Chinese Internet Addicts and Military Drills
Apparently internet boot camps are a pretty dire place to be for Chinese teenagers, given reports of recent beatings and a death in the military-like institutions. While these reports of abuse are assuredly disturbing, they have also shed light on a fascinating social ill in modern-day China. The nation is allegedly battling an unprecedented internet addiction among its youth, with 10 million teenagers hooked, according to a recent CBC article. Another article on the issue states that problems caused by “Internet over-use” are rising, particularly with young Chinese looking to escape the burden of parental expectations.
The nation contains the most internet users of any country in the world – 300 million – and illicit internet boot camps have sprouted up in recent years. Patients are apparently forced to replace hours in front of computer screens with physical drills. And there are at least 400 private internet rehabilitation clinics across the country – many of which employ these military methods, according to the China Youth Internet Association
“The market of Internet addiction treatment in China is in a total mess due to lack of diagnostic standards and treatment guidelines,” a clinic director quoted by Chinese media said. The director added that conflict and violence are natural outcomes, given the clash of military training and teenage Internet addicts.
To compound reports of abuse at these ‘camps’ is the discovery of other avenues explored in the new and unexplored realm of treatment for internet addiction.
Most surprisingly, an unconventional (to say the least) psychiatrist administered electro-shock therapy to nearly 3,000 internet-addicted teenagers. So while our health minister navigates her way through H1N1 and the most significant portfolio her ministry has seen in ages, the Chinese minister of health has dealt with matters of altogether another concern. The use of electric currents was banned outright in July.
Gatineau cops, orange paint and some cruisers
“A dozen police cruisers were vandalized overnight in Gatineau, Que., and fingers are being pointed at the city’s police officers,” ran a CBC story yesterday.
I literally re-read this lede, confused as to who exactly the perpetrators were. Police officers may have vandalized their own cruisers? Breaking the very law they work daily to enforce?
Gatineau police have apparently been without a collective agreement for two years, a crucial clue in assessing the incident. The cruisers were covered in wording referring to negotiations and work contracts – all in orange paint.
If guilty of the vandalism, the act would mark a significant step-up in the protest launched by the officers. Instead of police-issue slacks – assuredly a plain brown or black pair of pants – the officers have been wearing cargo pants and khakis instead.
One act of protest actually violates the law, and the other, much milder, act potentially breaches the tiniest of subsections in their employment agreement. While also wildly increasing pocket capacity.
The offending paint, according to the union’s vice-president who says the vandalism is probably just a sign of frustration, is usually used on posters and can be washed off. So although there will be an investigation, it may not actually ‘qualify’ as vandalism, he told the CBC. Something tells me the qualifying factors differ for regular citizens like you and me.
As one savvy reader questioned below the CBC article, “who will lead the investigation?”
At this point, neither the union or the city has confirmed officers were involved in the incident.
Flo, Lester and Jean: Queen’s Order of Merit
What do Florence Nightingale, Graham Greene and Jean Chretien have in common?
The dame shifted mainstream medical opinion to focus on the importance of hygiene and sanitary conditions after serving as a nurse in the Crimean War in 1854. She returned to England a heroine and popularized the baby name ‘Florence’ for decades after.
The illustrious author, playwright and critic, Greene contributed to the varied literary landscape of the 20th century with such works as The Quiet American, The Third Man and The Human Factor. He tackled the idiosyncrasies of Catholicism and the tough nut of American imperialism, setting many of his tales to a politicized international backdrop.
Jean, as we well know, was the Canadian PM from 1993 to 2003. While I’ll leave you to your own opinions regarding his political feats and debacles, I find it hard to ignore the residual legacies that perpetuate in the news even today: the “Shawinigan Handshake” for one, and of greater importance, the sponsorship scandal that saw many of Chretien’s political allies fired after he left office.
Yet he has a list of honourary degrees longer than my arm, and soon enough can add yet another accolade to an impressive resume, as noted by the CBC. Chretien will receive the order of merit, given out by Queen Elizabeth.
