The Horns of Lake Nam-Tso
Larger view here
It makes me cold just looking at this photo from Tibet. I think the wind is the worst part when you are up that high (5000+ Metres above sea level)
I am currently reading the above book and I thought it deserved a recommendation.
The early stages of the book start off in post Mao China during the 80s in the slums of Chongqing.
It provides an interesting insight into a time and place that is not often covered in Chinese literature.
The book is an autobiography of a young Chinese girl who finds her life becoming increasingly politicised as she tries to escape the poverty of her surroundings.
I think I will go back and read some more of it now.
Zhao Gang, 32, from Chongqing city has persuaded his new wife to have plastic surgery to make her look like his first wife.
He lost his first wife Lu in a car smash three years ago..
“I recovered after staying in hospital for half a year and I wish I could have died with her,” he said.
About six months ago, under pressure from his parents, Zhao Gang got married to his new wife, Cai.
“I got married only because she looks a bit like her and I want to have a chance to make up for my mistakes,” says Zhao.
Now Cai has agreed to plastic surgery to look like Zhao’s former wife after a lot of persuading.
“I feel conflicted. I don’t want to become another’s shadow, but I also don’t want to lose the family. Now I only hope the surgery will not make me look ugly,” she said.
Zhao added: “Maybe it’s more or less unfair to her, but she has agreed and I will embrace her with all my love.”
Whoever said that nothing interesting ever happens in Belgium.
Here is a story about a skydiver who has been detained by police suspected of sabotaging a friend’s parachute and watching her fall 13,000 feet to her death after discovering that the woman was having an affair with her boyfriend.
The suspected crime of passion came took place last November when Els Van Doren (37), died in an apparent high altitude accident after her parachute and emergency chute failed to open.
In a macabre twist the police recovered video footage of the jump taken by Ms Van Doren on a head camera showing how she struggled to open her parachute.
Police now believe someone tampered with her skydiving equipment. Michel Zegers from the Tongeren prosecutor’s office named fellow skydiver, Els Clottemans, as prime suspect.
Ms Clottemans (22) was detained for questioning last week, though no charges have yet been filed.
Investigators believe Ms Clottemans and Ms Van Doren, who belonged to the same parachute club and were friends, had a relationship with the same man, a Dutch national identified as “Marcel.”
Newspapers have suggested that Ms Clottemans murdered Ms Van Doren, a married mother-of-two, in an extreme act of revenge, after learning about her love rival’s affair with her boyfriend.
A court will assess the evidence next month but Mr Zegers said: “I believe we can call this a crime of passion.”
Ms Van Doren had jumped from a plane with three others, including Ms Clottemans and the Dutch boyfriend. But when her parachutes failed to work, Ms Van Doren plunged to her death at 130mph near Opglabbeek, a small town in central Belgium.
Police subsequently said the victim’s parachute could only have been tampered with by someone with extensive skydiving expertise.
Ms Clottemans initially escaped attention during a first round of police questioning because of her friendship with the victim.
But she became a suspect in December when she attempted suicide hours before she was to make a second statement to police.
Ms Clottemans is said to have a history of psychological problems.
Stranger than fiction.
Middlesboro have wrapped up the signing of Lee Dong-Gook.
And the price was…. nothing!
Pohang let him go on a free transfer. Pretty good deal for Boro.
I hope his knee holds up.
Appreciating the West Lake 西湖 in Hangzhou 杭州
Larger view here
The West Lake in Hangzhou is in Eastern China. And if that isn’t confusing enough there are apparently 36 West Lakes in China.
This is probably why people end up gazing in contemplation over the lake as seen above.
Korean people are usually quick off the mark for money making enterprises but it looks like Germans beat them to it with this idea from Ananova.
More than 300 Germans are renting themselves out as would-be protestors.
The protestors rent themselves out for around £100 on website erento.com.
A spokesperson for the site says there has been a demand for the service.
According to the site there are various reasons why ‘protestors’ are hired.
According to local German media, organisers of a recent march in Munich hired a group of protestors because its own adherents were too old to stand for hours waving banners.
Middlesbrough appear to be close to signing South Korea forward Lee Dong-Gook, according to the player’s agent
He told the Korean Times:
Middlesbrough have tested him three times and want to sign a contract with him. We are talking over details.
It could be an interesting move. He would probably have to compete with Yakubu, Viduka and Maccarone to establish his place so it would be a challenge.
It looks like Park Ji-Sung is starting to approach full fitness again after his long injury.
He had a very good game yesterday against Aston Villa and he appeared to be relaxed and confident for the first time since last season.
Here is an interesting (but badly translated) story from the Dong-a Ilbo about Ikeda Masae and how he has dealt with his guilt from the 1940s.
His guilt stems from when he was a Japanese teacher in Bangsan elementary school in Seoul during WWII.
Towards the end of the war he was ordered by the Japanese General Government to send as many female students as possible to the war plant in Toyama. So he coerced some young Korean students into going to Japan by saying the working and living conditions would be good for them there.
Unfortunately there is a big hole in the article here because it does not say exactly what happened the girls in Japan. It only says that he tried to contact them after the war to say sorry but only one of them would agree to meet him.
The suggestion by the Dong-A is that they ended up working as comfort women but it is not explained clearly in the article.
Also the story goes on to say that he sent between 1,000 and 1,500 New Year’s cards out every year to ensure as many Japanese people as possible read his confession and atonement until his death last December.
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