More Nonsense on the West Coast

On one hand California is paying for prisoners to fornicate while still in prison and on the other we are charging 7th graders with felony sexual assault for swatting another 7th grader on the rear. I think the US has some issues with sex that I don't understand myself.

Mashburn and Cornelison were recently charged with five counts of felony sexual abuse, and District Attorney Bradley Berry has pledged to have them registered for life as sex offenders.

Oh, by the way, the defendants are in the seventh grade.

Messrs Mashburn and Cornelison are pupils at Patton Middle School. They were arrested in February after being observed in the vestibule, swatting girls on the butt. Butt-swatting had apparently become a form of greeting at the school – like "a handshake we do," as one female student put it.

I hope someone steps up and pays their parents' legal bills. And I hope the District Attorney has her license revoked.

Islam's Teachings of Peace and Tolerance

I'm feeling a bit passive agressive today, so I went looking for trouble. Never hard to find it these days. Here is a series of articles explaining how we just don't understand that Islam is a peaceful religion and a few extremists have reoganized its teachings to suit their own purposes.

For instance, I bet you didn't know that:

1. Warfare should be avoided; Muslims should not begin wars and should only use warfare as a last resort.
2. Warfare is a limited enterprise. Its purpose is only defensive and it should only be used to stop aggression and oppression.
3. War should be only conducted against those who fight. Non-combatants should never be targeted and every possible precaution should be taken to protect them.
4. Water resources, animals, agricultural lands and other resources should be protected from harm as much as possible.
5. Warfare should stop as soon as the enemy inclines to peace, and negotiations should be used. All treaties and agreements should be fully observed.

These are almost unanimously accepted guidelines concerning warfare in Islam.

"Unanimously accepted" by whom? Not by CAIR. Not by the Muslim Brotherhood. Not by ANY Saudi I've ever listened to.

Were you aware that Islam is a religion of tolerance?

Islam considers itself to be the true faith and it emphasizes that its followers should adhere to this faith fully and sincerely. Renouncing the faith and backsliding are acts of sin and are very much frowned upon in Islam. . . [W]e find in many places, the Qur’an advocated religious freedom and forbids compulsion and coercion in the matters of religion.

Really? Then how do you get around this little problem:

In Prophet Muhammad’s own statements, known as Hadith, we find some instances where he prescribed ‘death sentence’ against those who renounce Islam.

You have to stretch and twist things a bit, but you wind up with this:

Most scholars take these statements (Hadith) to mean punishment for high treason. According to this interpretation, if anyone leaves the faith, becomes rebellious bellicose (muharib) or joins a rebellious group of non-Muslims who want to revolt against the Muslim state, then such person/persons should be tried and may be subject to capital punishment if proved committing high treason. Thus the punishment is not for changing the religion, per se, but for rebellion and treachery. It is comparable to a US citizen renouncing his citizenship and then joining Al-Qaeda.

And suicide bombings? Really, really bad, unless it is necessary (to kill Jews)-

Suicide-bombing is a by-product of the barbarity of modern warfare. Faced with overwhelming military odds capable of carpet-bombing or “nuking” entire cities, the Japanese kamikaze pilots and Tamil Tigers resorted to suicide missions before this tactic was adopted by Islamist groups. The tactic is perhaps legitimate as a last-resort method only against military targets, due to the Koranic prohibition of suicide.

First Amendment? Alive and well in Islam (but not a single country that widely embraces it).

As far as blasphemy is concerned, Islam is not against religious debates and dialogues... Freedom of speech is a highly respected principle in Islam [a little known fact - ed.].

Men verses women? Total equality -except:

There are, however, some role differences between males and females in Islam.
*In marriage, the husband is the head of the household and it is his responsibility to take care of his wife’s and their family’s needs [that one is loaded - ed.]. . . .
*Regarding polygamy, a man may have more than one wife under Islamic law. . .
*To maintain public morality and honor of women, [Islam] emphasizes that women must appear in public in a modest attire and should not display their beauty to strangers. . . .