Founded in 1902, it is awarded to “individuals of exceptional distinction in the arts, learning, sciences and other areas such as public service.”
I guess Jean’s forty-year political career counts for something. The Order is considered a personal, and very rare gift from the Queen. Any bets on whether a Corgi puppy will be thrown in with the medal?
Flo was the very first recipient of the award in 1908, and Greene was an honourary member in 1986. The Order is limited to 24 members – a lot of Sirs, Lords and a sprinkling of Princes and Dukes – though there are also additional foreign recipients.
Other foreign recipients include Eisehower, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
So Jean Chretien OM it is.
The mint, some missing gold and a surprising tour
So I think this story about the mint has been horribly under-reported. Haven’t heard about it? Well, essentially the institution is missing $20 million worth of precious metals, and haven’t the faintest clue as to where it has gone. They performed an extensive audit, four months spent arduously crunching numbers, to ensure it wasn’t a Flaherty-style calculator typo (whoops! – perhaps a classic case of pudgy fingers and teeny, little buttons.) Anyway, the mint has clarified that the gold, silver and palladium is indeed missing. Poof… and gone.
What I find amusing about the story is the mint’s tight-lipped approach to the ordeal. The Ottawa Citizen first broke the story several weeks ago on June 2, and since then the Sussex drive institution has implemented a scandal management plan along the dubious lines of ”say very little, and surely the problem will go away.”
That is until a tour guide let the cat out of the bag.
During a public tour of the facility on June 16, a mint tour guide declared that an internal investigation determined that $7 million in gold was not captured in refining processes last year. Oh yeah, and the tour group incidentally included a reporter.
Apparently, due to the worldwide demand for gold last year, the mint was operating on overload and did not have time to refine any ‘slag’ – some wondrous solution that, when refined in batches, can produce several ounces of gold. Add a few batches up, and apparently $7 million can accrue.
The explanation – via assuredly ex-tour guide – still leaves a $13 million discrepancy in the missing metals. The federal government has ordered an RCMP probe after the external audit failed to pinpoint the problem.
Small cars triumph in the Chrysler, Fiat deal
Yesterday the Italian auto-maker Fiat struck a deal to acquire the skeletal remains of an otherwise fallen empire: Chrysler. The deal means that Chrysler Group LCC can break off its shackles (think billion-dollar debts, nearly a thousand under-performing dealerships and enormous labour costs) and hastily re-invent itself to better suit modern needs.
So the factories will re-open, and a shiny new Chrysler is going to emerge from the shadows of bankruptcy protection and prioritize.
“The new company will focus on smaller vehicles, areas in which Chrysler was weak,” ran yesterday’s Globe&Mail story. “Work is already under way on developing new environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, high-quality vehicles that we intend to become Chrysler’s hallmark going forward,” said a company statement.
Oh, the irony.
Chrysler’s #1 seller, the Dodge Ram, was re-launched in 2009 using the testosterone-fueled campaign slogan: “Never backs down from a challenge.”
So the auto-maker is being forced to execute an awkward and enormous u-turn toward a specialization in teeny, enviro-friendly cars – the very anti-thesis of gas-chugging, off-roading, mud-splattered trucks. And I’m willing to bet those micro-automobiles will require a different slogan.
The Italian auto company did not pay money into the deal, but will provide Chrysler with billions worth of small car and engine technology. And Fiat’s CEO took over the Chrysler reigns, immediately organizing an internal shuffle.
The new deal invariably ushers in a different ownership dynamic. Fiat will receive up to a 35 per cent state in Chrysler in exchange for the technology sharing, the United Auto Workers union will get a 55 per cent stake and the Canadian and American governments will share the remaining 10 per cent.
Up until yesterday, the ailing giant was hemorrhaging $100 million in losses daily. It can only get better – and greener – from there.
When I think of shortages, I contemplate places like embargo-fraught Cuba and East Germany. And of course sub-Saharan Africa where war and drought combine to imperil entire populations with famine.
