and said , oh yeah , I killed a wrong person, sorry , and leave and by happy again ? That's what the Americans did, there are so many chinese workers laid off due to the recall , and there is a boss of a small factory suicide . what do you think about that ? Nothing is fair .

As foreigners in this country, we are on the outside looking in. Sure, we can read through the general crap that's forced upon us by the media organs in this country and see for ourselves what takes place on a day in and day out basis, and extrapolate what is actually taking place. However, when it comes to actually getting hard information about things that take place, it's virtually next to impossible given the invisible barrier that divides us from the locals.

Often times things take place in this country that defy common 'western' logic. The tearing down of historic relics and sites to make way for neon-laden monstrosities... The mass crowds that gather daily at Tian'anmen Square to watch a flag be either raised or lowered... The fact that you have to wait a week to reacquire a lost bank card... the lists are endless. This post, though, relates to this past weekend's 'crackdown' on the drug dealers in Sanlitun.

No one who has ever been to Sanlitun can deny that there are drug dealers in the area on any given night, and many of them are of African decent. This is not to say that all the black men in Sanlitun are drug dealers. Case in point the detention of many an innocent victim from this past weekend's 'raid.' However, there can be no doubt that some of the men rounded up on Friday night were, in fact, dealing drugs. Drugs are illegal in this country, as they are everywhere else. And drug raids are common practice around the world. But the lingering question that surrounds this particular incident is why the crackdown took place at this point.

Live here long enough and you quickly realize that nothing that the authorities do takes place without a specific reason. Working in the media in this country I can unequivocally tell you that there is regimented structure to all things that you see, read or hear in the media. The same can also be said for any other governmental organization. So as to why this crackdown in Sanlitun took place at this particular point is intriguing. We are all probably familiar with the concept of Guanxi. Well, word around the campfire within known bar circles is that this particular crackdown was a direct result of Guanxi. I have come to know a Chinese bar owner in the area fairly well. His particular business is well connected to the local Sanlitun District police bureau. (For the sake of said bar owner, I am reluctant to go into the particulars of his connection) At any rate, a recent discussion with said bar owner that this 'raid' was the equivalent of a mooncake! Apparently, to extend some Guanxi within the local police bureau during this auspicious period of the year, known in China as the mid-Autumn festival (the raid came 5 days before the festival itself), instead of giving said upper echelon authority a box of salmon flavored pastry, they gave the gift of Guanxi through showing the resolve of the local police service to cracking down on the illegal drug trade. (this is probably how it would be phrased in the local media...if it was written about, that is)

It was also suggested to your dear narrator that this is only going to be the beginning. The lead up to the Olympic Games is going to see a significant move by the local authorities to reign in and keep tabs on we 'unruly' foreigners. Surprising? Not in the least...

中秋快乐我的非洲朋友们!

Well... traditional Chinese, anyway.

I'm taking daily Chinese classes now at Tsinghua University, and one of my classmates emailed me and asked if I was on Friendster. No, I'm not... although I've certainly heard of it and my email inbox fills up quite nicely with Friendster sign-up requests.

Perhaps Friendster is much more popular in China than Facebook, which I waste way too much time on, or MySpace, which recently launched its Chinese edition. And to build on its growth here, Friendster has launched its website with a Chinese-language interface.

This is a strategic move for Friendster, as numbers have shown that it's far from dead in the Asia-Pacific region, where 35 million of its 50 million users are based--in fact, ComScore numbers have indicated that with global growth taken into account, Friendster is growing more quickly than MySpace. Traditional Chinese, the company noted, is used by 16 percent of Internet users.

Unlike MySpace, which operates a number of international verticals in different languages, Friendster's Chinese version will exist atop the same domain as its English-language site. This way, English-speaking users will be able to network with Chinese-speaking users and vice versa.

According to a release from the company, "While other social networking sites create separate sites for different countries and make it difficult or impossible to have international friend networks, Friendster is the first global online social network to employ this approach to allow and encourage multi-cultural exchange and communications among users around the world who are interested in doing so."

I'd be nice if people in China gave Facebook a try... or if Facebook started a Chinese-language version to encourage Chinese involvement. Nearly all of my friends on Facebook are people from home or other foreigners in China. Considering the large number of Chinese people I've met since I moved here, hardly any use Facebook. It seems to be a laowai kind of thing.

Perhaps I'll have to give Friendster a try one of these days... although with blogging, MSN Messenger, Facebook, the Drudge Report, and Google Reader, I don't think I need any more reasons to waste time.

I wrote earlier about Mango, a free, online learning tool to study Chinese (or many other languages). Now, courtesy of Websware.com, we find another web 2.0 app that aims to do the same thing, but with a social network bent. It's called LiveMocha.

Like other language learning tools, LiveMocha has online lessons you can take at your own pace. Compared to Mango, I found it easier to get in to (my test case is beginning Spanish). Lessons flew by and my vocabulary and comprehension grew quickly. But what really sets LiveMocha apart from other systems is its social system: After you take a lesson, you can practice your knowledge by either writing or recording your answer to a question aimed at learners of your level.

Other LiveMocha users who know the language you're learning are the ones who critique your response. If you're learning Spanish, then a native Spanish speaker will give you feedback. Likewise, you'll be asked to give feedback for people learning the language you speak. You can also connect in real-time with other users (either already speaking your language, or learning it) and talk with them using guidelines for conversation that pop up when you connect. Eventually you might set up a network of friends to learn with.

I played around with it briefly, and found it actually took a bit longer to go through all the sign-ups and get into the lessons. But it looks a little more advanced and polished than Mango, and also provides photographs for translations, which can be helpful.

If you're interested in brushing up on your Chinese, it's worth checking out.

This particular post somewhat ties in with what Cam has previously posted about the black men being targeted in a drug sting over the weekend.

