not enough to be proud of

7/24/08

the new york times featured an article, front page i think, about how the chinese government is trying to buy the silence of parents of earthquake victims. see, hundreds of children and teens died when carelessly built schools and nurseries collapsed during the earthquake, and many parents are gearing up to protest, demand answers, hold the government accountable for skimping on building and safety costs.

what were they skimping for? to save money for, oh, i don't know. shrubbery art. sponsored abortions of girl babies. headpieces for the olympics opening ceremonies.

but anyway, the schools were built like card houses. nobody knew the earthquake was coming, but it seems like they didn't even take seriously the possibility. and now the freakin' chinese government is shoving contracts-of-silence in the parents' faces, doling out cash, threatening. how does a country get away with it? this is ridiculous.

these days, i'm finding too many things about china to be ashamed of: civil rights violations and enforced hushing-up of obvious mistakes, radioactive toys and whatnot. not enough to be proud of. not nearly enough.