November 2006 Archives

So far this week, I've had two very vivid & moving dreams featuring Shanghai scenery.

Dream #1 (Nightmare)
It is a typical dreary winter's night in Shanghai. I'm walking home along YuYuan Road from Jing'an Temple. It is really cold. There's ice/slush garnering the lesser used portions of the footpath & street. It is very late in the evening. I'm rugged up and moving as fast as the conditions allow. I'm walking along the road beside the gutter of the street as there's too much mud & puddles making walking on the footpath difficult.

No one is out, except me. An older Chinese man on a scooter sidles up beside me as I walk. He looks at me. I look at him.

He then says to me in English, "You're a statistical anomaly here".

He then pulls out a hand-gun and shoots me in the back. He scooters on off.

I fall bleeding. I lie there in the slush, yelling for help. No one comes.

Dream #2
I'm in a marketplace - I think it was a wet-market. There's an older Shanghainese guy there trying to sell me something at a really stupid inflated price. I object. I tell him that he's cheating me. Our 'discussion' soon degenerates into one of those classic Shanghai marketplace arguments replete with finger poking, nasty looks, and high volume yelling and swearing.

I had enough. I told him lets take it outside. He agrees.

I then teach him how to play Knuckles. We end up having fun, and our argument is resolved.

Now, we are new best friends.

Dream#1 kept up for hours earlier this week. I was pretty shaken. Dream#2 made me feel a lot happier, but still was a little disturbing as I hate playing Knuckles!

A big problem that faces cricket fans in Shanghai is the paucity of venues willing to throw open their doors at 8am in the morning and show the first session of the First Test of The Ashes. Enter The British Bulldog Pub. This venue isn't everyone's cup of tea, but for the sake of watching live coverage of the first delivery of the most hyped series of international Test Match Cricket series in the existence of entire universe*, I'll be sinking a few RMB on beers so I won't wear out my welcome.

The only other venue I spoke to that said they would show The Ashes over the coming weeks from was O'Malley's, but only during their normal opening time (10am onwards). This equates to roughly the end of the first session.

If the worst comes to the worst, and you can't actually make it out to see the first match, don't fret. There are a number of ways to access the live action of the Gabba Test Match. You can go for the intenet radio streaming options directly care of BBC Five Live Sports Radio. or if you prefer the Australian Broadcasting Commission Sport's Radio coverage, download the below Real Audio Media file (right-click, save as...) and connect via Real Player. ABC Radio isn't allowed to stream outside of Australia, so this is a little work-around!

If you're a little more technically competent, you also may want to look into the video streaming program called Viidoo. A tip from their forum page suggests that you're likely to be able to find coverage via one of their streamed TV channels. Unfortunately this option has been ruled out for me as I'm a dedicated Mac user.

For the uninformed, a dedicated Test Match Cricket fan also has the bona fide excuse for five-day binges of beer drinking and fixation with statistics. Hmm, I wonder if this predilection has shaped my personality (and body-shape) somewhat.

* I may or may not have evidence to back up this spurious claim.

Vacuous post alert!

There's a few places in Shanghai that you can't possibly mistake where you are. Visually, The Bund, Lujiazui and Yu Yuan are places that are at the forefront of my mind. But when you extend your recollection to your olfactory senses, for me one locale is at the forefront of all others. Donghu Lu near the Huaihai Zhong Lu intersection. The reason? It has perhaps the strongest, consistent resident stench in all of Shanghai. The smell in this area is one of strong sewage mutated with the permeating power of 臭豆腐. The latter characteristic lends 'The Stench' to have the unfortunate ability to allow you to taste the surrounding atmosphere. The smell is awfully offensive. At times when I've passed through Donghu Lu on my bike or on foot, I've been surprised that I couldn't actually see the wafts of smell cornering hapless victims and make disparaging remarks about their parentage.

On top of this, I initially found it strange that some of the more eminent businesses (like the Donghu Hotel) and eateries of Shanghai do such a roaring trade on this street. My theory is that once encountering this smell, you will do anything to avoid it, and hence seeks the closest refuge in the restaurant, bar or sensory-deadening environment of closest convenience. The local hawkers have also taken advantage of the situation, and dash from the cleaner area closer to Huaihai Zhong Lu to ply their wares on victims disoriented by 'The Stench'.

