[blogfocus saturday] up in arms

1 Maalie is up in arms about boring holidays:

A year or so ago I had a wacky idea to hold my retirement party in the Coto Doñana - one of Europe's iconic wildlife wetlands, situated in the delta of the River Guadalquivir in Andalusia, south from Sevilla in Spain. Since most of my friends have some interest in wildlife, I figured I might be able to tempt a few to join me.

I therefore felt delighted, flattered and honoured when no fewer than 26 representatives of my family, former colleagues and students, Maalie Courtiers and friends (including one from Australia) sat down to dinner with me at the restaurant of La Aldea

2 Wulf's Web Den is up in arms about boring flag designs:

All the nations of the world have flags and none of them have chosen to go with a simple, chic, black and white design. The colours often have as much symbolism about them as the other elements of the design, the patterns and motifs. However, how many flags would you recognise by colour alone?

However, I am left with one question - why did no-one pick purple when they were looking for inspiration?

3 Big Chip Dale is up in arms about Tuesday:

First, the dull news.

There are times in life when you just have to cast aside your thong and go with the flow. Today was one of those days. The schools have broken up for a week so the Chipster's normal routine has been invaded by prepubescents crying about who is a 'smelly head' and what so-and-so's brother will do when he gets back from the off license.

It was a nightmare and it go no better when Gabby shouted told them to clear off and they called her something obscene involving vinegar. That prompted Monica to wave her commando dagger in their general direction. Then there was screaming, calls to the police, a slight standoff involving police with guns...

4 Heather Yaxley is up in arms about green serfdom:

A new study reports lower carbon emissions from working at the office rather than at home. I don’t know about the other 3,399,999 million people who’ve escaped the rat race, but there’s no way I’m ever going to return to being a wage slave in a regular 9-5 office environment.

Besides, the heating at home would be on during the Winter months to keep my stroppy 22-year old cat warm.

5 Wayne, whom you don't know, is up in arms about how we light the criminals' way for them:

Should we as law abiding people have a duty of care to criminals that come into our homes? Midlothian council seems to think so. They have kept the lights on in an abandoned school to make it easier for criminals so they don’t get hurt. The electricity bill comes to £3000 per year.

I think this is stupid. No one should have a duty of care to criminals. If they hurt themselves they deserve it and it is their own responsibility.

6 LFB is up in arms about 20 mph speed limits which target the wrong people:

The majority of accidents are caused by people walking into the road without looking! Whilst speed could contribute slightly, the simple fact is the pedestrian should not have been there!

Be it a youngster dashing between parked cars, running across the roads, or even city centre pedestians and their refusal to walk an extra 30 yards to the nearest pelican/zebra crossing. Lets put the blame back where it truly belongs, at the feet of the pedestrian.

7 Tim Almond, the quiet man of blogging, is up in arms about the BBC:

A week or so ago, the BBC made a documentary about how some supermarket branches had staff who were doing things like trying to deliberately extend the shelf life of food for sale.

So, I was a little surprised to hear a report on Today on Radio 4, in which a freegan (along with a BBC reporter) were trawling through bins at the back of a store picking up food, condemning the waste of perfectly edible food.

It is right that supermarkets are investigated over matters of public health, but I don't think this is what the BBC is up to. For some time, they've had it in for the supermarkets.

8 Sally in Norfolk is up in arms about ... well ... about nothing really. Anyway, I want to know why she's home and not out rambling:

With Geoff still away in Copenhagen till tomorrow evening. I had time to go and visit my Craft club ladies, see what they have all been up too and start a project I have been meaning to start for a few weeks.

Why I want to knit a fluffy bag , I really don’t know !!!

What I will do with it when its finished , I really don’t know !!!

Maybe I will send it to welshcakes as we all know how much so loves hers bags……

More in a midweek Blogfocus [there's the little matter of the Blogawards first, you know]. Hope to see you then.

[saturday quiz] ten more to test you

1 Donald F. Duncan introduced in 1929 a toy based on a weapon used by 16th-century Filipino hunters. What is it called?

2 Which was the first credit card?

3 Name anything that happened in Britain on September 3rd, 1752.

4 In which Puccini opera do friends ply their landlord with drinks to avoid paying the rent?

5 Mrs. Thomas Smith of Ryde, NSW, Australia, produced a new variety of fruit in 1868. What is it called?

6 The city of St. Petersburg stands on which river?

7 Which is the largest Spanish-speaking country in terms of population?

8 We know that a camel with one hump is a dromedary. What is a camel with two humps?

9 What's the world’s most popular Non Alcoholic Drink?

10 What are the caves at Lascaux famous for?

Answers here ...