I hope these essays were directed at the Muslim community and not at the secular, Christian or Jewish ones. I have learned to believe absolutely nothing of what people tell me and watch how people act of late. Trust but verify and when clobbered, trust no more.

Shaming the Taliban

Afghanistan's government is trying to secure the release of Korean hostiges by shaming the Taliban. Good luck.

Echoing Karzai’s words, Afghanistan’s national council of clerics said the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, taught that no one has the right to kill women.

“Even in the history of Afghanistan, in all its combat and fighting, Afghans respected women, children and elders,” the council said. “The killing of women is against Islam, against the Afghan culture, and they shouldn’t do it.”

Someone needs to mention this theory to Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Salih Al-Uthayminin the thread below.

Killing Children and Raping Women? No Problem

Check out this thread from LGF:

Impermissible to kill women and children in All circumstances?

The Verdict of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Salih Al-Uthaymin:

The Shaykh, may Allah be merciful towards him, said in a tape recording regarding this topic:

Yes, you can kill children. Yes you can rape women if you capture them and make them slaves first.

These people are animals. And we are worried about flushing their koran down the toilet?

Nail Design

Artistic nails are very popular in China. I haven't seen any as elaborate as those displayed in the link, however, glitter and designs on false nails are abundant. I had to suggest to someone in my office who regularly meets with clients that her overdone nails were a tad inappropriate. I've also had to suggest that skirts worn in the office should at least cover your underwear.

Culinary Arts to Take a Hit in Southern China

The term "wild game" conjures up images of buffalo, elk, ostrich, antelope, boar, etc. Not so in southern China where the Chinese will eat ANYTHING that moves.

"According to Guangdong Provincial Industrial and Commercial Administration, it will conduct a comprehensive check in restaurants for wild animals, particularly to ban those "underground" game food restaurants. From now on, no restaurants will be allowed to put "game food" on their signboards.

The check will be focused on rats, hamsters, civet cats and pangolins, which are common on the recipes of many wild animal restaurants in Guangdong."

This is a pangolin in case you were wondering.

Danone Gets Clobbered by the Chinese

This political disaster illustrates how MNC's still get trampled in China. The Chinese see the French as the corrupt foreign business partner in this one. Normally when it comes to the French, I'm inclined to agree. However, in this case I'll give the French a reprive. This is a classic Chinese JV gotcha:

"It began in 2005, when executives at Groupe Danone, the French beverage and yogurt giant, say they noticed something peculiar in the financial figures coming from their joint venture in China with the Wahaha Group.

After a lengthy investigation, Danone officials concluded that their closest partner in China, Wahaha's longtime chairman, Zong Qinghou, was operating secret companies outside the joint venture - companies that were mimicking the joint venture and siphoning off millions of dollars."

This happens every day of the week. The foreign company finds a partner it thinks it can trust, cuts a fair deal making everyone wealthy and then gets taken to the cleaners.

"In late 2006, after Danone says it discovered the parallel companies, Zong agreed to sell a majority stake in those companies to Danone, which intended to fold them into the joint venture.

But after signing the agreement, Danone says, Zong pulled out of the deal and then began creating even more mirror companies, including his own separate sales division."

You CANNOT run a business in China as if you are a silent partner. You will lose every time.

Quality with Chinese Characteristics

Living here you realize that China is not going swallow America in the next decade. There are so many problems here, and the problems aren't small. You don't regularly hear developed nations expressing angst over stability - in China, it is always an issue.

My aunt referred to Shanghai as a movie set in an old western. You walk down the streets in awe of the buildings, lights and infrastructure. But when you walk behind the set, there was nothing there.

I have never had a CEO tell me he is so impressed with the quality of the merchandise supplied by manufacturers in China that he doesn't worry about quality control. Quality control is a number one headache. The Chinese DO NOT CARE about the quality of the goods being manufactured.