It certainly is the most stinky part of China I've encountered so far.

Inspection team asking questions and taking details, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

There are actual measures undertaken to counter the rampant fake trade in Shanghai, they are effective, and what's worse is that they are impacting my quality of life in an unexpected way.

Last Thursday, I found myself doing a little shopping at the Yatai Fake Fashion Market with D'Ray & AussieLozza. What I didn't expect was an actual Intellectual Property Rights raid by the power's that be.

The inspection session took about half an hour, during which I saw a lot of nervous looking stall owners. I was 'just browsing' in one of the more questionable stalls when the news of the raid spread throughout the market. I was promptly asked to leave, and then all the fake stock was hidden, the stall's lights were turned off, followed by the staff vacating & locking the doors. They can't raid you if you're not there right? What was ironic is that then a lot of the stall owners went over to the raided stores to have a good gawk. In fact, most of the observers in the photos could be linked back to any one of the stalls in the entire market.

What I was truly surprised by was that the inspectors only paid attention to two of the stalls. At that moment, the measures didn't strike me as an extensive use of anti-piracy measures. After the inspectors had left, I went back to chat briefly with one of the stall operators. I asked why they only checked out two stalls, and was answered with the news that inspections I had witnessed had been very frequent over the last few weeks, and had caused many shop operators to at least to hide all of their popular faked goods in the ceiling space or hidden compartments in their stalls.

Ladder inspection of fake goods hidden in stall rooves., originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

Hiding the goods appears to be a popular counter to the increased policing of copyright infringements and fake branded items in Shanghai of late. Another twist on avoiding detection by hiding brings to mind the recent relocation of Shanghai's infamous Kade Club DVD store chain from their Dagu Road and Zhenning Road locations to a single Taikang Lu outlet.

The problem is that the Kade Club staff weren't too clever about keeping the location hidden as they were handing out relocation directions to anyone who wandered past the store.

Personally, I'm not that fussed about the Kade Club as a DVD location. The DVDs were overpriced, and often we'd end up with a dodgy box set that didn't seem to work on any DVD player other than the Kade Club's demo unit. The main reason I went to that chain was it was less than 2 minutes walk from my front door and thus appealed to my inner sloth.

For me, the worst thing about the Zhenning Lu branch's relocation is that now I'm going to find catching a cab on a wet day increasingly difficult as there will no longer be a constant stream of bored expats in search of entertainment conveniently delivering empty taxis right near my apartment block.

If you're thinking that I'm talking about gaggles of foreigners indulging in water-sports on the Huangpu River or Suzhou Creek after a downpour, or the amorous happenings on Julu Lu each evening, it is time to look at another webpage.

Almost every foreigner in Shanghai with an ounce of internet nouce knows what torrent downloading is. One of the downsides of living in a land with a culture & language that is far removed from your own is lack of cultural and entertainment stimulus from legal sources in China. CCTV9 is an amazing service in that it caters for non-Chinese, but really it is like watching paint dry. I sometimes flick through the other TV stations we get here and just marvel at (A) how much Chinese I don't know, and (B) how unappealing local productions are to my tastes. Yes, I still have a lot of Chinese media & entertainment appreciation classes to attend.

So for most expats, getting that fix of your favourite shows from back home is a welcomed respite from reruns of 'The Journey To The West' or Da Shan's "Travel In Chinese". The usual process involves a quick trip to your favourite DVD store/stall/dude on the street and pick up a pirated copy of the latest movie releases, or just box of the latest season release of your favourite TV shows. I've found that the boxed-sets of TV shows lead you into a quagmire of chain-episode watching where you may not leave the couch for a number of hours, or in the worst case, days. The ability to run through an entire season of (lets say for example, Lost) in one or two days definitely raises your appreciation for these productions, but also your appetite for more. Yes, boxed-TV sets are really the MSG of the expat entertainment world. You just want more despite how much you've already consumed.

The problem is, you quickly get up to date with all the shows you've missed and your left facing a six to twelve month wait before getting your hot little hands on the next season's episodes. But like me, you're too impatient, so you must rely on getting techamanological and obtain them from the net.

