Posts by Chris Waugh
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Up Front: Choice, Bro, in reply to DexterX,
It would be interesting to see where in statute same sex marriage is specifically prohibited.
I thought the problem was that it isn't specifically prohibited, but that licences were only ever issued to straight couples on the assumption that the law was written under the assumption that a marriage is one man and one woman, with the high court agreeing that that's what parliament intended when the law was written.
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Hard News: A long way yet, in reply to Hebe,
1 to 12 ratio of cement and often specified reinforcing was not used.
Ah, what came to be called 'tofu dregs construction' (豆腐渣工程/dòufuzhāgōngchéng, for the curious) in China after the 2008 quake because the rubble makes it look like the buildings were built from the leftovers that are normally thrown away after making tofu. Seems to be quite a widely spread phenomenon, crops up in Turkey and Italy, among other places, too. Don't know how it works elsewhere, but a common problem in China is people responsible buying the material getting a budget for the proper grade of material, buying a lower grade, and pocketing the difference.
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Oh dear. Now even China is reporting that ministers will be forced to marry gay couples. If you read Chinese and want to get angry or feed that ever growing despair for humanity, this incredibly shallow report referring to Stuff but otherwise devoid of facts will do it.
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Hard News: Changing news, in reply to Russell Brown,
A tabloid format might mean less depth, in that the stories are likely to be shorter (they will be, slightly, in the new Herald).
Why will the stories be shorter? The Beijing News, like, it seems, most papers here, is in a tabloid format but does some pretty in depth stories. They had several pages devoted to the floods in July, they've done specials on water quality in Beijing, lots of surprisingly good stuff given the reputation of Chinese media, so I have trouble seeing the format as being a limiting factor.
Though I wouldn't at all be surprised if somebody tried to argue that us modern people have twittered and texted ourselves into microcopic attention spans, and so those little "summaries for dummies" appended to so many Herald stories are now going to be the main stories. I hope not, because one of the main frustrations I have with Western reporting of China is the lack of any broader context in these very short articles, and I suspect the same is true for reporting on many other issues.
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Hard News: A long way yet, in reply to Islander,
antifreeze will *weaken* the whole construction
Yep, and the same guy who told me that one told me he deliberately bought a second hand apartment built before the boom and that when he was getting it renovated, a guy drilling holes in the wall complained about how hard the concrete was and went off to find a better drill bit.
I regularly see concrete being poured in mid-winter here, where overnight lows are generally minus 5 to minus 10 and highs in the 0 to 5 range and it was only a couple of years ago we had a high of minus eight point eight.
Morals of the story:
1: Buy any house Islander's brother built and is willing to sell.
2: Don't buy any apartment built in China within the last 15 years. -
Hard News: A long way yet, in reply to Islander,
where the cement FROZE before it set
Among other scary rumours I've heard re the real estate boom up here is antifreeze being added to the cement so it'll set before it freezes, allowing the construction to go as close to year-round as possible.
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Hard News: A long way yet, in reply to Hebe,
this good Press piece
Very interesting piece. Reminded me of my walk through Daliushu (means 'Big Willow Tree'*) market on Sunday morning. That place had life, lots of locals buying and selling all kinds of goods from heavily used power tools to old books to artwork of dubous merit to camping gear to brand new clothes and shoes. Some permanent buildings, some buildings that were probably temporary when they were erected, and lots of people selling stuff from under awnings put up on the square for the weekend or even just off blankets in the ground. Quite a contrast with the severely planned Tiananmen Square and Chang'an Jie.
And I love all the examples that Press article gives of ordinary people bringing life back into the streets of Christchurch. Just think, these temporary set ups could perhaps make the stadium work if they're allowed, as it could mean the organic development of community sports and recreational facilities in the stadium area that would keep people coming in even when there's not a game on. Another Beijing example would be Workers' Stadium, whose grounds are full of shops, restaurants and bars that attract huge crowds whether Guoan are playing or not.
Now to stop idly planning other people's city and maybe try and do something productive. Classes start next week.
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On my way home I was stopped at a traffic light and looked around and thought, "Gerry Brownlee would love this!" Monumental, domineering, inhumane, barren, and, apart from certain very rare occasions, the only locals there work there (mostly in security) or are hurrying through (so far as hurrying is possible in Beijing traffic) on their way to real life elsewhere in the city.
Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, viewed from the north (Chang'an Jie and Tiananmen) about 1pm this afternoon.
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Capture: Two Tales of a City, in reply to Lilith __,
So there is hope, but I note in your article:
Emergency laws covering the buy-up allow owners to negotiate, after which the land can be taken and compensation set by Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee.
If I had property in the affected area, that would not inspire confidence.
And:
Case law says the Government has to act responsibly
Uh, yeah, this government? Responsible?
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Oi, Christchurchian types... I came across this a bit late, but some of you may be interested and care to offer a bit of support. I can't do much from where I sit, just thought I'd let you know.
