Headlines

I know that there is a lot of interest in Expat life. I am planning on more in depth discussions on this, but after today's newspaper I felt the need to share my news media experience. We have only been receiving the newspaper for a week and even in that time frame, I have a lot to write about. First of all I have to say, I enjoy the international perspective. The Shanghai Daily is the local English produced newspaper and it tries to include something for everyone. For example, I have been following the Pan Pacific swim competition. Did you know that Michael Phelps is out-of-shape, but still pulling through in the end? Some things however are shocking, to read or see in print. For example, in this weeks Sunday paper an image of an Indian woman nursing her pet calf ???? I know the Chinese government is watching and nothing is going to be published that is defamatory to the P.R.C., but the image in print was so bizarre. Other oddities, a trial against a midwife who threw in an "extra stitch" because she didn't get a good tip. The dichotomy is that on the same page are real news stories about what is happening in China, there have been terrible mudslides throughout China. This month over 1400 people have perished in these natural disasters, and that is only the official reported number. The shear magnitude of devastation is so foreign to me. The loss of human life in a natural disaster here is so much greater than what we see in the US. Take hurricane Katrina for example. We lost over 1800 people, we are still working to rebuild New Orleans, and it is a historic natural disaster for the United States. In 2008, over 68,000 people died as a result of the Sichuan earthquake (the damage from which has contributed to the rash of mudslides recently). It just blows my mind.

Somethings I may think are odd or inhumane are actually quite logical if you stop to think about it. China is all about the big picture as a whole. For example, rescue efforts in a recent mudslide have been ordered to cease and people are not allowed to search for loved ones as no live survivors have been recovered recently. Cruel you say, but the reasoning is that the bodies are decomposing and they are worried about disease and infestation of remaining area populations. Finding your loved one for a closure and a proper burial is not a consideration. The population here is so massive the individual is not of great concern.

I do want to make it clear, that this blog will not address politics. I am a guest in this country and although I may not understand how or why things are done the way they are, I am going to keep an open mind. So no comments about political views please. I just want to share what I see, not necessarily inject how I see it.

Check out my local paper to see whats happening here!

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/list.asp?id=2