[gay parades] russia's view of the matter

I wrote about the Russian attitude to homosexuality here.

Bag wrote, I believe tongue-in-cheek … Quick. Set the Police on to her.

Not Saussure may have missed Bag's intent [or not] … Remember James is writing from Russia, Bag.

The link shows the homosexuals beaten up in the Moscow parade.

Russia is a country of family values and traditions. It believes that a man and a woman get together, marry and have a family, though not always in that order. There's always been deviance [using the term to mean 'differing from the norm in this particular society'] but in the acting profession and certain other sections of society.

It doesn't see any problem with what they call 'normal relations' as the model for society. It's a literal country. The doctor is dressed like and looks like a doctor. The airline pilot looks like an airline pilot. The pharmaceutical chemist looks like it, in his white jacket and mask.

A little girl looks like a little angel and stays with mama and babushka. A little boy roams the yards but not the streets. A man must be strong for his woman because there are many dangers. A woman must also be strong in her own way.

This is their society and true, it is changing, becoming more westernized.

Into this comes the foreign gay activist to coordinate a demonstration of local gays. The man is therefore on a hiding to nothing because he is directly challenging a huge society's values. I'm quite surprised he is still alive. Maybe he's on borrowed time, unless he can get out of the country quickly.

Please read nothing more into my comments than what I have stated.

[discrimination] voltaire maxim must prevail

Charles Robertson has said, upon his return:

It is, apparently, a problem that we don't have anti-discrimination legislation. But why?

I'm with him to this point. Then he adds:

It is certainly appropriate that such rules should be applied to public bodies. That goes without question - the government is paid for by all of us, and exists to serve our collective interests. Bigotry has no place there.

I must respectfully disagree. However, Charles qualifies his own remarks:

If the owner of Prejudiced Ltd has an irrational hatred of a given group of individuals, and doesn't want to employ them or trade with them - why force him or her to?

Charles then adds:

Please note: I'm not defending discrimination of any kind.

To which I reply, in his comments section:

I am. Very much so. People can say what they darned well like, as far as I'm concerned. The moment we make rules about what a person can or cannot say, it's the road to tyranny.

Having strongly asserted the Voltaire maxim, [mentioned here]I also assert the Free Jersey maxim - that if they want to shoot themselves in both feet by denying themselves access to a wider (and potentially more talented) pool of labour, and prefer to artificially constrict their own available market, isn't that a good thing as it will be harder for their business to survive?

Precisely. The only arbiter here is market forces. As for the public sector, he should have every right to bad-mouth, say, dirty Trinitarians - he just won't be promoted or given any position of note. He'll just be shunned. That's prejudice against him.

So yes - I defend discrimination because it's impossible to stop and because to try to legislate it out of existence is worse than the original offence.

And there is a self-actualizing tendency against the bigot anyway, without any legislation being required.

[language] storeroom of values

This blog tries to steer a neutral course on this issue but just had to report a conversation from today:

Lady client [seeing the post on reading maps]: What's heterosexual?

Me: Opposite of homosexual.

Lady client: You mean "normal"?

[blogpower awards] final categories posted

Annual Blogpower Awards

Categories have now been prepared and are posted over at Blogpower for your perusal.

[greener than thou] bush and the eu jockey for position

This is bad:

First some good: Angela Merkel has called for a major [ecological] deal, including slowing the rise in average temperatures by way of a cut in global emissions by 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.

However, George W Bush, who has consistently refused to countenance Kyoto, instead seems to be trying to set up a separate framework on climate change talks outside the G8.

In Washington, he said the US would hold a series of meetings bringing together "nations that produced most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly growing economies like India and China".

"The United States is in the lead," he said. "The world is on the verge of great breakthroughs that will help us become better stewards of the environment."

I think if you look through this blog, which is generally quite pro-American, even pro-Republican, if not pro the current White House incumbents, you'll never find me refer to Bush as an environmental criminal. Now you can. Bush is an environmental criminal.

This is good

Odiyya reports that despite Bush's attempts to have it his own way:

Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived in BC today amidst a ceremonial welcome by the provinces First Nations community. Arnold was given three ceremonial gifts before getting down to business with BC Premier Gordon Campbell and signing a five point agreement on fighting global warming.