I must preface this post with the honest contention that for the time that I have been living here in Beijing, I have never really felt unsafe. Sure, there may be the odd time when I'm strolling home down a dark alley and my imagination will begin to shift slightly into the macabre, but for the most part I feel I can walk down the streets of this city with the knowledge that no one is really going to mess with me. Not that I'm scary looking or intimidating by any stretch. The only thing I might have going for me is my height. (At 193 cm tall, I tend to stand out a bit) And even in 'seedy' areas of Beijing: AKA: Sanlitun, the fact that there are drug dealers abound and drunken fools out trolling the street at all hours of the night on a weekend, doesn't generally conjure up a sense of insecurity. However, that seems to have changed a bit this weekend.

I don't really know what it was... maybe a full moon or something, but there seemed to be a 'rambunctious' feeling in the air. I and three other friends took to the Sanlitun bar scene this weekend for a little fun and frivolity. Nothing that hasn't taken place in the past. So when two of my friends were later accosted on the street by a group of young, drunken Chinese lads...I have to say that I was a bit taken aback.

Now, to be fair, the confrontation wasn't particularly out of the blue. During our time in one of the establishments, one of my friends decided to make a bit of small talk with a girl sitting down at a table. This, while her group of male friends sat around at the same table, including the man who turned out to be her boyfriend. Ok...not the smartest maneuver on my friend's behalf. However, despite the initial protests and consternation of said boyfriend, I felt I had done a masterful job of diffusing the situation and talking to the disgruntled lover, rightfully pointing out that my friend had had a bit too much to drink, and that he didn't mean anything by it. The boyfriend was still obviously peeved, but he seemed to let it slide, and the fun and frivolity continued.

Becoming oblivious to the earlier tension, I continued on with my freakishly terrible white man dancing. But about half an hour later, two of my friends -- who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation at all -- returned inside the bar after stepping outside for a moment, furious at the fact that they had been jumped from behind by this same group of cowards at the table. One of our friends had a beer bottle smashed over his head and was kicked a few times when he was down. Our other friend then subsequently had this same bottle brandished in his face. Thankfully for my friends, these 'tough guys' turned tail and ran after the non-bottle victim stood his ground. Though there were only minor scrapes on his head, this friend of ours, who was actually a tourist in Beijing, was somewhat disturbed by the unprovoked attack.

So you combine this incident with the rounding up of black men on the same street on the same night, and you have to wonder whether this is a sign of things to come, or whether this was just a weird blip in the otherwise 'harmonious' life in seedy Sanlitun.

I live in Sanlitun, and have recently noticed a lack of drug dealers in the area. This article in the South China Morning Post, titled "Beijing police target black men in 'brutal' drug operation" might explain why. (SCMP, as you are surely aware, is behind a paysite -- thus the lack of a link):

Dozens of black tourists and expatriates, including the son of the Grenadian ambassador, were arrested and some badly beaten during an apparently indiscriminate anti-drug operation by Beijing police.

About 30 men, mostly African or Caribbean, were detained as dozens of baton-wielding security guards and uniformed police swept through Beijing's nightlife district, Sanlitun.

Students, tourists and the ambassador's son Joslyn Whiteman Jnr were among those wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and hauled to a nearby police station.

The ambassador mentioned in the article that his son was beaten for no reason. He ended up spending the night in hospital. Other people also witnessed the round-up:

"It was pretty brutal," Beijing-based magazine editor Alex Reid said.

"I saw a man being beaten by six guys in camouflage. He was covered in blood. The police seemed to be targeting anyone who was black."

Thabo Lieket, a 24-year-old student from Lesotho, was among those arrested and later released without charge. He thought the police assumed he was dealing in drugs because he was black, he said.

"They were rounding up all the black people; it was pretty frightening," he said. "I was walking with some friends past one of the bars when I was grabbed by some of the guys in camouflage. They dragged us all to the police station, where we were put in the same cell."

An excellent blog on Web 2.0 apps, Webware.com, has mentioned a new program aimed at learning languages online called Mango. The website uses a slides system complete with audio and examples to teach languages. So far, the site offers Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, and of course, Mandarin Chinese.

I checked out the site earlier today. It requires a sign-up which only takes about 30 seconds. Then you select the language you want to learn, and it launches into Lesson 1.

I have looked briefly at the Mandarin Chinese and Japanese lessons (I used to study Japanese back in high school, and I am trying to brush up) and they seem pretty basic. There are over 100 lessons in Mandarin Chinese already, with the lessons getting tougher the further along you get.

The first slide of each lesson shows a dialogue (using characters) between two people. Then all further slides in the lesson breaks down each sentence and word. It can be very repetitive: it will show you the phrase, repeat it, break it down, repeat it, then ask you to repeat it. Probably pretty good for memorizing these things.

The one drawback in Chinese and Japanese was the lack of information regarding the characters. If you hold the mouse over a phrase, a pop-up will appear showing the word spelled in Pinyin or Romaji, respectively. Other than that, there is no character instruction, so you might need to learn that on your own.

You can check out the site here. It's worth a try.

It appears newspapers are racing to make their online content free -- at least the two most influential newspapers in the United States are.

The New York Times announced this week that many of its popular columnists, such as Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich, would be freed from the Times Select pay portion of the site. It appears top brass at the Old Grey Lady have decided that selling advertising is much more lucrative, despite the fact that over 200,000 people had signed up to pay the $49.95 yearly subscription fee.

"But our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising," said Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of the site, NYTimes.com.

There have been ways to get around the New York Times paywall, but this is a good move to ensure that NYT content is read by as wide an audience as possible.

Now, on the heels of the NYT decision, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has declared his intention to free the Wall Street Journal as well:

He reiterated his proposal to make the Wall Street Journal's Web site free, rejecting criticism that it would hurt the newspaper. Analysts have said a free wsj.com could be a risky move as the site is a rare Internet property that has managed to attract paying customers.

Murdoch said making the site, which currently charges a annual subscription fee of $99, freely available online would help boost viewership and revenue globally.

"Will you lose $50 million to $100 million in revenue? I don't think so," Murdoch said. "If the site is good, you'll get much more."

As a media consumer and avid follower of news from China, it would be great to see content from the Wall Street Journal made available for free online. The WSJ has an excellent network of China-based correspondents and despite the fact Murdoch will soon own the property, I expect the WSJ to continue in that proud tradition.

