A Petition: Make “Coming Home Barbie” Available to Everyone

August 18th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 3 Comments »

If you haven’t been following the recent discussion in the archives about “Coming Home Barbie,” you are missing out. In that discussion, Cindy Sue points toward this unbelievable petition:

To: Mattel Corporate Office

To: Mattel Corporate Office
333 Continental Blvd
El Segundo Calfornia 90245

We the undersigned, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends of children adopted from China and Asia, offer this petition to you and ask that you reconsider the decision to offer the “Coming Home Barbie” exclusively at the White Swan Hotel in China.

Many of us traveled to China and Asia to adopt our children prior to your introduction of the “Coming Home Barbie” available exclusively at the White Swan Hotel. Therefore were not given the opportunity to obtain one of these dolls for our child(ren).

We would like to have the opportunity to purchase one of these wonderful keepsake Barbies for our children, grandchildren and friends. We feel confident that allowing the “Coming Home Barbie” to be sold here in the United States and other countries would generate substantial interest in the product as well as awareness to international adoption in general.

Please reconsider and make the “Coming Home Barbie” available to everyone.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

There are so many causes that one can take up (world hunger, poverty, AIDS in Africa, genocides) and there’s actually a group of people petitioning that a company make a specific toy for their children. As if Mattel is imposing upon their rights as a consumer and not sufficiently meeting their needs to spoil their children. Capitalism has let them down, and by God they aren’t going to take it any more.

I’m thinking about petitioning Mattel to produce a “Ken doll” in my likeness. I’d buy it.

Dave Barry at the Olympics

August 13th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

Michael Phelps is impressive, sure, but, in my eyes, the most talented American in China is Dave Barry.

Apparently, he’s picked his column back up for the summer Olympics.

For you my very special friend, a sample of his most recent performance:

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys shopping and lying, you would love the Beijing Silk Market.

He goes on to talk about what happens if you show any interest in the products the vendors at the Silk Market are selling:

If you respond by displaying any interest at all — and by ‘’displaying any interest,'’ I mean ‘’not walking briskly away'’ — the salesperson will thrust a merchandise item into your hands and make the following points:

1. The item is totally legitimate. If it’s supposed to be a Prada purse, it’s a real Prada purse. If it’s a painting of the Mona Lisa, it’s the original Mona Lisa, by Leonardo Da Vinci, and not some cheap knockoff Mona Lisa such as the other vendors will try to sell you.

2. You are getting a very special price. Even though the salesperson has known you at this point for less than 15 seconds, she has taken a powerful liking to you, so she has decided to give you a price so ridiculously low, so totally crazy, that she will lose money on the deal and be forced to leave the vendor business and become a homeless person who must survive by selling personal bodily organs. That is how much she likes you.

It just doesn’t get any better than that. Stop what you are doing right now and go read the rest of his columns from China.

The Olympics

August 8th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 3 Comments »

Why I’m excited –

The US Men’s Basketball team, “The Redeem Team,” is going to put the USA back where it belongs in international basketball competition.

My mom is close friends with the owner of DeVeau’s School of Gymnastics in Indianapolis, the home gym of Samantha Peszek. I’m not too manly to admit that I watch the women’s gymnastics. This year I’ll be watching a little more closely and following her progress on the school’s blog.

Why I’m nervous –

If the U.S. Men’s Basketball team ,“The Redeem Team,” loses, it will solidify our position of mediocrity in international basketball competition.

As of today, my book is pretty much set in stone. About 1/5th of the book takes place in China. I’m worried that over the next 10-days something will develop that dates what I’ve written. Never have so many foreign journalists been poking around, and it’s hard to say what they might turn out. For instance, if we discovered that half of China’s population were robots and my book doesn’t mention that, I might look a bit foolish. Nobody cares if a robot works twice as many hours as the government allows.

If you’re looking for a few good blogs written by westerners in China I’ve got some good ones.

China Hope Live

Here’s a sample of a 25-year old man from Tianjin in his own words:

Right now I care a lot about the Wenchuan, Sichuan great earthquake issue. …This is an extremely difficult and especially big affair. Everyone is paying close attention to the circumstances of the earthquake disaster area’s common people… Whoever has money sends money, whoever has strength sends strength, whoever has things sends things. This shows the united spirit of the Chinese people. ‘When one place has trouble, all places provide help’ (一方有难八方支援 / yī fāng yǒu nàn, bāfāng zhīyuán).