November Rain in Lujiazui, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

After an unusually mild autumn, Shanghai's notorious renowned weather has unfortunately decided to make its annual visit.

I'm really looking forward to the next three or four months of crappy, "I want to stay inside" weather.

I remember when we arrived here last year from beautiful, sunny and mild Brisbane, we didn't enjoy November at all. Not one bit. Lin says that she remembers riding her bike in the rain, avoiding sloshy puddles and even black ice spots on the roads. I just remember her icicle-touch on my warm skin and a grin of sadistic pleasure on her face.

Just up until a few days ago, it was unusually sunny and dry (so say my long-term local friends).

So I guess November's weather in Shanghai might have some catching up to do. As does Lin's icicle fingers.

This entry was posted with flickr

It has been about two weeks since the UK Government released the Stern Review to the rest of the world. A lot has been written about the significance of this report and the implications for our world's environment. In my mind, the report has finally put a warning in a language that governments and policy makers & shapers understand. Money. A realisation that "business as usual" already does have significant economic cost and continuing inaction will have far-reaching consequences.

Already you start to see traditional critics of sustainability and pro-environmental policies performing magnificent backflips on their viewpoints. The current Howard-led Australian government in my mind are the epitome of this bandwagon. I predict, sadly for them, their previous lack of leadership in regards to eco-conservation, land-management and greenhouse gas emissions will leave them without the proverbial leg to stand on.

One of the oft repeated responses by Australian government officials aimed at deflecting inaction has broached that even if Kyoto or green-house emissions targets are met, it doesn't really mean much if current leading polluters like China and India are replacing other country's carbon emission savings. This elicits two thoughts from a reasonably well-informed reader like myself. Firstly, yes I am concerned about these country's contribution to atmospheric and water pollution despite the actions of other countries, if you are reducing or minimising your own contribution carbon emissions, you are contributing to decreasing either the rate or total carbon emissions output worldwide. Yes, you are improving on the status quo. The second thought is prompted by the touch of truth in this somewhat misguided sentiment. It is fact that India & China do currently contribute a lot towards worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Anything that can be done to reduce the emissions from these countries would be beneficial for each country's and the world's environment. This also cannot be disputed. Yet again, both countries see themselves once again in the world's spotlight. And so far, this expectant audience hasn't a single utterance from these leading players.

Yet for all my morning internet delving in the English-language web, I haven't seen any official response from the Chinese government in response to this report. I find this interesting as we now have a situation where the world's eyes and fingers are pointing towards China and its competitor India as the key players in damage to the world's environment.

One can hypothesise that a range of responses will emerge. The most sceptical from a Western perspective would be adversarial. As anyone who hasn't been under a rock in a coma for the last ten years, China is the world's pre-eminent manufacturing engine. This has transferred a lot of wealth to China, but also seen China's carbon emissions to dramatically increase. The call from developed nations to curb emissions would be seen as hypocritical given that most of these countries have already benefited from their own lengthy industrial revolutions, urban development and manufacturing booms that have contributed their own fair share of pollution to this planet. Further to this, North America and Europe match (or surpass) the more heavily populated India & China in carbon emissions. Along with their manufacturing, the West can be accused of exporting the associated pollution with this manufacturing onto China & India.

In line with this "us versus them" thinking, further grey areas emerge. Foreign wealth that fuels both China and India's manufacturing booms has and continues to contribute to these country's global footprints. It is also worth noting that off-shoring of the world's manufacturing to both India and China has additional environmental costs due to the transportation of goods and raw materials to and from these manufacturing powerhouses. The picture that emerges here is the the burden of the world's environmental problem isn't just India & China's to shoulder, it starts with all of us and our demand for cheap goods.

Both China & India are not innocent parties in facing the world's pollution crisis. India & China, like all countries, are responsible to manage its own environment and its impact on its neighbours. China is faced with unique problem of dealing with the drive for developing its nation while also ensuring its own long-term productivity.

The ChinaDialogue website has recently posted part one of a two entry review by Maryann Bird which explores the findings of the Stern Review and examines China's internal and external impacts. Bird's article explores the potential for environmental damage in China ranging from increased water shortages, coastal flooding, and desertification of marginal agricultural land, and points to some of the consequences for China under such scenarios.

