Yangmingtan bridge disaster !

Please read here about that bridge disaster & raise some questions about safety of constructions in China. It is sad to hear what happened there & the real reason must be found out. Unfortunately we already can suspect corruption at construction site, use of lousy material, low safety checks and so on.

Collapse of New Bridge Underscores Worries About China Infrastructure

By KEITH BRADSHER

Published: August 24, 2012

HONG KONG — One of the longest bridges in northern Chinacollapsed on Friday, just nine months after it opened, setting off a storm of criticism from Chinese Internet users and underscoring questions about the quality of construction in the country’s rapid expansion of its infrastructure.

The 9.6-mile bridge is one of three built over the Songhua River in that area in the past four years. China’s economic stimulus program in 2009 and 2010 helped the country avoid most of the effects of the global economic downturn, but involved incurring heavy debt to pay for the rapid construction of new bridges, highways and high-speed raillines all over the country.

Questions about the materials used during the construction and whether the projects were properly engineered have been the subject of national debate ever since a high-speed train plowed into the back of a stopped train on the same track on July 23 last year in the eastern city of Wenzhou. The crash killed 40 people and injured 191; a subsequent investigation blamed in particular flaws in the design of the signaling equipment.

Photographs on Chinese Web sites on Friday appeared to show that the collapsed section of the Yangmingtan Bridge’s ramp had fallen on land, not in the river.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, the Yangmingtan Bridge was the sixth major bridge in China to collapse since July 2011. Chinese officials have tended to blame overloaded trucks for the collapses, and did so again on Friday.

Many in China have attributed the recent spate of bridge collapses to corruption, and online reaction to the latest collapse was scathing.

“Corrupt officials who do not die just continue to cause disaster after disaster,” said one post on Friday on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service similar to Twitter.

Another Internet user expressed hope “that the government will put heavy emphasis on this and investigate to find out the real truth, and give both the dead and the living some justice!” A third user was more laconic, remarking, “Tofu engineering work leads to a tofu bridge.”

Chinese news media reported that the bridge had cost 1.88 billion renminbi, or almost $300 million.

Hilda Wang contributed reporting.

This is from here - just click !

Gu Kailai given suspended death sentence over Neil Heywood murder

please read here about todays result:

JUST CLICK HERE !

Sorry for slow posting - - on the way to the mainland again.

That is giving you 2 years jail in Russia - how much this would be in China ?

When will we see the first China PUSSY RIOTS ? It will not take too long.

FREE PUSSY RIOT

As you all know the scandalous trial against this russian punk band found an end today: 2 years labour prison for this girls ! No this is no justice at all - we are living in 2012 & a country which cannot stand that kind of criticism & just put this girls into a big, big misery should be banned from any political stage in the MODERN WORLD - be ashamed RUSSIA:
CLICK HERE - FREE PUSSY RIOT !

When the music's over...........

Dedicated to Gu Kailai - THE DOORS: Also found this one here: Full DOORS concert at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL 1968 - worth seeing/listening: How nice is this one compared with all the plastic music shit of today ? Timeless !