But while these two announcements by US newspapers are to be applauded, unfortunately the South China Morning Post has decided to take a different turn. This article (h/t to Shanghaiist) explains that management at the paper has decided against making the online content free of charge.

South China Morning Post's online publisher Chris Axberg is departing his role, after failing to agree with SCMP management on the business model of its online platform.

Axberg, who recently spearheaded SCMP's relaunch of its online platform, confirmed his departure was effective from 28 September, bringing an end to an eight-year tenure with the company.

Sources indicated executive director, SCMP Group, Kuok Hui Kong was the front-runner to take the reins. Axberg said although he had advocated the SCMP's online site becoming free for users with advertisers driving revenue, management had opted to retain a subscription-based model.

"It was really the case that this was as far as I could take them strategically having to work in those parameters, so now I'm looking forward to new opportunities in digital media."

It's unfortunate that the SCMP has decided to continue keeping their material behind a paywall. When I'm in Hong Kong, I usually pick it up for $7 HKD at the nearest 7-11. But because it's much more difficult to find in mainland China (and many other countries), potential readers are left behind. When offered the choice of signing up for paid content with a credit card, or simply reading the legions of other sources online, the decision becomes fairly easy.

Subscription and advertising rates in most newspapers are declining while time spent online is on the increase. It's clear that newspapers will have to adapt to this changing reality, and we now have evidence that the Wall Street Journal and New York Times recognize this. I guess it will take a little while longer before the SCMP figures it out, too.

My attention was drawn to an article in Canada's Globe and Mail this week that outlined an upcoming meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Dalai Lama:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to meet the Dalai Lama next month in an official encounter on a government site that will irk Chinese officials who view the Buddhist leader as a subversive enemy, sources say.

The coming meeting in a federal building is in keeping with the hard line on Tibet taken by the Conservatives since coming to office last year. It is also an important event for Mr. Harper, who kept a scarf he received from the Dalai Lama as the leader of the opposition in 2004.

I've watched Canada's relationship with intense interest since Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were elected to a minority government nearly two years ago. While many foreign leaders like to talk tough about China, Harper actually seems to be following though. The Dalai Lama Centre opened last year in Vancouver, a city his Holiness has visited twice in the past couple of years. The Canadian government also granted the Dalai Lama honorary citizenship, a move which angered the Chinese government.

But Canada is also going beyond the Tibetan issue. Lai Changxing, the man who is accused of embezzling billions of dollars, remains in Canada despite China's insistence that he be returned, and former Foreign Minister Peter MacKay has also been openly critical of China's human rights abuses. China seems to be taking jabs in return, refusing to allow the Canadian Embassy speak with Huseyin Celil, the Canadian citizen accused of terrorist activities in Xinjiang.

What I can't really understand is what Harper's motives are. I, as much as the next person, like to see foreign governments actually standing up to China and saying what needs to be said. But most of the time, complaints about human rights are made because it placates audiences (the electorate) at home, while governments go ahead and do business deals with China anyway.

Canada doesn't benefit from angering the Chinese, and meeting with the Dalai Lama on an official government residence will certainly accomplish that. Part of me is proud that the government refuses to be bullied by China. But the other part of me wonders, why?

It's so cliche for foreigners to complain about life in China. In fact, a whole website has been set up for this very purpose.

When I first arrived, I had my fair share of gripes: the spitting, the pollution, the failure to grasp the efficiency of forming a queue; but now I just feel lucky to be here and have accepted these as parts of the essential Chinese experience.

But there's one thing I simply won't accept: the banking system.

On Saturday, I had the misfortune of misplacing (read: carelessly losing) my Merchant's Bank card. I assume it was Saturday, because that's the last time I used it -- around 11:30am, to be exact. I withdrew RMB 500. I went and dropped off my dry cleaning and paid for that, then checked out the new Cafe St. Laurent at Alfa, which was fantastic (and swallowed up much of that withdrawal).

It wasn't until the next day, when a friend asked me to go for a beer, that I realized my bank card was missing. The general dread and fear washed over me, with questions rushing through my head: Did I lose it? Did I forget it at home? Is it in my other pants? Did somebody steal it? I haven't changed my work-issued PIN number yet, which is 666666, so has someone guessed it and stolen my life savings?

I skipped the beer and headed home to frantically search for the card, to no avail. My girlfriend called Merchant's Bank and explained the situation. They said they would cancel the card and freeze the funds, and confirmed no other withdrawals had been made since Saturday. Whew.

Fast forward to today, Monday afternoon, when I head into the bank to make an actual withdrawal. I'm down to my last 30 kuai, so me and a Chinese colleague walked to Merchant's bank with my passport in hand. We sat down and were told to present my identification to certify the freezing of funds. I showed my passport and filled out paperwork and everything was great. Then I asked to withdraw 1000 RMB. "No can do," the woman said (to the best of my memory, which is a little fuzzy). You see, they had verified my identity enough to freeze the funds, but not enough to actually give me any of my money. So, I was told, my funds would be frozen for a week, and I could visit the bank next Monday for my new card and any cash I might need.

A week without access to my primary Chinese bank obviously doesn't sit well. But then I got the real kick in the groin. They want 10 kuai to process the transaction. Not a big deal, right? Well, I had 30 kuai on me at the time, and didn't want to part with 1/3 of my current cash flow. Take it out of my account, I told them. "No can do," she seemed to say again. They need 10 kuai -- now -- from me.

At that point, I almost began to laugh. Here is the bank, with all my money in there, and they refuse to give it to me. Then they ask me for some money. I'd give them money, if they'd give me my money first. Make sense? Well, not to Merchant's Bank. And they didn't find it funny, either.

I am not a Eurocentrist, and I understand that things are different in China. But surely there is a more efficient way of handling this situation. If you lose a bank card in Canada or the United States, you pop into a branch, and they'll give you a new one in five minutes. Here, it takes a week, and they can't even deduct cash to pay the service charge to get you a new card! If only somebody could understand how absurd this all is.

Anyway, I'll be broke for the next week. Which, I guess, means I can't afford to go to Hooters.