China is already facing some tough environmental problems caused by its rapid development and hunger for coal-supplied electric power. Recent examples of industrial pollution include the 2005 Songhua River chemical spill in Jillin Province, the smog-filled skies of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, and a large sulfuric acid spill China's ancient Grand Canal area. This article provides an excellent exploration of the impact of China's environmental problems on its society. There are acknowledged problems, and the Chinese government has implemented many policies to help curb the impact of environmental damage in China. The trillion dollar question is "are they doing enough?".

To me what is really interesting is the link between China's prosperity, the environment of China, and the potential for China to lead the world in environmental solutions (yeah, amazing I know). One of the drivers that led my former employer had for establishing a presence in China is this country's relative water shortage and need for improved water treatment & preservation solutions for the Eastern Asian region. Additionally, both India & China are well-placed to take advantage of their powerful manufacturing capabilities and educated workforces to help create new solutions to their current pollution problems. Indeed, this could be where each country could emerge as world-suppliers of green-friendly technology. We now see the a shift in the West's perspective on the importance of environmental conservation, and with this an emerging market to exploit.

The questions I have are, can China take advantage of this wind of change, is it willing to, and if so can it become a world leader by providing the will and the means to make this needed difference? Could our perceptions of China and its relationship with the world's environment be shattered by *such a scenario?

* Something was cut-off when posting this entry. Sorry about the abruptness in the earlier version!

Green Fields of Despair, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

It is tough hitting middle-age in SH. Especially if you're in your twenties.

Recently, in conversation with my friends, I've bemoaned a lack of variety in the expat life in Shanghai. Besides the usual, day to day routine life matters, it appears that any free time is quickly allocated to be spent either at home with a DVD, hopping from one bar or restaurant and so forth, or just popping around to someone's place for a quiet time & a chat. Yeah I know it is the good life, but figuratively speaking, anyone's palette would quickly get sick of Wagyu Beef with a red-wine jus reduction each and every weeknight.

Our general plan B involves interactive pursuits. However I'm finding the prospect of traditional "Let's spice things up!" alternatives like ten-pin bowling at the Orden Alley on Hengshan Road, or karaoke at CashBox don't inspire the buzz that I'm missing.

So, I decided to recast my eye over some of Shanghai's offerings, and resolved myself to fully explore some of the alternative options for entertainment in this fair city.

Last Friday, I met up with Adam and we hit Shanghai's Museum of Contemporary Art located inside People's Square Park. The museum is currently exhibiting the chock full of wank words stereotypically titled "MoCA Envisage -- Entry Gate:Chinese Aesthetics of Heterogeneity".

One of my favourite quotes from the exhibition's foreword is as follows...

The standards of living that the neo-literati of today's China have cultivated in this digital environment are a concentration and hybridization of aesthetic senses both ancient and contemporary, Chinese and foreign, all of which have in turn metamorphosed into a heterogeneous neo-aesthetics.

This Aussie yobbo's personal view is apart from a few beautiful pieces, I found the art work to be quite underwhelming. Many of installations showed a high level of technical skill, but few pieces elicited some thought in me the viewer. Maybe I'm too much of a "just the facts ma'am" type of guy, but IMHO, most of the displays were a bit kitschy and superficial. But at RMB20 a head, it is a cheap way to figure out some type of opinion on this yourself.

As usual, I've posted a few more photos of my trip to MoCA on my Flickr page.

Lunchtime rush on Wujiang Lu Foodstreet, Shanghai, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

After discovering that the Yakexi Xinjiang Restaurant on Nanjing Xi Lu was replaced by an empty construction site (sniff), Adam, Nick & I popped down to the Wujiang Lu foodstreet for some tasty shengjian mantou from Yang's Fried Dumplings .

Tasty. But bloody busy.

This entry was posted with flickr

No more entries from TalkTalkChina? Say it isn't so!

Check out the 'Classic Posts' section on their website while you have the chance.

No big posts today, I'm off to the museum this morning.