The trial - Gu Kailai

Please read here about that story - it is somewhat terrible: Tried in One Day, China's Gu Kailai Faces Fate Court Wraps Up in Mere Hours, Says Wife of Deposed Leader Bo Xilai Didn't Contest Charges She Poisoned Briton HEFEI, China—The trial of Gu Kailai, the wife of the disgraced Communist Party official Bo Xilai, began and ended in a single day Thursday with authorities saying she didn't contest charges that she murdered a British businessman by poisoning him when he was drunk. The official account by the court shortly after the seven-hour trial of Ms. Gu and a family aide ended makes a guilty verdict all but certain, though it also appeared to lay the groundwork for Ms. Gu to be spared the death penalty. The Intermediate People's Court in this eastern city said it would deliver its judgment later, without saying exactly when—standard practice for a Chinese court case. In Ms. Gu's first public appearance since her April arrest, state-run China Central Television showed her looking calm in a black pantsuit and white shirt as she entered the court for what many observers see as China's most politically significant trial for more than three decades. She appeared a bit heavier and less glamorous than in photographs of her that have been published in news stories around the world since the scandal broke, most of which were taken between five and 15 years ago—when she and her husband were considered among China's top power couples. In its account of events in November in Chongqing—the southwestern city where Mr. Bo was party chief at the time and where Ms. Gu and a family aide are accused of having murdered Neil Heywood—the court said Ms. Gu's lawyers had asked it to take into consideration several mitigating factors, including what was described as assistance she had provided in other criminal cases. Enlarge Image Reuters Chinese state television showed Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted leader Bo Xilai, being led into court in Hefei on Thursday for her trial, which lasted seven hours. A guilty verdict is expected. It gave no further details. Some party insiders, diplomats and political analysts have suggested she could face a suspended death sentence, commuted later to a life sentence in prison if she provides information about her controversial husband, once seen as a contender for a top leadership post. Chinese authorities have yet to announce whether Mr. Bo, who was dismissed from his party posts and placed under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations" in April, will be dealt with internally by the party or passed to the courts to face criminal charges. The prosecution said that Ms. Gu had asked her family aide, Zhang Xiaojun, to invite and accompany Mr. Heywood from Beijing to Chongqing, according to the court's statement. The trial of Gu Kailai, wife of ousted Communist Party leader Bo Xilai, has ended, but the verdict has yet to be determined. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to City University professor Joseph Cheng about what this trial means for the Communist Party. She then went to the Nanshan Lijing Holiday Hotel where Mr. Heywood was staying and drank alcohol and tea with him in his room on the evening of Nov. 13 last year, the statement quoted prosecutors as saying. Mr. Heywood became drunk and vomited, and when he wanted to drink water, Ms. Gu poured poison into his mouth, the prosecutors were quoted as saying. The Gu Kailai Trial A Limited Look Into the Gu Trial Trial Talk Sneaks Around Censors How Justice Is Served in China British officials have said Chinese police initially said Mr. Heywood died of excessive alcohol consumption, and arranged for him to be cremated quickly without an autopsy. The court's statement quoted prosecutors as saying Ms. Gu had prepared the poison in advance and given it to Mr. Zhang to carry, adding that she was the main culprit and he an accessory. "The accused Gu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun didn't raise any objections to the facts and the charges in the intentional homicide of which they are accused," the court's statement said. Neither Ms. Gu nor Mr. Zhang, who was seen in the broadcast, had publicly commented on the allegations against them ahead of the trial. The Chongqing Drama See key dates in the mysterious death of Neil Heywood in the Chinese city of Chongqing and the drama surrounding Bo Xilai. View Interactive Players in China's Leadership Purge Read more about the players in the case. View Interactive More photos and interactive graphics The Trial Scene View Slideshow CCTV via Sina Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai, appeared in court for her murder trial Thursday. The trial ended shortly after she raised no objection to charges that she administered poison to a British national in the belief that he posed a threat to her son. Ms. Gu's lawyers argued that Mr. Heywood had "a certain responsibility for the cause" of the crime, and that Ms. Gu's "ability to control her own behavior was weaker than a normal person," the statement said without giving further details. Friends of Ms. Gu have said she has a history of depression, and friends of Mr. Heywood have said he had told them she became increasingly paranoid about being betrayed by her friends and advisers in recent years. However, the court's statement suggested Ms. Gu was fit to stand trial, saying: "During the process of the trial, Gu Kailai's physical condition was good, and her mood was stable." Party leaders are anxious to contain the scandal surrounding Mr. Bo, which has thrown China's political elite into turmoil ahead of a once-a-decade leadership change in the fall, according to political analysts and party insiders. The challenge, those people say, is to conclude the scandal in a way that appears both just and credible to a domestic audience, but doesn't draw further public attention to the broader issues of corruption and abuse of power in the party elite. The court's statement provided only a partial account of the day's proceedings, and the British Embassy, which sent two of its diplomats to attend, declined to comment. Foreign media weren't allowed in the courtroom and Ms. Gu's lawyers didn't respond to requests to comment. The court's statement quoted prosecutors as saying Ms. Gu had plotted to kill Mr. Heywood because he had a "conflict of economic interests" with her and her son, and because she believed that the Briton threatened her son's safety. It gave no details of the financial dispute or the threat to her son, Bo Guagua. Friends of Mr. Heywood say he became close to the Bo family in the mid-1990s when he was living in the northeastern city of Dalian, where Mr. Bo was mayor at the time. The trial took place in driving rain in a newly developed part of Hefei, the capital of the eastern province of Anhui, which analysts said had been chosen as the venue because it was easier for authorities to control the proceedings and the public there. Local security forces locked down the courthouse, blocking roads immediately next to it, posting vans with mounted cameras on every corner, and deploying hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes officers to maintain a security cordon round the building. Mr. Bo remains a divisive figure in China, principally because of his controversial policies in Chongqing, which included organizing mass renditions of Mao-era songs. Many local people appeared unaware the trial was taking place as it hadn't been given prominent coverage in state media, although there has been lively discussion on China's microblogs. Members of the public were kept far away from the courthouse Thursday, but one slipped past police and spoke briefly to reporters near the back entrance of the court before being bundled away by uniformed officers. Hu Jiye, from the eastern province of Jiangsu province, expressed support for Mr. Bo and his policies in Chongqing. "We need a leader who can represent the interests of 99% of the common people: Bo Xilai is this person," he said. "It's ridiculous to use a criminal case to negate his development path.…I think Gu Kailai is a victim of a political struggle. Why would Gu Kailai need to kill a foreigner?" Several other members of the public were also bundled away by police after trying to approach the court, or talk to reporters there. After the trial ended, the state-run Xinhua news agency announced that four former Chongqing police officers suspected of covering up Ms. Gu's "illegal conduct" would also stand trial in Hefei on Friday on charges of "bending the law to achieve personal benefit." The officers included Guo Weiguo, the former deputy chief of Chongqing police. The Bo scandal burst into the open after the former chief of Chongqing police, Wang Lijun, sought refuge in a U.S. consulate in February and told U.S. diplomats there, according to people familiar with the matter, that he had evidence that Ms. Gu was involved in Mr. Heywood's murder. Mr. Wang is thought to be in custody.