China holding the Olympics utilizes a lot of manpower and financial and physical resources. The Olympics doesn’t assist China’s common people very much. It mainly expresses China’s place in the world, by showing that China can run this Olympics well. The Chinese people are extremely concerned with this matter, however, heaven isn’t helping out (天公不做美 / tiān gōng bù zuò měi). Since the earthquake a lot of Chinese people have lost confidence regarding the Olympics. But I feel we ought to transform our sorrow into strength, and strive as much as possible to manage this Olympics well.

Blonde in Beijing

Jodi is from my hometown and she has some interesting insights about being a new mom in China and the conditions the Olympics will be taking place in.

…the air was as polluted as ever. And it was scorching hot at seven in the morning! I sure do feel for the Olympic athletes.

The USA is a pucker and China is a hemorrhoid

July 23rd, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

I had someone email me today asking about where our clothes come from. Here’s the short answer: 97% come from outside of the U.S., mostly from China.

And here’s that answer visually, courtesy of worldmapper:

The map is accompanied with this interesting tid bit:

Of all earnings from international trade, 7% is earned from clothing exports.

Nightmare on Sesame Street

July 17th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 3 Comments »

K’Nex, makers of Lincoln Logs, are in the cross heirs of the National Labor Committee for the poor conditions under which a Sesame Street play set is produced. The play set in questions is Ernie’s Building Set.

From the story in the New York Daily News:

“Every single labor law in China was being violated at this factory,” said Charles Kernaghan, director of the committee.
The report says that 600 workers - including 100 16-year-olds and some children as young as 13 - are forced to work seven days a week, up to 15 hours a day, often going for months without a day off.

The workers are allegedly paid 43 cents an hour and sometimes forced to work 23.5 hour shifts.

The Ernie Building Set in question retails for $10.99.

In the interest of full disclosure: Ernie is my favorite Sesame Street character. I never cared much for Bert.

Cleaning out my news story files

April 29th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 3 Comments »

Prada – Made in Italy by imported Chinese workers (LA Times)

Excerpt:

Thousands of Tuscan factories that produce the region’s fabled leather goods are now operated and staffed by Chinese. Though located in one of Italy’s most picturesque and tourist-frequented regions, many of the factories are nothing more than sweatshops with deplorable conditions and virtually indentured workers.

Chinese laborers have become such an integral cog in the high-fashion wheel that large Chinatowns have sprung up here and in Florence. Signs in Chinese, Italian and sometimes English advertise prontomoda (ready-to-wear). At the main public hospital in Prato, the maternity ward on a recent morning was a cacophony of 40 squalling babies, 15 of them Chinese. “Mi chiamo Zhong Ti,” one of the crib tags said — “My name is Zhong Ti.”

My thoughts: Made in USA doesn’t always mean what it says either. Sometimes it means made in Saipan or by imported workers in LA.

—-

Sweatshop Shrimp Made in Thailand/Bangladesh

Excerpt:

Interviews with workers showed arduous conditions including “long hours, low pay, abusive employers, informal work, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, and the vulnerability of migrant workers.” (Bangkok Post)

My thoughts: Like the garment industry, but with unpredictable seas.

—-

Big denim factory opens in Nicaragua

Excerpt:

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may relate to, among other things, ITG’s future plans, revenue, earnings, outlook, expectations and strategies, and are based on management’s current beliefs. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes to the facts or assumptions underlying these statements (from Joshua Berman).

My thoughts: The above excerpt concludes the press release. I would prefer the include their “we made most of this crap up” statement at the beginning so I can not waste my time.

—-

Happiness author writes about servant

Excerpt:

One spring, puberty arrived, and suddenly I was the “father” of a hormonal Indian teenager. Once, while I was out of town, Kailash and a few friends rented porn movies and a VCR. I was appalled but also secretly pleased by his initiative. Whenever I asked Kailash about his aspirations, he demurred. “Whatever you want me to do, sir,” he would say. “As you wish.” (NY TIMES)

My thoughts: I’ve been falling asleep to Eric Weiner’s Geography of Bliss for a few months now. To be fair, it keeps me up on occasion. It’s a worldwide quest to find the happiest place on Earth. It’s worth a read.

