PLANET china

In an interview with TIME, the psychiatrist who treated the Catholic priest accused of pedophilia describes his former patient's attitude -- then and now

The world's largest retailer has witnessed a drop in customer traffic. What went wrong, and how Walmart is going to fix it

Memories of American winemaking's pre-Prohibition history come alive in the revival of a "ghost" winery -- and so does one murdered man's restless soul.

Former New York City dominatrix Melissa Febos explains the underground sexual subculture in her new memoir 'Whip Smart'

Few think Blankfein & Co. are innocent, but a report that is getting a lot of attention lately because of Michael Lewis' new book The Big Short offers some fodder for Goldman's side of the story.

Last's weeks blood protests in Bangkok were a rare public revelation of a more covert aspect of the ongoing conflict between the country's political movements -- a war of the supernatural

I was with friends eating in a Chinese fast food near Fudan University and then out of nowhere we heard the crashing of plates and banging of doors. We did not mind this as we were especially hungry that dinner. This went on for quite some time though.

But then, this man got up (puffy leather jacket with cigarette and all) and walked our way. He was pacing back and forth and then suddenly he started grabbing the chairs and display pots near the entrance. What he did next really made our hairs rise. He blocked the glass entrance with the furniture. Not the orderly blocking people normally do during closing time. [But then if you were to lock the doors, you would just use a key and a lock.]

My back was towards the situation the whole time. I dare not turn my head as everyone grew silent, and the restaurant’s music was switched off. “We are being taken hostage!” I was thinking the whole time. The manager and the servers were just standing there doing nothing. Probably the most amusing thing that point in time was I was still eating my wonton noodle soup.

Pleading for birth control via Wikipedia

Every now and then politicians everywhere in the world, including China, contemplate their fast aging societies and see in increasing the number of children as a good alternative for migration, like reported here in Global Voices Online. In China that develops in the context of the one-child policy, a policy that has greatly helped the country to leap out of poverty.
The other day I encountered some nice arguments explaining why raising more children is not going to help todays aging societies. (It was a TV program I watched with only a half eye, I have no link, but recall the argument).
Raising more children - and thus relaxing the one-child policy - was considered to be the wrong method, since those children will not mature fast enough to help those aging people. They will be grown up, when those old people do not need help anymore. In stead, you have helped to crease a new demographic bubble that will need expensive schools, houses, work while they grow up. So, they actually make the problems of an aging society worse in stead of better.
A small thought on relaxing the one-child policy.

The pound is weak, jobs are scarce, and the economy may slip back into recession. But few Britons believe the next government will fix what ails their country

The Speaker was schooled in a family that valued political favors -- and tit-for-tat. Now she doles out carrots and sticks for the most important vote of her career

A 70-story tower is going up in the real-estate crazed Latin American country. Is it a solid investment -- or the plaything of speculators?

Wendy and I drove to Jiaxing via the formal A8 Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway, and found out that the signs of the expressway have changed to its new name: G60 - Shanghai-Kunming National Expressway (or Hukun Expressway 沪昆高速). Let me tell you more about this national highway.

Name Change Matters

Although there are many criticism about the high cost and convention change of the new National Expressway system, I feel excited about the change (if we put aside the cost). The name gives people better sense of direction.

Photo from Cory M. Grenier's photostream

Unfortunately for Rush, he gave out the toll-free FamiliesUSA number on his show on Tuesday, which meant his anti-reform listeners got a pro-reform message when they tried to call Congress.

The Runaways is but the latest cinematic effort to bring the story of a real life rock band to the big screen

The Swedish film version of Stieg Larsson's mega-selling mystery novel does away with much of the book's detail but keeps the suspense

My mother was on the line, going on about the announcement that Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb will close 41 school buildings by summer.

We've been so caught up in the day-to-day shenanigans, on both sides, that the truly historic nature of the moment has been missed. A great American injustice is about to be addressed.

The Sochi Winter Olympics are still four years away, but Russia is alreadyencountering a host of obstacles, including worker strikes and environmentalcomplaints

Both residents and environmentalists are fighting to ban the practice, which has turned some parts of Appalacia into ghost towns