CY needs a rest - this job is too exhausting !

We all have learnt that our new CE CY Leung needs urgently a rest. All the hardship of the election, all the scandals, all the snoopy members of the gang - give me a break that was (maybe) the idea of CY Leung. So now he is on a holiday in Koh Samui. Please see here from THE STANDARD today: JUST CLICK HERE !
I will try to find some of that FACEBOOK entries from some HK holiday makers found CY Leung there !

Its OLYMPICS NOW !

JUst some days ago the 2012 OLYMPICS openend in LONDON - hope everybody got a VISA to go there (if interested). That was what it was all about that BLOG - SPORTS ? Right..........not really. See something here - no idea about what is this:

One more for your weekend music here - QUEEN WEMBLEY 1986 full version

Almost 2.5 million hits on youtube - just enjoy:

One historical music video

THE BEATLES last gig on the rooftop of APPLE RECORDS - full version here. I remember at this time I was a little bit younger - we were REALLY shocked that the stopped being THE BEATLES: This is now almost 42 years ago & it still sounds somewhat "good or modern or ......." HAVE A NICE WEEKEND & THANK YOU FOR READING THIS BLOG !

FRESH AIR HERE FOR YOU

Guess I posted another version already long time ago - but this one also nice & matching the last post:

YOU LIKE FRESH AIR ? THEN AVOID HONG KONG !

Since Wednesday we have the SUPER TERRIBLE SMOG / POLLUTION here. It seems not so many people care. My eyes are burning, I can taste it in my mouth & my throat feels terrible !
Our government (whoever it is) seems not take care at all. The so-called IDLE MOTOR rule - nobody follows it & there is nobody from government to make this people shut their engines down. Nobody gives a shit about that !
It is a big terrible FAILURE ! Lets hope some rain will clear that "nice air"soon.
Please read here from theguardian:

Hong Kong suffers worst air pollution in two years

Elderly and sick warned to stay indoors after 'very high' pollution readings in business and shopping districts.

The worst pollution in two years smothered Hong Kong for a second day on Thursday, prompting warnings to the elderly and sick to stay indoors and obscuring one of the world's most famous views.
Pollution readings were "very high" in business and shopping districts such as Central, Western, Causeway Bay and Mongkok, air monitoring stations showed. The levels have surpassed only once in March 2010 when a sandstorm in northern China covered Hong Kong in dust.
"Bad air is trapped here. But even though external circumstances can't blow away the pollutants, the problem still lies fundamentally in vehicular emissions in Hong Kong itself," said Patrick Fung of Clean Air Network, a local pro-environment group.
The view of the cramped skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Peak was obscured from across the harbour in Kowloon.
Air pollution in Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is a major source of worry for local citizens and foreign businesses, which increasingly see it as compromising the quality of life.
In a recent survey by human resources consultancy ECA International, Hong Kong's air quality was ranked among the worst in the world.
The pollution comes largely from coal-fired power stations and traffic, though a significant contribution comes from the tens of thousands of factories in China's neighbouring manufacturing heartland of the Pearl River Delta.
Under intense lobbying, the government has been gradually tightening its air-quality objectives and monitoring measures to meet World Health Organisation standards, but these remain far short of global guidelines, green groups say.

Hong Kong skyline shrouded in a dense blanket of smog. Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

PLEASE ALSO CLICK THE LINKS INSIDE THAT STORY !