• I'm very good at procrastination.
• We've been paying for a 512K ADSL plan instead of the 2M ADSL we thought we hooked up.
• My resume isn't looking all that bad (but it could be a lot better).
• Finish migrating Lin's site to my subdomain (and finally update her site look. I'm a baaaad boyfriend).
• It is time to throw out/recycle old clothes & the ones I never seem to wear.
• I'm liking my authentic RMB120 Wallabies jersey (I kid you not, it is a perfect 'over-run' from a factory outlet here in Shanghai!).
• I need to print some of my Flickr photos and hang them on our walls.
• I have read a lot of scientific articles over the past few years. Heaps.
• I write lists to break out of procrastination.
• It is time to find a new Chinese tutor and start studying again in earnest.
• There are quite a few science-related jobs in Shanghai.
• There are very few science jobs in Shanghai that I'm interested in.
• I'm looking forward to restarting our mates 'Burgers & Beers' sessions on Wednesday nights.

Despite the recent cool change, it is a brilliant (Shanghai) day outside. Now, where to go?

Morning Exercise Circuit, originally uploaded by timbeckenham.

One thing that has always struck me as a difference between Australia and China is the propensity of the general population for early morning exercise, particularly amongst retirees & the elderly.

Each morning you can find various people practicing Gong Fu, Tai Chi, fan dancing, backwards walking, shuffling and plain old walking around the central garden of our apartment complex.

Afternoon is definitely reserved for the kids making noise on the playground equipment, and the very noisy (and I find annoying) kid that drives a high-pitched electric powered toy car in a never changing circuit that happens to juxtapose directly underneath our balcony.

In fact, I think I've never seen that kid walk at all. What's going on there?

This entry was posted with flickr

IMG_8296edit originally upload by monkeyking.

One of Australia's answers to its dwindling workforce problem is finding itself Shanghaied. And unsurprisingly it is the Chinese migrant worker that is bearing the burden once again.

The case of Fu Zhi Hong and the Shanghai Overseas Employment Service is documented by The Sydney Morning Herald's Nick O'Malley..

A CHINESE worker was made to sign a contract that bans him from making anyone pregnant, drunkenness, "trouble-making" and joining in political or union activity. Fu Zhi Hong, a printer on a 457 visa, signed a contract with a Chinese employment agent banning "for personal reasons resulting in pregnancy or impregnating others and inflicting physical or mental harm on others". He was later sacked by his Melbourne employer, Lakeside Packaging, after breaking his wrists. When he signed up to work in Australia Mr Fu was required to pay $21,000 to his agent, the Shanghai Overseas Employment Service, and to pay for his air fares to Australia. A Senate estimates committee hearing this week heard Mr Fu's contract with the agent also forbade him from seeking new employment in Australia, breaking migration regulations.

Along with this, Fu Zhi Hong was banned from impregnating anyone, drunkenness, "trouble-making", and joining in union or political activities. In my opinion that appears incongruous behaviour for the average Aussie worker anywhere in the world and is definitely worthy of the label 'un-Australian'.

Australia is a country undergoing a radical up-turn in economic fortune, but at the same time is facing an employment shortage crisis due to a troika of declining population growth, lack of skilled workers in key growth areas, and the imminent retirement of Australia's ageing workforce.

One measure to counter this situation has been the implementation of the temporary migrant visa subclass 457. This allows semiskilled and skilled foreign workers to temporarily enter Australia for the course of employment. Both China and India are commonly cited sources of foreign workers entering Australia under this employment scheme.

The implementation of this visa subclass has highlighted a number of concerns surrounding opportunity and welfare of both local and foreign workers. These include...

• poorly-skilled foreign workers do not meet Australian work practices and safety standards.
• accusations that imported labour suppresses wages and employment opportunities for local workers.
• recent revelations that foreign workers are subjected to conditions in-breach of basic Australian rights that include rights to association, personal relationships, standardised working conditions, and equal remuneration for work performed.

Chinese workers have thus forged an unfortunate reputation for linked to substandard work quality, unsafe workplace practices, or being exploited themselves. Not unlike being back at home for many of China's migrant workers you may say?

One repeated accusation levelled by many critics of this visa subclass is that in some cases that the Australian government and public service have approved the importation of foreign employment agents subject workers to contract conditions that are in complete breach of Australian law and human rights conventions.

The Australian Federal Government has issued several statements outlining their support for the rights of foreign workers living in Australia under the 457 permit scheme.

During Australia's 11th Joint Ministerial Economic Commission (JMEC) meeting with China, Federal Trade Minister Warren Truss had this to say regarding the topic of foreign labour market in Australia and China's role.