What does not come to mind is Hermès, the Parisian luxury fashion house that competes with the likes of Christian Dior and Chanel. But perhaps it should.
Faced with a shortage of crocodiles, the high-end fashion brand has come up with an innovative, yet really quite basic solution. Hermès has begun breeding its very own crocodiles on farms, mostly located in Australia, according to a Reuters article.
The problem was apparently quite dire. You see, the company already has problems producing 3,000 crocodile skin bags a year, said the Chief Executive.
Customers have to wait sometimes years to get their fingers on exotic-skin bags, some of which retail for $50,000. Nor is it an area the French company can ignore – leather hand-bags make up a whopping 40% of their business and crocodile-specific bags are their fastest growing product line. So the decision to pen some crocodiles in foreign nations essentially boiled down to demand.
Oh yeah, and it can take three or four crocodiles to make one single bag.
Now crocodile-farming, especially with the aim of creating purses, is not necessarily the easiest or cheapest of pursuits. The crocodiles must be kept in separate rooms, lest nibbles or chomps translate to an inconsistent finish on the treated leather. And what’s more, about a third of captive crocodiles die.
I will anxiously await to see what future outside-of-the-box solutions Hermès will pioneer in the event of other shortages. After all, their other leather goods are sourced from Floridian alligator, Pakistani buffalo, Thai sharks, Malay lizards and oxen, deer, calf, goat and ostrich from an array of international destinations.
As a sidenote, Victoria Beckham reportedly owns 100 Hermès Birkin bags – a trademark and highly coveted purse – worth an approximate $2 million. Within the collection is a reported Silver Himalayan style Birkin, which is adorned with a three carat diamond and worth about $120,000. I only brought this up because who knew a purse existed called the Silver Himalayan? Sounds more like an obscure, miniature grey-haired monkey. Now, how to breed those….
Mind-boggling narcissism, Kanye and Kanye-isms
In a perverse turn of events, Kanye West has co-written a book.
I know, I know, so has everyone else. Michael Ignatieff just published his latest book “True Patriot Love“, in an earnest bid to help remind Canadian voters of his nationality, despite decades spent abroad. And for a lighter read, there’s teenage pop-sensation Miley Cyrus who, in a never-ending bid to churn out product, published an autobiography “Miles to Go.” Now how about that for a play on words?
Despite these examples of public figures – a bizarre contrast, I’m willing to concede – penning their thoughts for mass consumption, Kanye still manages to stand out.
Why? Because he’s a non-reader. And proud of it.
Now I realize Kanye has involved himself in ridiculous, and occasionally offensive antics, but to write a book and declare at the same time that he’s a proud non-reader defies reason.
“Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed,” West said in an interview. “I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book’s autograph.”
I don’t even know what that means – a book’s autograph. Anyone?
The book, titled “Thank you and you’re welcome”, is 52 pages long, several of which are blank while others contain but a few words. It allegedly captures his optimistic philosophy on life.
“Life is 5% what happens and 95% how you react!”
“I hate the word hate!”
“Get used to being used!”
Kanye has branded this collection of thoughts and theories “Kanye-isms.” And with that, it would appear narcissism has hit an all-time high.
While the concept of a ‘proud non-reader’ clearly deserves more contemplation than this post can afford, Kanye was quick to add that he still works at staying informed. “I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life,” he said.
His reasoning behind the impromptu literary venture is simply that he wants to set the record straight. “I get paraphrased and misquoted all the time.”
Iran and Excess – applauding new developments
Let it be known – Iran has made a declaration.
It would like to reduce the number of “unnecessary executions” it carries out, said a spokesman of the Islamic Republic.
How news translates across cultures can sometimes be astounding. The last execution in Canada occurred almost four decades ago – in 1962.
So contemplating a nation that executes human beings on an apparent whim – already 140 this year including two juveniles – feels more like a time when hoards of men used pitchforks to hunt down offenders. With only the light of the full moon, and a backdrop of howling wolves.