The two leaders have committed to working together on the issue regardless of the participation of the US and Canadian federal governments.

So, while world leaders squabble over who'll get the kudos and whose plan they'll use, other leaders actually get down to business.

[blogpower awards] state of categories on friday

This is the state of play, as of Friday, concerning the Categories for the awards. Naturally, the categories need reducing - maybe 12 altogether. Please comment over at Blogpower [sidebar]:

Possible categories:

Shameless self promotion [8]
BestProse [7]
BestLayout and style [7]
Best Ranter [5]
Politically incorrect [5]
Sadly missed [5]
Prettiest blog [5]
Sadly Missed [5]
Tastiest blog [5]
Award for services to blogging [5]
Blogger we feel most sorry for [5]
Best Blogger [4]
Best Blogpower blogger [4]
Best Blog name [4]
Humorous post [4]
Under-rated [4]
Most unintentionally humorous [4]
Worthy blog [4]
Most over-rated [4]
Best Post [4]
Most curmudgeonly [4]
Best Fisker [3]
Most original blogger [3]
Best Political Blog [3]
Likely to be under security surveilance [3]
Collegiate blogger [for Blogpowerers] [3]
Likely to still be blogging 10 years from now... [3]
Best Blog by country [3]
Best Template [3]
Best Swearer [2]
Best Cultural Blog [2]
Best Transgender blog [2]
Slowest to load [2]
Best Expatriate blog [2]
Gracious loser in such a competition [2]
Most humorous blogger [2]
Prolific blogger [2]
Unintelligible [2]
Pre-pubescent language [2]
Weird blog [2]
Idiotic blog [2]
Moaner [2]
Best Award Scheme [1]
Prolific [1]
Diverse [1]
Fatwa-worthy [1]
Prolix blogger [1]
You could take home to your mother [1]
Link-whore[1]

Certain categories might be combined here. Remember that the final selection is posted this evening.

I have switched off comments on this post as they should more properly be put on the Blogpower version of the post.

[ségolène] still very much a chance

The headline said:

Ségolène Royal plaide pour une opposition constructive

… and well might she plead for this. She wants another shot five years from now, her personal popularity still intact. All she needs now is to separate herself from the "mad as a hatter" policies and infighting of her beloved left and she'd possibly be in.

Let's face it - Sarko is on a hiding to nothing. He was hired to do unpleasant things. No matter how well he does that, even including leftist women on his team, that will make him more unpopular. I know some French women and they don't like him - physically, as a man, that is. "Looks" is a huge factor with them.

Segie looks better. All she has to do is sit back, incapable of being attacked and enter, the queen, five years later.

[spamming] sometimes it's much more

I genuinely was not going to run another post on this topic but certain things have happened.

From the comments on the last post it is abundantly clear that it's a huge problem but even more worrying is that they're getting past the usual checks and balances. In other words, it is a human or a number of paid employees doing it with a stock pasted message. The captcha is then negotiated by hand.

I don't say it's right but my approach to anyone coming to this site is as follows:

1] If it's a "good site here" compliment and url, I ignore the guy. Especially if he does not have a standard embedded name above. They're getting better. They go into a long blurb now about how you "captured their thoughts exactly" etc. and then the url. Always the url.

2] If he comes back some other time and it's different, with no url, then I visit.

3] If I see his message anywhere else in the sphere, I go back and delete him completely.

4] If it was just a message and a standard embedded name link, then Google has done some of the filtering work already and I'm more likely to visit but after some little time.

5] If he's already in someone's sidebar, I'm also more likely to visit.

Old Friends

Sometimes our own friends have been drawn into something and they recommend us to visit such and such a site and join up. One therefore unwittingly visits.

I'd lay money our friend doesn't know what he's actually into and feels that we're off our brain to suspect the scheme. He'd be hurt that we suspect him of something nefarious but nothing could be further from the truth.

It's not that we suspect him. It's the scheme which is "all wrong". We merely have to sniff the air and pick up that unmistakable whiff. Here are some of the signs:

1] If there are some high-sounding but ultimately meaningless messages like "the world connected in cyberspace - a world in peace and understanding" etc., that's pure Djwahl Kuhl speak;

2] Formless, meaningless aquas and light pastel shades, so beloved of the "enlightened" and suggesting peace and mutual tolerance and understanding - this is a known front for these people;

3] Any talk of money. Any suggestion that this thing is connected with money, then colour me gone, even if it's just an offer to go "premium". Once you're in, technically you can stay "free" but it defeats the whole purpose of being in the scheme in the first place. Certain vital information access is denied you unless your "upgrade". Get out quick.