I remember, a few years ago, when the first Hooters outlet opened in China, in Shanghai's Hongqiao area. I was new in China at the time, and when a friend and I visited Shanghai on a road trip we figured we'd better check it out. Truth be told, as a Canadian and frequent visitor to the United States, I had never been to a Hooters restaurant before (honest!). So the Hongqiao branch was the first time I went.

Sure enough, it was kinda what I expected. Although the women weren't... erm... as "well-endowed" as I imagined (possibly as a result of the water in China... no?). When I moved to Shanghai a few years later, visiting Hooters become part of the tourist trip: first to the Bund, then the Pearl Tower, then the French Concession, then Xintiandi, then Hooters. For whatever reason, the Chinese seemed more enamored about Hooters than my foreign visitors did.

And now, Beijingers have no more need to head to Shanghai (or Hangzhou) to visit America's infamous restaurant chain. I think other North Americans can vouch that Hooters isn't exactly highly regarded in America... in fact, the only outlet in Vancouver went out of business. So I can't quite understand why a restaurant associated with low-end American culture seems so eagerly anticipated in China.

I had a talk with my girlfriend the other day about this very topic. She comes from a government family, and is fond of Mao, to say the least. She visited Hooters in Shanghai when I lived there, but was sorely disappointed that it had invaded the heart of China's capital, and her hometown. In fact, she swears she'll write an article on the editorial page of her newspaper denouncing Hooters' presence in Beijing, a la Rui Chenggang's campaign against Starbucks in the Forbidden City. (I'll let you know if she ever gets around to it.)

I live a few minutes walk from the Hooters in Beijing, which is on the northeast side of Worker's Stadium. It's a prime location, and I'm surprised that the government allowed Hooters to erect such large signage and lights around the restaurant -- believe me, you can't miss it. This, for a low-rent kind of chain.

It reminded me of local campaigns (both in my hometown of Sidney, and in parts of Vancouver) to ensure that Wal-Mart didn't set up shop and pollute those communities. Or of other areas in Canada, that fight to keep corporations and chains out of the area. It's clear that China is still having a love affair with foreign brands... but something also tells me that if the authorities fully understood how Hooters is regarded, perhaps they would've toned down the signage a bit - or asked Hooters to move to another location.

Personally speaking, I don't really have a problem with the place. It serves a certain clientèle and makes money, at least in China. Although on the night I was there, we saw an older fellow, with greasy hair flowing out from under his baseball cap, grab the rear-end of one of the waitresses. She giggled and continued talking with the two men at the table, but I couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted about what I had witnessed. My girlfriend was nearly in tears (it wasn't my idea to hit up the restaurant, by the way).

When the girls started dancing and singing songs, my girlfriend mentioned that they have probably been completely brainwashed by the company. She also said that if she ever tried to work at a place like this, her parents would give her all the money she needed just to stay home. She said she couldn't bare this kind of job, and would never be able to tell her family if she worked there.

To be fair, western girls could say this about other western girls working at Hooters. Again, I'm a practical kind of guy, and if there is a willing worker and a willing employer, and everything is above-board and consensual, then I don't see a problem. But yet, something about this rubs me the wrong way.

First, I have visited the Hongqiao Hooters twice, the Pudong Hooters twice, and now the one in Beijing. I have yet to meet a girl in any of the locations who are from Beijing or Shanghai. They are all -- 100% according to my unscientific poll -- from the countryside. Apparently Hooters pays fairly well, so the restaurant becomes a bit of a magnet for girls that need the money.

Second, I can only imagine what Mao would think (if we really care -- and most times I don't). Depending on the perspective, and if I was to spin this in a PR fashion, one could argue that China is selling out its girls from the countryside for the amusement of foreigners. (And yes, I know this has been happening for centuries -- but this situation just seems a little more overt, and with the government's obvious blessing). The fact this is occurring several blocks from China's Forbidden City leaves one with an odd feeling.

I'm not about to get too sentimental about this, because I happen to like the buffalo chicken wings at Hooters and they are now only a 5 minute walk away. One can argue whether Hooters should be here in the first place, and one can argue whether it should be promoted with giant signs and glittery lights next to a stadium honoring China's proletariat. Regardless, I can understand how my girlfriend feels.

I guess next time, I'll go with my buddies.

Somehow I lucked out into a ticket to Thursday night's Yao/Nash Charity Gala Dinner held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. As a bit of a news junkie, I was eager to check out Diaoyutai because the six-party talks are held there. I've been told that foreigners and government officials love having events at Diaoyutai because of the beauty of the grounds, the facilities, and the elegance. But young people, fashionistas, and other trendy industries stay as far away from Diaoyutai as possible because it's a stuffy, government-run facility. For me, I was quite impressed (although the food wasn't as good as I'd expected... more on that later).

I'm far from the biggest NBA fan in the world, although I attended a few Vancouver Grizzlies' games before they skipped town, and was impressed with the NBA's entertainment value. I also feel a spiritual connection to two-time MVP Steve Nash, who hails from my hometown of Victoria and once taught a basketball camp attended by my sister many moons ago.

Yao Ming was clearly the star of the show, but Milwaukee Bucks pick Yi Jianlian was also hounded by autograph seekers. The dinner was organized by famed film director Feng Xiaogang (A World Without Thieves) and saw a number of semi-famous Chinese performers take to the stage.

The goal of the gala, and Friday night's game, was to raise money for charity. The money will be collected by a Chinese organization and distributed to a number of other charities focusing on improving the lives of impoverished children in Xinjiang and other western regions of China. And believe me, donating money seemed to be no problem for many of the tycoons in attendance.

My head was shaking as people's bids approached 1 million RMB, then 2 million, and more, for a simple pair of Yao Ming's sneakers and two tickets to the Olympic opening ceremonies next year. When they were finally auctioned off, the price was 3.6 million kuai (USD $478,585). One interesting package that was auctioned was called the "All World All Star" package, and included a Pele autographed jersey, Michael Jordon autographed 1990-91 Chicago Bulls jersey, Muhammed Ali signed boxing globes, and a Lance Armstrong autographed Tour de France yellow jersey. Any one of these items would draw a lot of attention on their own, so combined it was a sports aficionado's dream. You could open quite the sports pub with that stuff on the wall.