Well certainly for the first time in many, many decades Australia has a labour shortage, and in particular we have a need to increase the number of people with skills who are available in our workforce. Whilst we will continue to give priority to training Australians and developing their skills, we recognise that there is a contribution that people from other parts of the world can make to our skills base.

There are already a number of Chinese workers in Australia and we certainly see potential for other skilled Chinese to play a role in our workforce. Now that will obviously be managed in the context of our workforce policy and the rules that we put in place in relation to the terms and circumstances under which overseas people are allowed to work in Australia. But I think we've demonstrated in good faith a willingness to include Chinese people in our workforce.

In fact, if you go back to ancient history, there have always been Chinese workers playing a significant role in Australia. This is a new era now of substantial growth, when the demands on our workforce are substantial, and I certainly see the potential for Chinese workers to be a part of the national workforce in the years ahead under the same rules and terms and conditions as apply to other people working in this country.

Federal Immigration Minister, Amanda Vandstone recently announced a AUD$23.5 million funding increase to ensure the policing of the terms of this policy. As an example cited the case of another Chinese worker Jack Zhang and his case of exploitation as evidence the Australian government was serious about policing the terms of employment under Australian law.

However critics of this visa system have highlighted several areas in which these breaches have been allowed to occur and have questioned why further action hasn't been taken. AMWU National Secretary Doug Cameron called for further action on dodgy employers and employment agents.

"They have been completely desensitised to human problems," he said. Under the visa rules, the harshest sanction is to prevent the employer sponsoring more temporary migrant workers. No criminal sanctions apply".

The Federal Opposition along with several of Australia's union's have led calls for reform about the visa program to ensure that foreign workers must be subject to Australian work practices and rights, and to implement an outright ban on overseas-based agencies contracting workers for employment in Australia.

I just learnt that one of my favourite Australian television shows, The ABC's 'The Glass House' is to be put in mothballs at the end of this season.

The Glass House is an Australian television show hosted by a panel of comedians that talk about events, politics, happenings and other social issues in Australia and around the world. Their snarkiness against the Governments of Australia (Federal conservative, state-based mainly centralist/left) is actually one of the attractions of the show. The long-cherished Australian pastime of 'taking the piss' and 'cutting down the tall poppies politicians' are usual components of the comedy act. What is really amazing about this show is that they've managed to gain a massive viewership on what is considered a dead-time slot (Friday nights past 10pm).

And then there's the online following for the show. One of the few joys I have week to week is searching my favourite torrent site each Sunday morning looking for the latest capped episode of The Glass House. Unfortunately the ABC Asia-Pacific/Australia Network channel doesn't beam The Glass House out into the wild yonders of Asia - and now it seems very unlikely to do so. Until our recent acquisition of Satellite TV, Lin & I didn't have a lot of cultural influence flowing from Australia in the form of entertainment, political discussion, or just plain 'taking the piss' television. Like many Australian expats, I watch this show. But I know that there's a whole lot more Aussies who miss out on the show because of the timeslot and watch it later. This is a very popular show.

So why was it axed? There have been a number of rumblings regarding The Glass House in the last few months, and has been accused of anti-Howard government bias. From my viewpoint, the panellists on The Glass House all exhibit anti-idiocy bias and great one-liners. Given the massive amounts of news and current affairs that the Government of the Day produces, I guess commenting on this and making light of the day's events could be construed as anti-Howard government bias. But, it doesn't explain how often they get stuck into the NSW and QLD Labour State Governments as well? I don't see them being accused of anti-Carr/Iemma, anti-Beattie bias in the media?

This is why this decision pisses me off. It reeks of 'Wedge Politics/Debate' and SPIN SPIN SPIN!

This contentious decision appears to have been made following a recent series of policy redirections at the ABC to counter the long-held viewpoint of anti-Howard/anti-conservative viewpoint at the ABC .

This latest round of changes saw the creation of a Director Of Editorial Policies by the reputedly conservative-stacked, Government appointed ABC Board. This has raised a series of concerns regarding the objectivity of any content at the ABC following concerns that this position could produce a chief sensor of content at the ABC.