A friend of mine in the sourcing business was trying to explain to his manufacturer the concept of quality. Would you pay 2,000,0000 kuai for that rusty Toyota over there? Of course not, the manufacturer replied. What if I told you it had a Rolls Royce engine in it? Would you pay 2,000,000 kuai then? I would still not pay that much because the car is old and doesn't look good. Then why do you expect my client to pay for a new widget that is all pitted and poorly assembled, even if it works.

This article from Newsweek is right on the money. Someone has to pay attention to quality, and it isn't going to be the factory owners, and it isn't going to be the Chinese government. The owners don't understand and don't care - they are short term thinkers. They live in the here and now. The government doesn't have the knowledge or resources.

I mentioned in an earlier entry that ventures in China do not work if the western company doesn't play an active role in the day to day management of the subsidiary. That is true for sourcing too. If you are not involved in quality management you are going to be the lucky owner of tires that wear out in 5,000 miles or less or fish tainted with antibiotics.

Massage Parlors

Massages are one of many advantages of living in Shanghai. I'd never had one before I moved here - absolutely no interest. Now they are a part of the routine. You learn to take advantage of the good things readily available. They won't be readily available forever.

There are numerous parlors across the city where one can find an excellent masseuse. You can expect to pay roughly US $7 for a 70 minute foot massage or US $12 to $15 for a 90 minute full body oil massage. They are best after dinner when feeling fat and tired.

Some parlors have more atmosphere than others and some are cleaner than others. And some are not massage parlors at all. Beware the house of ill repute. Most are easily spotted by a red, purple or black light bulb in the entrance. There will be several young ladies in evening dresses or unusually revealing clothing parked on a couch which is visible through the glass entrance doors. Their pimp will be hustling gentlemen on the sidewalk.

Then there are the neighborhood surprises.

A friend and I were walking back from lunch and the topic of a good massage came up. Both of us wondered what was available within a reasonable walking distance of my apartment. As he glanced up he noticed a foot imprint on a sign - the traditional designation of a massage parlor - one block north of my place. The exterior looked promising so he ran up and grabbed a brochure. In addition to a foot massage and a Taiwan massage (??), the Healthy Club offers the following 8 massages ranging from US $15 to $32:

1. Limber up the muscles and alleviate the pain. Efficacy: Lysis the tired muscles, limber up the muscles and alleviate the pain, promote the circulatory, and get rid of the trash in the body.

2. Maintain the kidney. Efficacy: Keep the kidney health, remove the typhoid and the rheumatosis, improve the blood weekand regulate the adrenaline.

3. Reduce the fat and remove the toxin. Efficacy: Promote the metabolism, remove the trash, toxin and unnecessary water in the body, reduce the fat.

4. Prostatitis anti-inflammatory. Efficacy: The essential oil easily absorbed by skin and get into prostate through capsule directly, then kill all pathogens quickly. Invigorate the circulation, reduce petechiae, swelling, restain fiber. Remove symptom.

5. Maintain the stomach. Efficacy: Promote the stomach peristalsis and the , limber up alimentary canal, and help to remove regurgitation and flatulent dyspepsia.

6. Nurse the intestinal tract. Efficacy: Promote the bowel peristalsis, clean the intestinal tract, and remove the constipation quickly.

7. Vigor-joy. Efficacy: Regulate the adrenaline secreting, and regulate sexual desire. Promote to secrete L-dopa, make joyful to sour and body. Give the nutrition to all cells, then get nourishing and strong.

8. Regulation hormone. Efficacy: Promote the adrenaline secreting, increase secreting testosterone. Overcome "operation anxiety", correct tracks reflex", balance the hormone, improve the sub-healthy state of psychology and physiology, make cells nourishing and strong and improve liminal value.

Tough call really. I hope they have gift certificates. They all sound great, but I'm particularly interested in the prostatitus anti-inflamatory. Terrific stocking stuffers for Christmas and going way presents.