4] Graphics of characters in that hentai, postulating style, especially with black as a dominant colour, with bland expressions which leave you with a feeling of coldness;

5] Any suggestion of rewards for introducing your friends to the scheme.

My only advice here, as already mentioned, is "get out now, while you still can".

[spamming] litigation the slow way

They appear to have sprung the Seattle Spammer:

Alleged spam mogul Robert Alan Soloway was arrested on Wednesday after being indicted by a federal grand jury. The man the Washington State Office of the Attorney General has dubbed the Seattle Spammer was given an August 6 trial, during which he is set to face 35 charges related to suspected fraudulent Internet activities.

Now multiply him by all the botnets out there and it's a very sorry tale. Some get in to the system now in the normal way, even through word verification, such as a recent pest named Alex or Alec, who's been troubling some of us.

Perhaps this is the answer to spammers - it certainly cuts out the long expensive litigation. I found this one interesting:

A widely used technique to fight this technique is the 'poison' CGI script. The script creates a page with several bogus email addresses and a link to itself. Spammers' software visiting the page would harvest the bogus email addresses and follow up the link, entering an infinite loop polluting their lists with bogus email addresses.

[blogpower awards] categories so far

Over at Blogpower, [click on pic], the current state of play on categories is being shown. Please get over there sometime this evening to comment on these. The timetable for the awards over at Blogpower is:

Friday, June 1st, 21:00, London time: categories are posted for your perusal and comment, strictly for 24 hours.

Saturday, June 2nd, 21:00, London time: Final categories are posted and Nominations invited for each category. Meanwhile we advertise the awards.

Tuesday, June 5th, 21:00, London time: Nominations close.

Wednesday, June 6th, 21:00, Freepolls for Voting are posted at Blogpower

Wednesday, June 13th, at 21:00: Freepolls are closed and results are readied for posting, although these will be patently obvious from the running tallies anyway.

A.S.A.P: Final results in each category are posted.

[interconnectedness] ignore it at your peril

Lady MacLeod was actually talking about the horror of living in a war zone with no chance of escape:

There’s one thing about violent death you don’t see on the cinema screen, you can’t get from a book, and that’s the smell. I have been to a couple of war zones, but I knew I would be leaving.

The desperation that must come when you know you can’t leave; you can’t get your children to a better, safe life. The death of hope is by far worse than the physical death of the body.

.. but the main thesis of her piece was that:

I think the universe pushes together the people and circumstances that have business to be done. Not destiny, I don’t think our lives are preordained. I think we have choices.

which she then proceeds to try to negate to an extent. However, Agatha Christie agreed with her thesis and this is seen in this excerpt from a Harley Quin story:

"You say your life is your own," went on Mr Satterthwaite to her, "But can you dare to ignore the chance that you are taking part in a gigantic drama under the orders of a divine Producer?

Your cue may not come till the end of the play; it may be totally unimportant, a mere walk-on part, but upon it may hang the issues of the play if you fail to give the cue to another player.

The whole edifice may crumple. You, as you, may not matter to anyone in the world but you as a person in a particular place and context may matter unimaginably."

She sat down, still staring at him.

Douglas Adams hit the nail on the head with his facetiously stated but quite seriously intended "fundamental interconnectedness of all things" [Dirk Gently].

Then lastly, in a slight shift from the above but still germane to the issue - the whole life system of Australian aboriginal tribes [kourri] was based on the notion of the "oneness" of your environment and everything and everyone in it and you in the context of all that.

What we have here is the enormity of the human ego versus the enormity of the universe. Zaphod Beeblebrox can go into a cabinet which shows him the universe and his place in it but emerge unscathed, ego intact but as everyone who's read that book knows, he did it with help.

[map reading] some can, some can't

What do you make of this one?

[Research] from the University of Warwick suggests that not only are straight women worse at map reading than straight males, they are also outperformed by bisexual men, gay men, gay women and bisexual women - in that order. The study looked at what's called mental rotation. This is our ability to mentally visualise an object from different perspectives.

Applied to real life, the most practical example of mental rotation is map reading, says Dr Michael Tlauka, an expert in gender differences and spatial ability from Flinders University. "This is one mental task where studies have shown that men consistently outperform women. It's not a myth at all - map reading and spatial skills in general, you'll find that men outperform women."