Anyway, RMB 6,750,000 was raised through the auction, with Yao himself chipping in the final RMB 250,000 to bring the total to seven million. Money raised from Friday night's charity game in Shijingshan was also donated to charity. (Oddly, I had two floor seats to the game with a ticket price of RMB 3800 per ticket. I had to give them away as I had a meeting at that time!!).

It was interesting to see the NBA stars carrying around their video cameras, and taping everything they saw. Being in China was clearly a huge thrill for many of them. I ran into one of their managers in the washroom at Diaoyutai, and he described China as "very, very different". No kidding. Overall though, it sounded like they were having a good time.

As for the menu from Diaoyutai, I have posted it below:

• Assorted Cold Platter
• Four Small Dishes
• Spicy Squid's Egg Soup in Steam Pot
• Braised Four Delicacies with Flowren (?)
• Pan-Fried Beef Steak with Plum
• Steamed Fresh Fish in Tinfoil
• Braised Broccoli with Mushroom
• Pastries
• Fruit

The "four small dishes" was one of my favorites, as it included smoked salmon. I think Diaoyutai still needs a little help with their English menus and translations, though.

Overall, it was a great time, and good to see so much money raised for children in Xinjiang.

I'd like to bring your attention, if I could, to another local Vancouver Island issue that has reminded me of life in China as a foreigner.

A man by the name of Ted Hobby has started a Facebook group called "How many Indians on the bridge?" The group has become a minor scandal in my home province of British Columbia for what many consider to be the group's racist undertones.

The game is something, as a former Vancouver Island resident and former employee of a Duncan radio station, that I had heard of extensively. Duncan is a town heavily populated by Native Canadians and is famous for it's beautiful totem poles. In fact, the city is referred to as the City of Totems (it's also famous for having the world's largest hockey stick adoring its arena -- a distinctly Canadian touch).

Duncan is situated in the Cowichan Valley, an incredibly scenic area of Vancouver Island, about a 90 minute ferry ride from the city of Vancouver. The Cowichan Valley, when I worked there back in 2000, had approximately 70,000 residents. Duncan, the small town in the region's core, had far fewer. In fact, Duncan is rarely a person's destination; it is merely the small highway town people drive through on their way north or south. The city was often the butt of jokes, like many drive-through towns all over the world, as a result.

Oddly, aside from the giant hockey stick and nice totem poles, Duncan has become famous for a little bridge, pictured below, on the south end of the town. The bridge is part of the highway system, so naturally, nearly all commuters passing through must cross it. This leads to the heart of the issue.

As Duncan is heavily populated with Native Canadians, a silly game emerged that has been played by generations in the area: guess how many Indians are on the bridge, prior to your approach.

The game is immature, at best, and I really don't think many people actually "play" the game. It's more of a piece of the region's history which has been passed down through generations, even though it may have perhaps worn out its welcome in today's more politically correct environment. As far as I know, most people have heard of it, but it hasn't become an issue until now.

That's because Mr. Hobby started his Facebook group. Now an uproar has ensued, one that has even hit the pages of the local Victoria Times Colonist. It drew some surprising comments:

Guessing how may natives are on the bridge "makes your day just a little bit brighter, especially if you guess correctly," reads Hobby's blurb. ... "This group is about counting natives on a bridge. That's it. Pure, unadulterated native counting."

It's not intended to be racist, Hobby insisted. "If we were all native Americans, then the game would be to count the white people on the bridge. Please understand that this group in no way advocates or condones racism."

Many people didn't see it as simply "pure, unadulterated native counting" and have since fired back:

"They're making a mockery of First Nations people," said Steve Sxwithul'txw of the Penelakut First Nations tribe of Kuper Island. "I want them to shut the bloody thing down. It's ridiculous. They don't even know they're racist.

"From my perspective, growing up around that area, crossing that bridge, swimming under that bridge, fishing under that bridge, I don't appreciate a particular group taking amusement in one's people, just because they can't afford to have a car and drive into town." Sxwithul'txw has monitored the site for a week and noticed complaints of racism added to the page were quickly removed.

"There was a woman on there saying it was so much fun teaching her seven-year-old daughter to play the game. Another was a professional with the Ministry of Environment in Victoria."

The Member of Parliament for Cowichan, Jean Crowder, has also weighed in on the controversy. While she's against the Facebook group, she doesn't believe it should be shut down:

"The problem with just removing it is we're actually not dealing with the underlying issues," she said. "It seems to me there is a racist overtone to it."

Educating people on aboriginals would be a more effective alternative than deleting the group, she believes, since it could promote open dialog.

"I don't know what else we can do," she said. "We've got such an incredibly vibrant and culturally diverse community.

"I guess this is an attempt at some sort of stereotype of Duncan."

I can confirm, having lived in Canada for 25 of my 28 years on this planet, that it is far from a "racist" country, as some would have us believe. In fact, Canada is one of the only westernized, developed countries on Earth that continues to endorse widespread immigration from a grassroots level.

A competing Facebook group has been launched to combat the original, titled "Quit it with the Duncan bridge group." One person wrote:

"It really seems to me that a lot of people have no respect for Native people, and it's really sad to me that we live in such a racist society. I always knew there was racism here, but when I see good, solid proof of it, and so many people take part, it really makes me sad."

I have been thinking about this issue for the last couple of days, trying to figure out what I think about it. I am not a racist, but I am also not an alarmist. Clearly, counting people on a bridge is not a racist activity. Nobody has advocated violence against nor slandered Native Canadians. So I can only surmise that this entire controversy is summed up by one word: Indian.

It is late, and I don't have time to dig into this much deeper. I will say that the effects of certain words change over time. Where the N word was once not acceptable, it's now acceptable in certain circumstances. I can remember when calling somebody "black" was unacceptable (instead, we were encouraged, in North America, to refer to them as "African Americans"). Today, referring to somebody as a "black" person, or even a "brown" person is okay.

