China Admits Building Flaws in Quake

My gut feeling is this is major, my guess is since the Olympics are over the official party line can be a bit more open on what really happened, perhaps as a way to defuse anger over what happened.

China Admits Building Flaws in Quake from the NY Times.

Earthquake in CA - Biggest Issue - Phones Jammed

My wife tried to call me and managed to leave a voice mail on my cell phone. And after about 5 attempts I finally managed to retrieve that. No damage, some CD's fell off a shelf. My home is fine.
Article about the phone issue - Post-quake callers put strain on 'maxed out' phone system, state says

Since I am a Ca native, my earliest memory of one is the Sylmar quake of 73. Later ones included Northridge (my parents house had a broken water line on a sink, which flooded the upstairs) and Whittier (few more cracks in their house). This one was closer, being centered about 8 miles from my house in Chino Hills. Since the building code is designed for earthquakes in CA, and keeps on improving, even a 5.6 only does minor damage.

PTSD & China's Earthquake

An article in a local paper, China's earthquake: Invisible wounds by Timothy A. Kelly, director of DePree Center Public Policy Institute in Pasadena wrote of the horror that the rescuers and survivors are dealing with including depression and PTSD.

PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, not only affects combat soldiers, but others who have been exposed to long periods of stressful activity. Especially if they have not been trained to deal with it before hand. This is an article about how this is affecting Chinese Troops who participated in the earthquake rescue - Attrition: Chinese Army Hit With PTSD Epidemic

Chinese Earthquake Poem

Please Hold Onto Mother's Hand, My Child.

Come, my child, hold onto Mother's hand quickly

The road to Paradise is too dark; Let your Mother show the way

I am afraid, Mama - Paradise road is too dark

When the walls collapsed, the sun went out

I will never again see your gentle eyes

Go ahead now, my child

The road ahead of you will not be too sad

But you must always remember my face

So we may live together forever in the next life

Mama, do not worry

The road to Paradise is crowded now

There are many classmates and friends

Mama, Mama, please don't cry

Tears cannot light the road ahead

Let us be on our way

I will always remember your face

In the next life we will be together again

I promise

From an aricle in the San Gabriel Tribune about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) among people involved with the earthquake.

France & Chinese Relations

Beijing's Travel Restrictions Rile French Tourism Industry

Worrisome development. Especially after China has gotten such great press with the Earthquake.

My opinion doing this type of activity is a mistake and could make China look like a bully. And give press to Tibet and Darfur, that has been overshadowed by the Earthquake.

Taiwanese Concert for Quake Victims

It's refreshing to see how much the Taiwanese Community has reached out to help the quake victims. There was a concert tonight with the Taiwanese church choir my daughter belongs to for raising funds for the earth quake relief.

Chinese Parents Organize, Seeking Justice

Chinese Parents Organize, Seeking Justice - Article from the Washington Post.

Key Points:

• 9000 students died in the earthquake.
• The government does not seem to be investigating shoddy construction processes.
• Compensation is being offered to parents of students who died.
• The government (not sure central or local) would like to keep everything quite.
• Parents are starting to organize.

Conclusion: China's government gets nervous whenever non-state controlled groups get organized. China's government definitely lives in interesting times...

School Collapse Protest

A picture got out of the police lifting up a grieving mother. Very powerful. The local officials want to go back to business as usual (your job is to be happy no matter what we do which is not your business anyway). The earthquake changed business as usual and the news coverage was unusually open.

China's Mood with Foreigners

The Positive View
Outpouring of Help Shifts Mood in China - washingtonpost.com

I was very worried about the mood in China after coverage of Tibet in the western media and the Olympic Torch demonstrations.

• China's Image Challenge
• China's Youth
• Troubling Olympic Update

Fortunately aid from outside China has helped calmed down the nationalism per the Washington Post article that I was finding worrisome. There is still a bit of it, for example comparing WalMart's contribution to the Sichuan earthquake to Katrina (next state over from Arkansa).

The Negative View:
The Wall Street Journal has the opposite conclusion Donations Pour In, but Resentment Arises.

Conclusion:
There is probably both. I would not be surprised if the Chinese government also cooled down protests against donations (they do read the papers). This is a benefit when you have a huge amount of people manning the great firewall of China, and checking out blogs published internally.

Wedding photographer captures earthquake moments

Wedding photographer captures earthquake moments - Unbelievable pictures of a wedding party in front of a church, and the 100 year old church just falling apart. The wedding party is in Western style wedding dress (nice white dress).

3 pandas missing after China quake

3 pandas missing after China quake from the SF Chronicle.

Key Points:

• The largest Panda reserve, Wolong Nature Reserve, was 18 miles from the Epicenter of the Quake
  
• 60 Pandas live there and 3 are missing.
• 5 Staff died
• All house for the Pandas was damaged.

Some Panda related products:

				Dinner At The Panda Palace. English. Softcover.
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				Dinner At The Panda Palace. Guess who's coming to dinner! A picture story book for ages 3 to 8. English. Softcover.
				Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle
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				Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle
				The Year of the Panda by Miriam Schlein
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