Well, I have two comments. Firstly, give me a heterosexual woman any day and I care not what she can and can't do. Secondly, I'm not so hot myself.

Sure I can follow a map without problems and without a map can usually find a way to a given place by some sort of radar but if I try to return - I'm lost. I lose all orientation.

I did this with four groups of girls last week, asking each to direct me from Home at the bottom of the map to the Shopping Centre at the top. Results were mixed. Certainly some girls weren't too bad but the majority confirmed the study above.

Interesting. Further reading here.

[blogfocus wednesday] midweek version

1 A triple namer, with the initial in the middle, Andrew K. Brown's Someday I Will Treat You Good is sporting a recipe for pork:

This is a Moro recipe. The skin of the loin is lightly cut at 1 cm intervals and salt put over. The flesh is rub with a mix of salt, garlic and fennel. It goes into a hot oven for 30 minutes or so and then the heat is turned down to 180 C and the pork cooks for another 25 mins per 500g. We served this with a sherry gravy, apple sauce, roast potatoes, spinach and peas.

Go to it, gastronomes.

2 J. Arthur MacNumpty is another triple namer [with the initial initial initial] and like all self-respecting bloggers, is reflecting on electoral systems:

People are starting to digest the effects of alphabetisation on the STV Council Ballot Paper, including Grant, who now wishes to be known as Grant Aardvark-Thoms. If I were him, I'd change my first name to Abraham for maximum effect, but there you go.

Anyway, people are considering if maybe it's time to change this, and randomise the order of candidates on the ballot paper. I'm not so sure about this, I think it won't actually change anything, it'll just replace an alphabetical advantage with a completely random advantage.

Others suggest having each ballot paper have the candidates in a different order. Again, I'm sceptical, as this could mean that the way someone casts a vote is determined by when they get to the polling station.

3 Longrider is in the wars over there and I can relate to his internet woes:

For the first time in my life, I sought medical advice. Normally, I just take the anti-histamine and get on with life. After a week of increasingly severe symptoms, I realised that this method was not working. That was followed by our phone line going dead.

It is at times like this when you realise just how much the Internet has become apart of your life. Notes for an article I’m planning? Backed up on-line. Banking? On-line. Shopping? On-line.

Then there was that eBay auction I had coming to an end on Sunday ... Still, despite BT telling us that the line wouldn’t be up and running until Wednesday, we have a connection, so I’m making the most of it ...

4 Is CityUnslicker getting leftist in his old age? I thought I was reading Oliver Kamm until I got into the article:

Noam is of course, near mad. A world class master of seeing evil in good and vice versa. Capable of Tony Benn catastrophic misjudgements. He shares some things in common too with Gordon Brown; such as his epic struggle against common sense.

Nonetheless he does write well and also makes good efforts to quote from sources, dubious so some are. Overall his attitude to US and UK imperialism is consistent and blind. Hezbollah and Fatah are the good guys, Ahmedinnerjacket a true man. Hugo Chavez does no wrong. Instead all the enemies are to be found at home and his world is a conspiracy of evil.

5 Tea and Margaritas brings us the important news about the Guelph masochist:

Police in Guelph, Ont., are looking for a man who allegedly approached women and asked them to kick him in the groin.

Three women reported similar incidents to police and two of the women reported the suspect was on a bicycle. The various incidents allegedly occurred over the last two months. The suspect is described as white, in his early twenties, with a brown goatee and a large gap between his front teeth.

None of the women reported injuries.

6 The Spine shows its usual class in this piece on Tony Lookalikes:

‘It was good while it lasted…’ So says Tony Badger, who, for the last ten years, has been the UK’s top Tony Blair lookalike. ‘I guess I was born with a golden face,’ smiles the 53 year old steam train enthusiast and part-time lingerie model from Kent.

‘Only I’ve had to make it more golden over the years to keep pace with Tony’s tan. That’s been the most difficult part of the job. From one week to the next, we never knew what colour he’d be. One day he’d be a Bermudan beige and the next a shade of Moroccan coffee.’

7 An exciting blogger who has come to a number of fellow blogger's attention, Vorzheva, the Spanish Pundit, who is right on the front line of Spanish politics, opposing the terrorists and bringing the latest news. If you are a serious blogger and are interested in world news from the horses' mouths, this is a must:

The Government should know that, the more he attacks the FORO ERMUA, the bigger will be our strength.

If in the end this felony is achieved and they impose the sanction, FORO ERMUA will appeal the citizens to have enough funds to pay it and will dedicate the rest to make stronger the citizen’s movilization against the ignominous process of dialogue, cession and pact with the terrorist band ETA.

