Made in China, Hated around the World

America is reeling under a unique scam - Pet food imported from China has been found to contain melamine, a chemical derived from coal and a cheap additive that looks like protein in tests! Some deaths have been reported and several thousand pets have fallen sick. Other maliciously ingenious Chinese ways of conning the world include instances of "fake baby milk formulas and soy sauce made from human hair to instances where cuttlefish were soaked in calligraphy ink to improve their color and eels were fed contraceptive pills to make them grow long and slim". (Source: New York Times) This reminds me of a notice at a neighbourhood store: "No guarantee for products made in China". Are we just ranting against the Chinese because of jealousy or do we have genuine reasons to do so?

Samizdat - Interesting word

sa·miz·dat (n.)

1. a. The secret publication and distribution of government-banned literature in the former Soviet Union.

b. The literature produced by this system.

2. An underground press.

Jewish mullahs?

Some orthodox Jewish clerics defend their right for "modest" buses, where the sexes are segregated. More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6584661.stm

Guns and America

I just love the look on her face!

Goat beats Darfur to the headlines

At a time when the world is going from bad to worse, here is the most read story on BBC: "A Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his "wife", after he was caught having sex with the animal..." More here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_4740000/newsid_4748200/4748292.stm

The semantics of the "war on terror"

The Brits are arguing that the phrase should be put down for it "does not address the complexities of terrorism". Some say terror cannot be just dealt with means that are solely military. What do you think is a suitable alternative? "Fight against terror"? "Campaign against terror"? "Crusade against terror"? No, defintely not the last one. Or, as some imaginative souls say, the "so-called war on terror"? More here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0418/p04s01-woeu.html