The second issue surrounds criticism that Canadians are racist -- or those that join the group are racist. As a Canadian living in China, I am not entitled to a state pension or mortgage allowance, like my Chinese colleagues. I put up with slanderous comments, I am stared at, I am even routinely ridiculed. In my media jobs, as a foreigner, I was not invited to staff meetings. I was not eligible to be a senior manager or supervisor. Basically, I wasn't treated as the Chinese staff were -- at all.

The point of this isn't to complain, as I'm quite comfortable with my life in China regardless of these circumstances. But until a Native Canadian, or a Chinese, or a Pakistani, is charged higher prices for apartments, more for fruit at the food stall, or denied promotions simply because of their nationality or ethnicity, than Canada doesn't have a "racist" problem. Sometimes Canadians lose sight about how things actually work in other parts of the world.

In the meantime, I don't actually have a problem with the Facebook group. I am a little uneasy with the word "Indian", but only if it offends those who would be labeled by the term. Other than that, counting people on a bridge is not racist. At all.

(My apologies for wrapping this up quickly. I'm tired, and it's late.)

I will write a longer article on this later, so don't want to give everything away.

It was the first time I'd seen Cui Jian, the Godfather of Chinese rock, in concert, and I was quite impressed. His old tunes had people dancing, and he played a couple of new ones at the end (even one in English!) that shows he's still churning out good, new material.

Nine Inch Nails took the stage at 9pm before several thousand fans. The lightning and special effects weren't bad, and people seemed into the music (especially songs from early in their career). It closed with a beautiful rendition of Hurt from The Downward Spiral, an album well-represented at the show.

Trent Reznor didn't say much to the audience, other than the odd "thank you". I guess he was intimidated by the language barrier, and towards the end hauled up a Chinese assistant to say a few words on his behalf. He thanked the Chinese for their hospitality, and the crowd let out a thunderous roar when he promised the band would be back soon.

Again, I'll write more on this later, and will be sure to post it. Overall it was great seeing big-league rock stars perform in Beijing, and I look forward to more of this at next year's Beijing Pop Festival.

Listening to live music under the stars was an ideal way to wrap up the summer.

A good friend of mine recently returned from a visit to Canada with his new Chinese bride. He hails from Vancouver (well, Langley to be more exact) and it was his wife's first visit to North America.

I met him when we both worked in the media business in British Columbia. The industry is small, and many of us who worked together in radio or television in Vancouver have since moved to Beijing. Word has gotten out that this is a pretty cool place to be, at the moment, and it seems there is a new arrival every few months who quickly integrates into China Radio International or CCTV 9. But at no time -- ever -- has anyone in this group of people decided to stay in China permanently. Perhaps nobody knows what they will do next, or when they will leave -- but staying in China has never been an option. Until now.

I had a few drinks with said friend last night, and he discussed how everyone he saw in Canada seemed to be "wound tight". "People are angry," he said. "It doesn't matter how much money they have, they aren't happy."

He listed the usual complaints: mortgages, dysfunctional families, high taxes, red tape, restrictive government, car loans, gasoline prices, poor customer service, and the seemingly inherent need to get a newer car and bigger house just to keep up with the Joneses, as it were.

Life in China, to him, is much different. It's about working fewer hours, spending time with his wife and dogs, and saving more money each month than he possibly could at home. There are no overbearing taxes on foreigners here, there's no Air Care, no filing income taxes each year, and no dealing with high gasoline prices (taxis cost a few dollars for 30 minute trip). And unless you have the illegal Dream Satellite from the Philippines, there is no constant media buzz, no Paris Hilton stories, no Fox News Alerts, and all of the other sensational media tactics that just seem to raise one's blood pressure and, likely, increase anxiety on prolonged exposure.

This is obviously an over simplification, and a generalization as well. But it came to mind after I read the transcript for the latest Osama bin Laden tape. In it, bin Laden takes exception with the capitalist system, which he says is the root behind many of the world's ills:

...the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa; all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system.

For the record, I am generally a free-market capitalist. That being said, I do believe in strong government support and oversight, and there are certain areas which should be left under the jurisdiction of democratically-elected representatives rather than an appointed board of directors at a nameless, faceless conglomerate.

There's no doubt that the constant need to improve, push share prices higher, cut taxes, generate bigger profits, and improve on last year's performance can raise anxiety, increase stress, and even drive someone insane over the long term. This competitive spirit is what helped drive America's breakthroughs in science and technology, and led to the country becoming a global superpower. It's a worth ethic, that on one hand, needs to be applauded. But on the other, one's lifestyle needs to be considered. At some point, focusing on one's happiness and contentment must supersede money, consumer goods, and the constant need to see improvement year-on-year.

I'm not sure if people in Canada, and by extension, the United States are "wound tight"... but I'd bet that many of them are. I don't think converting to Islam, as Osama bin Laden advocates, is the answer. But there must be a way.

In the meantime, my good friend figures he'll stay here in Beijing. I can attest that, although he doesn't have a demanding job or a big bank account, he is much happier here than he ever was in Canada. At the end of the day, that's what's most important, right?

The venom directed at the Japanese continues, despite the fact relations between China and Japan have improved substantially since the selection of Shinzo Abe as Japan's Prime Minister (I must say "selection", as he has not been formally elected yet, right?).

The latest apparent snub from the Japanese comes in the form of a new video game by Sega (I had no idea Sega was still making video games). An email is being circulated as a forward among many young Chinese. It is listed below:

SEGA Company Japan designed a new football video game a couple of days ago. In the game, the China football team has been divided into nine parts: China, China Hong Kong, China Taiwan, China Macau, China Tibet, China Manchu, China Beijing, China Shanghai, and China Southwest. No video game company from anywhere in the world has developed such a low-taste game like this. Sega, which can be called a renowned company, must have done this on purpose.

All Chinese people should forward this email to protest the video game produced by SEGA company. Let's stop using products made in Japan. How can we use products made by a country who wants to separate another country's territory?

These are free numbers of Japanese companies in China:

HITACHI: 8008203328
SONY: 8008209000
SHARP: 8008289011
PANASONIC: 8008100781
NEC: 8008207007

Remember: Hang up when you get through.