A band that has already 900 deaths in their backs, thousands of hurt people, dozens of thousands of menaced and hundred of thousands of displaced ...

Please excuse the English - Vorzheva is Spanish and this is a fair job of bringing us the news.

8 Will, of a General Theory of Rubbish, replete with communist red star and full Marxist arsenal, might consider me the first up against the wall, come the revolution. It was he who penned the testimonial in my sidebar and grateful I am for it. Strangely, I'm with him in this post:

Palestinian Surgeon General's Warning: Cigarettes, like liberal democracy, may be hazardous to your health. Pregnant women should not smoke, as It could damage the health of a future martyr. Also, Benson & Hedges™ brand cigarettes are manufactured in Western facilities where they may come into contact with infidels and/or Jews. Thus, avoid at all costs and smoke some sub-standard shite like what you would buy in The Barras for at least a third of the cost.

Next time is Saturday, readers. Between now and then, please give us the Categories you'd like to see competed in, in the Blogpower Awards.

Wulf's Web Den coming up on Saturday. Cheers, comrades.

[wednesday quiz]ten more for your delectation

On this sizzling hot day, how many can you get this time:

1 Who do the Italians call Topolino?

2 How many counters does a player start with in Backgammon?

3 Parnassus was the sacred mountain home of the muses and of which Greek god?

4 After how many years marriage do you celebrate your Emerald wedding anniversary?

5 Europeans are familiar with A-4 size paper. What is the area of A-0 paper?

6 In Roman numerals, what is the letter M with a bar over it?

7 Who is Bibendum better known as?

8 Which later famous actress won the 1936 'Miss Hungary' title but had to give it up because she was under 16?

9 Where would you find together a verso and a recto?

10 You know that bigamy is having a second marriage partner. What is digamy?

Answers here.

[pommygranate] at that difficult stage

Pommygranate actually seems to have taken the lead in the Aussie poll [104] over his next rival [89].

Colin Campbell and the Englishman - I can't find any link to vote in their poll. Wish they'd tell me.

So, as Pommy's the only live "awarder" we know of at this moment, slip over, if you would and place a vote for him.

Colin referred to "vote stuffing" and he's right in one sense but in another, one plays the game according to the rules and if the rules allow you one vote a day, we'd be crazy not to do it.

Anyway, my vote today's been placed.

Now, I simply didn't know about Colin and the Englishman so I think we need some sort of central blogger who collates and announces these things. If you are in an award, simply contact him. What do you think?

[china] wrath of the dragon

Not content with killing their citizens with lightning:

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Lightning has killed 56 people in China this year, 17 more than the same period last year, Yu Rucong, deputy chief of the China Meteorological Administration, said on Friday. Another 65 people were injured, 26 more than in the previous year.

... they are now executing their government ministers:

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007

China has sentenced the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration to death after he was convicted of corruption, state media has reported. Zheng Xiaoyu was sentenced after being found guilty of taking bribes and dereliction of duty, state Xinhua news agency reported.

Zheng, 62, who was sacked in 2005 after seven years in the job, could have his sentence reduced on appeal. He was expelled from the Communist Party earlier this year. The death sentence is unusually harsh for such a senior figure, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Shanghai. Last month Zheng was accused of accepting more than 5m yuan ($650,000) in bribes to approve hundreds of drugs.

Thirty-one other people were also alleged to have been involved in the scandal, including Zheng's wife, Liu Naixue, and his son, Zheng Hairong. The sentence comes amid a food safety scandal that has hit Chinese manufacturers. Two company managers have been detained, accused of adding melamine to food additives. US inspectors allege this led to the death of a number of cats and dogs after they ate contaminated pet food.

The Chinese seem to like execution as a penalty and they do so much of it that some years back they decided to take it to the streets:

March 13 2003

China is equipping its courts with mobile execution vans as it shifts away from the communist system's traditional bullet in the head, towards a more "civilised" use of lethal injection.

Intermediate Courts of the southern province of Yunnan were issued with 18 new execution vans on February 28 and a court official said some have already been used.

"We cannot tell you how many executions so far, otherwise you could work out from the daily rate how many we carry out," the official said.

Chinese authorities keep execution numbers a secret, but Western human rights monitors believe it is about 15,000 a year, more than the rest of the world's judicial executions combined.

Living in China. Let's pack our bags and emigrate now.