Regarding this appointment, Stephen Conroy, Communications Spokesman for the Federal Opposition said....

"This is just an attempt by a board stacked with ideological zealots to remake the ABC in its own extreme conservative image. The new guidelines are an attempt to bully and intimidate ABC staff into reflecting the Government's biases. The national broadcaster shouldn't be used to settle scores in the culture wars, the ABC belongs to all Australians."

A few weeks earlier to this, The Melbourne Herald Sun's opinion writer Paul Gray examined the flow of changes at the ABC from a conservative viewpoint and highlighted an argument for further editorial control at Australia's ABC in the area of info-tainment.

... But the ABC's main problem goes beyond news and current affairs. It's also about lifestyle and entertainment shows, where there is no charter requirement for impartiality, such as theoretically holds sway (very theoretically, you might say) in news and current affairs. Unfunny jokes about setting fire to the Pope on The Glasshouse, gay kisses on Spicks and Specks and extended Andrew Denton interviews with eccentric Christian "peace campaigners" who attack military bases are all standard in ABC entertainment.

In another part of his opinion article, Gray revealed a common conservative viewpoint regarding ABC's content.

Interestingly, it's the Australian-made and ABC-made programs that are the problem, while quality international imports like British satirical series Absolute Power, starring Stephen Fry, are not only funny, but succeed in making you think.

But, like Steyn (Mark Steyn - OMG!), that must also be brought in from overseas. When ABC entertainment starts breeding its own local quality, I'll give three cheers.

What a load of bollocks! (As an aside; I think OMG! I think holding a right-wing hawk like Steyn as a shining example of intellectual is a bit far-fetched) Australia has loads upon loads of such people and ideas but they struggle for support and a platform to produce such work. Weak argument mate!

What we have here another great example of The Culture Wars but in an Australian context. Conservatives versus the rest. This has been going on for donkey's years, but now it is really starting to take a turn into total war.

There is a distinction between anti-Leftist and anti-liberal views. People like Mark Steyn work at challenging/blurring the boundaries between centralist and conservative viewpoints, obscurificating clear humanist issues with political rhetoric. A similar agenda appears to have been implemented at the ABC. But where is the centreline between left and right? I suspect that with people like Mark Steyn, Janet Albrechtsen, and other notable conservatives on the ABC board that it is to the right-of-center that many Australians would flag as the centralist viewpoint. This is why I cringe whenever I hear the term objectivity used to describe content of the ABC. The ABC should be able to present MANY ALTERNATIVE VIEWPOINTS that present contradictory viewpoints from set-facts. Ridding the ABC of The Glass House robs Australians of a (small 'l') liberal standpoint on many of the world's and Australia's topics of the day. Given the huge markets for conservative talk-back radio and print media in Australia, the ABC supplies a series of shows that provide alternative viewpoints. I do believe this is one of the charters of the ABC to provide content to Australians that is not readily supplied by mainstream media sources.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this move in my mind is the blurring between criticism of government practice and the culture wars. I really believe that criticism of government should not be a criticism of political beliefs. The current Howard-led government has a long and documented track record of poor governmentship. I proffer SievX, deportation of Australian citizens, the politicising of Middle-East refugees, Gulf War II, the Australian Wheat Board fiasco as evidence. This is poor leadership and should be criticised and criticised it has been. One of the most vocal shows on the ABC has been The Glass House. Is this political revenge? The Glasshouse thinks so. And so do I.

This decision stinks. I'm very very angry! The last episode will air on November 29th.

And, just to end this little rant. Here's just a snippet of Dave Hughes mentioning his favourite Web2.0 site, YouTube. (After watching this little snippet, I would like to point out that yes, I am aware of the irony of linking to this clip).

A screenshot describing how you can subscribe to this blog.

So what were my reasons for doing this?

Functionality was the major reason I chose to implement a Feedburner XML output. I took the opportunity to combine various outputs from all of my blog, Flickr and del.icio.us pages into the one feed. Yep, that makes a mega-feed of sorts full of links, entries and photos. I mainly did this so people could just go to one centralised source to access my content whether it be at this blog, my del.icio.us link collection or my Flickr photo sets. The feed is pretty big, but I believe its a nice gateway to my little hovel on the web. To access this new feed, you will need to re-subscribe using the syndication links on the right side column (or if you have a decent web browser, just use the Livebookmark addition method).