Everytime they answer the phone, they must pay 1 kuai to China Telecom. If 1.3 billion people call one time every day, all the money they make in China will have to be used to cover the phone bill. They won't be able to take one fen out of China.

If you are Chinese, please pass this email along after reading it.

So if someone's not Chinese, they shouldn't forward it on? I get a kick out of these types of emails. Because I'm busy (and also slightly lazy) I haven't researched whether this game actually exists or not, or whether they did indeed divide China into 9 parts. They probably could've divided it into 11 parts while they were at it, and added China Xinjiang and China Inner Mongolia. But let's not be too picky...

I'm interested in whether anyone else has received this, and whether this is true. Anybody got any info?

The Chinese version is listed below for reference.

前两天日本世嘉游戏公司出了一款足球游戏！游戏中竟然把中国分成九块！！！中国！中国香港！中国台湾！中国澳门！中国西藏！中国满洲！中国北京！中国上海！中国西南！全世界的游戏公司都从来没犯过这种低级错误，世嘉也是一大公司了。一定是故意如此的！！！请大家都来转帖，抵制世嘉的游戏！抵制小日本的产品！一时刻想着如何分裂中国的垃圾民族做的东西能用吗？！请转贴到所有你所参加的群里，拜托了！

现在日本非常嚣张！！！
日本企业在华 800免费电话：
日立 800－820－3328
索尼 800－820－9000 ，800－820－2228
夏普 800－828 －9011
松下 800－810－0781
NEC 800－820－ 7007

记住：通了就挂！！！
每通一次中国电信收日本企业1块钱，13亿人一天
一次，他们挣得钱都得交话费，一分钱也带不走！
是中国人就传！

The Larry Craig scandal just won't go away. As Scott Feschuk put it, "wide stance" will likely be this year's "hanging chad". The story is interesting on so many levels, even if one removes the natural inclination to peer into someone else's problems and watch the train-wreck unfold.

My question is this: why are there so many gay members of the Republican Party, a party known for its opposition to homosexuality? Larry "Wide Stance" Craig (I didn't coin the term, so can't take credit) is only the latest. We can't forget Mark Foley, the serial e-mailer who was lining up dates with interns. Joe Conason on Salon.com also mentions Roy Cohn, Jim West and Ed Schrock. So why, as a homosexual, join the Republican party and climb the ranks to become a high-profile legislator?

Somewhere in the textbooks of psychosexual pathology there may be a straightforward answer, so to speak. Does the party draw closeted men because they can hide behind Republican homophobia? Or does the party promote homophobia as a political ruse while closeted men run the show? Whatever the answer, the result is routine humiliation and personal destruction.

At this rate, the pro-gay lobby would be better off making large donations to the GOP, because there is mounting evidence that "closeted men" are, actually, running the show.

I can only surmise that these men are driven by insecurities. Notice that in all of the cases, the men are middle-aged, or older, and grew up in a time, and in a country, that deeply frowned on homosexuality. Even today, as James Hannaham writes (in another excellent column), homosexuality in America suffers from a strong, negative stigma:

But at first it's not easy for queer goslings in the U.S. to find the gay world. (In a few other countries it's much easier. I'll never forget my astonishment at how many gay bars in Holland are outdoor cafes, one of which screams "Gay Life" in large letters across its facade; in middle America, gay bars are still in unmarked storefronts with tinted windows.) One of the first ways you learn to find other gay Americans is to listen closely when straight people denounce homosexuals. If a relative grumbles about "faggots doing it in the park," you might think to ask, as innocently as possible, "Faggots? Really? I've never heard that. Which park? What are the cross streets?" After which you'll go there in the dead of night and find some sense of community, however narrowly focused. If a senator in your state is involved in a scandal, you might search the Internet to find his hunting grounds, even if he's not your type.

In America, being gay can still ruin one's career and destroy one's family. We also mustn't look past the deep religious foundation America is built on, an all-pervasive foundation that frowns upon the gay lifestyle. When these factors are considered, regardless of what one thinks of them, it's fully understandable that some gay Americans choose to stay in the closet (and why, given this environment, those that "come out" should be applauded all the more).

If one grows up in America as a gay male (or female), his or her homosexuality becomes a curse that must be hidden at all costs. And what better way to hide it than by joining the Republicans and speaking out against the "homosexual lifestyle"? It's a natural progression, so to speak, and may explain why these scandals seem to be hitting middle aged, white, Republican males.

You'd think that as the influence of "gay culture" (I recoil at using the term) expands and becomes much more acceptable, especially among the younger generation, people would feel more comfortable "coming out". But as a member of the 20-something crowd, I often forget that coming to terms with homosexuality is extremely difficult for some of those in the older generations. I'll never forget my grandmother complaining about "Pakis" in our hometown, for example, and her wondering why they wore "towels on their heads". Or, when I was dating a Japanese girl, how she encouraged me never to marry her because I "don't want a bunch of little Chinamen," do I?

The bottom line is my grandmother was a good woman, with a kind heart, who wouldn't actually hurt any of these people. But she grew up in a different time, in a different environment, and asking her to accept things this late into her life was an unfair request. May she rest in peace.

I don't endorse Larry Craig's decision to campaign as an anti-homosexuality Republican, and then solicit gay sex in an airport restroom. Hypocrisy is hypocrisy. But sometimes I think some understanding is required, especially when we examine why these politicians, and regular people, make the decisions they do.

There is no doubt that the negative stigma surrounding homosexuality is vanishing, but it will take another generation or two before it becomes completely accepted. Let's wait for that day, and offer those who feel trapped a little bit of compassion.

This comes courtesy of Japundit, via Asian-Sirens. This is a bizarre video by a man named Channakajima who has compiled a 22-part series (apparently... although only 11 are on YouTube) on Asian women. He speaks quite slowly and with a bit of a lisp, and the video also moves methodically. But clearly, he's done lots of research. Regardless, I still think this is rather bizarre, and will certainly add credence to already outdated stereotypes.

For example, he describes a typical Chinese woman as "sweet and kind", but once in a relationship, can become a "tiger". Can anybody back this up?