But instead such prolific executioners can be found only a hop-skip and a jump across continents in 2009.
Iran apparently exercises capital punishment so freely and without abandon that they are considering cutting back. Just for the sake of excess. But just on those “unnecessary” ones. Are we to infer accidental?
“We act according to and within the framework or our laws, especially our Islamic laws,” said the spokesman.
According to a CNN article, the country is trying to update those laws in order to recognize recent “developments.”
I supposed we can sit back and hope that development happens mightily quick – there are 130 juvenile offenders on death row in Iran, according to Human Rights Watch.
Iran leads the world in its execution of juveniles.
Chip, Chirp and Twitterverse
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the Twitter phenomenom that is quickly transforming the nature of online banter, and is creating headlines like “Oprah enters the Twitterverse.”
Has anyone evaluated the absurdly whimsical language used to describe the latest of the social networking schemes? Are we really going to sit back and watch the verb ‘tweet’ integrate itself into our daily interactions, on-line or not?
As the author of a blog titled “Stimuli for birds”, perhaps I should be embracing these sisterly linguistic turns. But it all sounds a bit silly.
The Globe article – describing Oprah’s adoption of this trendiest of trendy communication means – used the word ‘tweet’ about three times in an approximately 100-word article.
“Oprah Winfrey sent her first “tweet” during a taping of her television talk show,” it read. And at the end of the show, “she added tweets of thanks for the welcome and updates about her dog getting its rabies vaccine.”
‘Tweets’ of thanks? Humans are not birds and do not, the last time I checked, tweet.
I wonder if this reporter, likely schooled in English grammar, punctuation and style, shook his or her head with dismay while penning this short article.
Another question for the masses. What does Ashton Kutcher have going on that necessitates a 1 million person Twitter following (the first to be bestowed upon a Twitter profile, narrowly having beaten out the U.S. mega-news-giant CNN)? Maybe he thought by becoming its champion, he could stave off his inevitable slither into oblivion. Punk’d was entertaining for – oh, I don’t know – the first two or three episodes.
As our private lives increasingly move into the public sphere, I keep wondering whether and when there will be a backlash.
And I can’t help but ponder the realistic longevity of ‘tweeting’ and the ‘twitterverse.’
Birdies, Birders and Webcams
So apparently people are into eagles. And, really, when you think about it, who wouldn’t be? They have a wingspan longer than two metres, and can live upward of 40 years. They can also see four to seven times farther than humans. Imagine – I implore you – the possibilities.
Another really cool fact? When a bald eagle loses a feather on one wing, it will shed a feather on its other wing, all for the sake of balance.
As I write this, I am listening to the melodious chips and chirps of birds, as well as the occasional cry of a gull and the far-away whir of a seaplane. I am not sitting, as one might venture to believe, on a veranda overlooking the sea. But am inside my Ottawa apartment on a dark and unseasonably cold evening.
I am watching a webcam of an eagle’s nest in Delta, B.C., along with 764 viewers. They are awaiting, anxiously at that, the birth of the eaglets (I did not make this term up.) The cracking of the eggs, and the full delivery of these pipsqueaks is going to be broadcast live. And these people are sitting front and centre.
Atop of a cluster of sticks, it is easy to identify the characteristic black and white markings of an eagle sitting contentedly on its nest. Keeping an eye on all that goes on below amidst the coniferous boughs and across the shore, the eagle turns this way and that showing the curve of its yellow beak. But really, it does nothing at all. Still, I promise, it is cool.
I stumbled across a Globe & Mail article, which described the Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and the immense popularity of its nesting webcams. Thousands of people from all over the world are tuning in, keeping their eyes peeled for pips in the eggs, or cracks to us non-fanatical-eagle-admirers. And this so they can rush off to prepare the popcorn for the climactic crack-session.
Talk about a subculture. And the age of convenience. Somewhere, the most leathery, seasoned birder is shaking his or her head with disgust.