Chinese Student says CNN faked images

April 15th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 1 Comment »

One of my favorite NPR shows is On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Monday On Point aired from Beijing where they talked with three students about the Olympics, Tibet, China’s place in the world, and the Chinese perception of the USA.

The students, like China, are driven. In fact, I would argue that they have at least three times the amount of drive as most of us Americans. While it was neat to hear about the exciting possibilities they see in their own and China’s future, some of what they had to say was less than exciting.

One of the girls said that CNN faked images from the riots in Tibet. She said that CNN dressed up Nepalese, who she could tell were Nepalese because of their skin color, and staged faux-Tibetan riots. Tom was a bit flabbergasted at the accusation and asked her how she could be for sure since China does not have a free press. She never really answered his question.

I hope this was just some half-baked theory circulating on the internet and not “real” news in the Chinese media. Either way, this girl is China’s future and if she actually believes that the US has it in for China to such an extent that our free press is concocting stories, the future of Chinese and American relations may be more complex than I ever thought.

(Of course, many of we Americans still think that Obama and Osama are related.)

Not that the US media is not influenced by politics and corporate interests, but the day CNN stages a riot is the day I shack up in the woods to grow a very long beard and clean my guns.

If you haven’t already, you should check out the comment thread of this post where Joel and Jessica of China Hope Live talk about the Chinese Media and how it’s reporting recent events versus how the American Media is – very interesting.

Holy Willie and the China Olympic Boycott

April 9th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 10 Comments »

The upcoming Chinese Olympics made writing about China even more difficult. My book comes out in November and I don’t want to date it so I had to skirt the subject. I do talk about human rights and try to do so somewhat objectively, although I suspect it probably isn’t to hard to tell where I stand.

Since I can’t address the Olympics and the storm surrounding it directly in my book, I’ll do so here.

Personally, I think China is reaping what it has sewed. The government seems to do whatever it wants to preserve its own power and grow its own economy while ignoring the suffering it inflicts on its own people and that of others around the world. Not that other governments haven’t done or do such things; it’s just that China seems to be the best at it right now: Tibet. Darfur. Labor camps. No wikipedia, etc.

I don’t mind the torch protests as long as nobody gets hurts. I don’t mind political leaders boycotting the games, but as the issue becomes more heated, I hope the athletes won’t become more pressured to follow suit. The Olympics represents the place where athletes showcase their hard work, training, and abilities. The games only come around every four years and to deny them of their chance to shine would be a great shame.

In Edinburgh’s The Scotsman, Allan Massie does a great job of putting all of this in perspective. The editorial is titled:

We don’t boycott their clothes, so why boycott their Olympics?

And goes on to write:

Anyone who regularly buys clothes from Tesco or Gap or other stores which stock Chinese goods is in no position to call on our athletes to boycott the Beijing Games or even to make some sort of public protest.

As consumers, we are customers of the Chinese regime, and even its accomplices. To pretend otherwise is hypocrisy, something which, as heirs of Holy Willie, we Scots usually do rather well.

I had to Wikipedia Holy Willie (something I couldn’t have done in China). He was a church elder who asked God for forgiveness while at the same time asking God to smite all of the other sinners. I suspect a bake sale and ExLax may have been involved.

A thousand words

March 16th, 2008 | By Kelsey | No Comments »

Foshan, China

Xing in China

March 3rd, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

I’ve noted the hotel rooms in China are equipped for nights of passion. I’ve written about the rise of Chinese promiscuity. I even wrote about Chinese hookers and ice cream. Today, on CNN there’s yet another report on xing (sex) in China.

There are several things from the piece that freak me out. The first is about the rooms that young couple rent by the hour to get their xing on:

A sign on the wall warned: “If the linens are too dirty, you will lose your deposit.”

They don’t change the sheets!

And ever more disturbing:

A walk-in abortion costs $140 at the Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital, a large public hospital in northwest Beijing. Too pricey? Skip the anesthesia and the price falls to $55.