If you like this kinda thing, Channakajima has many other helpful videos for those hormonally-driven western men seeking Asian women. You can watch:

• The Eyelids of an Asian Woman
• Dating the Asian Woman: The Chemical Attraction
• Dating the Asian Woman: What She Wants in a Man
• Dating the Asian Woman: Sex and Tell
• Dating: How Do You Know that an Asian Woman is Attracted to You?

Enjoy!

I have to admit a little big of ignorance about blogging: I only started doing this a few months ago, and only started reading blogs a few months before that. As a trained journalist, I inherently believed that blogs were written by amateurs using suspect "facts" or information, at best.

I had known for a while that blogs, or the "blogosphere", was alive with discussion and controversy. I still remember, during the 2004 presidential election, CNN going live to a reporter in the Atlanta studios to update what was happening in the blogosphere. As I didn't read blogs at the time, I thought this was like reporting what people were saying in chat rooms - absolutely ridiculous.

Things began to change for me last year, when my friend Rob turned me on to ESWN. It was nice to find a website that translated stories from Chinese into English, and provided a bit of insight. Also, living in mainland China, I was (and remain) hungry for outside news sources concerning China in English. ESWN was a God-send at that time, and it also kick-started my interest in blogs.

Now, as a freelance journalist, I use blogs routinely to spark story ideas or provide insight. I don't think they'll ever replace the mainstream media, and much of what can be found on blogs must be taken with a big grain of salt. But rather than seeing blogs as a news source, I find they work better in a social context.

For example, if Richard at the TPD recommends a story in the Wall Street Journal, it's like a friend pointing out something I might have missed (I do not know, and have never met Richard, btw). Or, on a recent post on The Humannaught, Ryan wrote "Am I Racist?", an excellent read that I can see being discussed over a beer or two. It's something that we can relate to (which good journalism should also accomplish). Neither of these are "news", but they are ongoing discussions about things affecting our lives -- things I wouldn't have read had blogging not existed. And I feel smarter, and better informed, because of it.

That brings me to this article found in the Guardian. It's titled "The blog haters have barely any idea what they are railing against" and it's written by Salon.com co-founder Scott Rosenberg. He says blogging has been the target of criticism since it was born.

From the dawn of blogging it's been tempting for established professionals to reject blogging as trivial and unreliable. Epitomising this stance most recently is Tom Wolfe - who, in a brief essay accompanying the Wall Street Journal's blog birthday celebration, dismissed the blogosphere as "a universe of rumours". To support this charge, he cited an inaccuracy in Wikipedia's entry about himself. Of course the online encyclopedia is not a blog at all. But critics like Wolfe can't be bothered making distinctions. He admitted that Wikipedia isn't "strictly a blog" but claimed it "shares the genre's characteristics", and dismissed a universe of blogs on the basis of a single Wikipedia inaccuracy - which was, naturally, immediately corrected. If it's online, apparently, it's all the same, and all worthless.

I understand the mainstream media's criticism of blogging, if only because I used to be a part (and still am, to some degree) of that machine. Journalists must endure years of schooling, practicums, ethics training, and more before becoming a "journalist". Then, it often takes years of reporting to really understand the business and build up good contacts to become an established journalist. So when any old person can publish their random thoughts on, for example, presidential politics, the establishment tends to scoff at it.

In addition, the mainstream media is (like any industry, really) resistant to change. Television ratings in the United States are plummeting, music sales have taken a sharp dive, and cinemas are routinely empty. In all of these cases, the culprit can likely be summed up in one word: the Internet. Blogging may be eating into time spent on established news websites, just like downloading has cut into CD and movie sales. Not to mention blogging can often beat established journalists at their own game, providing video and posts on events where journalists were not present. Bloggers can also quickly correct journalists on any inaccuracies. (This puts journalists in the awkward position of being "watched". Journalists like to consider themselves the anointed watchdogs of the powerful, yet feel awfully uncomfortable when others feel the need to watch their words and deeds just as closely to ensure accuracy and accountability.) Bascially, blogging has become a big pain in the you-know-what to some regular journalists, and has put a bit of a scare into mainstream media companies.

That being said, blogging can often be quite helpful. Rooland Song's aforementioned website is used as a resource by journalists, for example. And I use them as well, because there is excellent material on blogs that can't be found elsewhere.

Despite the criticism, blogging isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Many call it the ultimate in democracy, because anybody can have their say, and it puts everyone on equal footing. While there is a lot of questionable material in the blogosphere, that doesn't mean there are no gold nuggets as well. Blogging has changed the way we communicate and consume news and information. For that, I am thankful.

I may have been a late-comer to the game, but I can certainly see the benefits of both reading and writing blogs. As time passes, I'm sure others will come around, too.

Happy 10th birthday, blogging, and here's to another 10!

I just have to pass this article along, written by famed Canadian humorist Scott Feschuk (who also served for a short stint writing speeches for former Prime Minister Paul Martin).

Here's an excerpt:

In the field of damage control and crisis communications, Craig's news conference this week is a lock to be copied to DVD and marketed as part of the Whatever You Do, Definitely Do This line of surefire career immolation. (Step No. 7: Ensure your wife is at your side, looking every bit as happy and graceful as an arthritic zombie.) I especially enjoyed when he opened his statement by thanking everyone for "coming out." No, thank you for coming out. Signed, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and everyone else who has a TV show on after 11 p.m.

And another:

Larry Craig's timeline to immortality: • Craig enters a men's room at the Minneapolis airport and proceeds to cast glances at a man through the crack of one of the stalls for roughly two minutes. With his actions he seems to be saying "I am in the market for some hot gay sex" or possibly "I have a sentimental attachment to that particular toilet, so step on it, would you?" • The senator enters a neighbouring stall and places his roller bag up against the door to block the opening. Clever! None of the other men in this public washroom will suspect you are having hot gay sex if you somewhat block the view. They'll just hear the sounds and think you're both playing paddleball. • Craig begins tapping his foot. According to police, this is consistent with the behaviour of a man angling for hot gay sex. It also explains why, for the better part of his adult life, Gregory Hines could rarely use the men's room without the onset of a serious misunderstanding.

There is a lot more where this came from. Click here to read the rest.