I also realised that people might not like a massive set of links and photos to browse through, so I created a simple blog entry only feed for the traditionalists. You won't need to resubscribe to this XML output as I redirected redirected all the former MT XML outputs to this simple feed. Yes, this is probably how you got to this entry.

Feedburner also allows for email updates of blog entries. When I popped back to Australia, a few of my friends complained that they weren't receiving emails informing them of new updates to my blog. I guess I didn't explain the concept of XML, RSS, ATOM and LiveBookmarks that well considering some of the blank expressions that I received. So, I've also put a link on this site so you can subscribe to either 'Blog Entries only' or 'Blog entries, del.icio.us bookmarks, & Flickr photos' feeds.

Another reason that I decided to 'upgrade' the various XML feeds from my site was redundancy. There are 3 different kinds in the default MT publishing setup, whereas Feedburner is clever enough to provide one single feed that satisfies the various competing formats out there. But I ended up having 2 feeds instead of 3, so I guess that was really just an excuse.

Lastly, Feedburner has stats! Working for 'The Man' has turned me onto stats in a big way. Statistics is like crack for scientists. You either love it or work actively to avoid them. My current stats program doesn't tell me how many people access my XML feeds, but Feedburner does. I wonder how many lurkers I have?

Frequent visitors to this blog would be aware that I'm TUB, and given the impact of my latest entries, you may well have surmised that I'm not really doing all that much. In all reality, I have been going through the motions of readjusting my goals and aims in my career path following my decision to leave my former employer in SH.

Cutting your losses is a tough thing. I found it daunting - it's tough to admit that your choices that have led you towards a path haven't worked out, and perhaps its also harder to realise that any efforts you make to improve your situation would be more effective outside your current work environment. For me, that was the toughest thing to admit to. After this point, moving on was much less emotionally taxing. Or so I thought.

Since returning from an awesome series of China and OS trips, I've fallen into a come-day-go-day routine. For a period, I was seeing myself as the latest addition to Shanghai's expat taitai scene. 'Tai tai' is strictly Chinese for 'wife', and is used as a synonym amongst my friends here for many of the trailing spouses of expatriated workers in Shanghai (which are mostly women in my experience).

Now, this label is often used in a derogatory fashion (I offer evidence in the form of this satirical movie from the LocalBrand website). From my experience, I have been far from leading an entirely vacuous existence, but rather one that has been rarely constructive in its use of time. Furthering my education and Chinese skills have been on top of my list of things to do, but I've so far I've experienced too many negatives ranging from splitting simple tasks from hours into days, and learning more Tagalog from Philippino Satellite TV than Chinese Mandarin. My usual routine has been filled with all manner of little projects (including this site), chores, individual activities, a few lunch-dates, and such. After a number of weeks filling my days, I've grown tired of such a luxurious life. It is quite surprising, as I've always joked that I wanted to be a 'kept man', but this experience has turned me off this concept. I guess you could easily define this experience as a means for invoking demotivation, depression, aimlessness, boredom, and impassivity. I would have to agree wholeheartedly.

So, I've been shaking off my self-imposed shackles by starting to take myself and my time more seriously (more on that later). But my realisation that my 'Taitai Lifestyle' has led me to a greater appreciation of the impact of a relocation on the lives of the trailing spouse expats living in Shanghai.

While Shanghai is considered a hub of the world's business sector, many trailing partner's find it difficult to secure employment in their field of expertise. The troika of competition from bi- or multi-lingual Chinese workers, decreased wage remuneration due to 'local hire' packages, and decreased financial impetus to maintain a set living standard are key reasons that many trailing spouses find themselves out or voluntarily withdrawn from of the global workforce. I know quite a few people in this situation, and while I recognise the impact it can make on a person's self-worth, I hadn't truly appreciated their situation until I had walked a mile in their shoes. For those trailing spouse's without children to care for, I think the transition is much tougher as most probably these partners would have been working back in their home countries and are now forced to readjust to life without an opportunity for a traditional career role.

For now, I'm taking inspiration from those people on how to either manage your Taitai lifestyle so you don't go too crazy, or to break out of it completely. I'm aiming for the latter.