More Olympic news out of China
- The stories coming out of last weekend’s torch run in Tibet are more than a little scary. Imagine the officials’ thoughts: let’s throw a whole city into military lockdown so a few journalists can photograph a bunch of people artificially placed to perform “cultural displays”! I fear this bodes ill for the actual games in August.
- Meanwhile, the Japanese military was able to send a ship to China today with (a token amount of) earthquake relief. This, I think, signifies the surprisingly quick improvement in relations between the two powers in the last few months, and I hope it serves as a foundation for future progress rather than being trampled over in another petty disagreement.
- People continue to talk recession in the US, but I suspect there’s little to worry about in the eastern hemisphere: witness the deal cut in Shanghai recently whereby the price of Pilbara iron ore will jump more than 90% next year.
- Unrelatedly: a Google ad recently took me to this page from my area’s wholesale water supplier. It was making a valiant effort to get people to abandon bottled water for the tap! If only social pulls and slick corporate marketing could so easily be countered.
- While it’s true I’ve been taken by American sports of late (I was at a baseball game last weekend! and the between-innings entertainment was cool!), I still feel entitled to an answer: WTF, 135 points?!
- And in the “hooray for other Australians educating Americans before I get to them” department: one of my housemates asked me about Tim Tams today
Timtams: not as good as they should be, for a biscuit that’s three variations on a theme of chocolate, but something we kind of like anyway, even those of us who actually don’t. (Although, I think it was in 2000 or 2001, there were white chocolate timtams as a limited thing. And possibly I misremember them, as I only had a couple, but as I recall they were really yummy. And I don’t particularly timtams, and I really don’t like white chocolate. Go figure.)
Timtams: better than cooties
Hey Hourann, why no updates. I heard on the news there was an earthquake near LA. I assume this means it was too far away for you to feel, but were there aftershocks in your area or anything?
I had some Tim Tams yesterday.
On the no updates front, that will change soon, I promise …!
And I wish there were aftershocks! I have felt no seismic activity since arriving here.