First: Where is the photograph supporting this story?
It is not here, why?
Second: Many, many American scientists, architects, engineers, contractors, and construction workers have often been involved in these Chinese construction projects--- and manufacturing rebar--- in China, and the profits they have derived from construction have been fabulous.
When was the last time you ever read a news report in the Wall Street Journal with these money-grubbing capitalists proclaiming they were concerned about any "shoddy" construction they were involved in? Never.
There is no end to the most disgusting anti-communist, chauvinist and outright hate-mongering being spewed by the big-business corporate apologists passing themselves off as "journalists."
The snob actress and "movie star," Sharon Stone, whose claim to fame is giving everyone a peek at her little boobs in the movies and crying for a bunch of parasitic monks who need a numb-skull like the Dali Lama to do their thinking for them, rushed to the "aid" of the earthquake victims saying, "The Chinese people are being punished for the mistreatment of monks and the Dali Lama." These parasitic monks are worthless; their contribution to society is sitting around praying all day as servants wait on them hand and foot as if they are God's gift to the human race when all they are is a burden on society as the rest of the people are supposed to supply them with food while other servants feed them and even wipe their butts and push the gold-plated toilet handles and bathe them.
This has been the history of what passes for "journalism" whenever it comes to writing about human tragedy in socialist countries, be it the former Soviet Union, Cuba or people suffering hunger from drought in North Korea.
These "journalists" and their publishers find a way to gloat with glee at every opportunity no matter how catastrophic and tragic the suffering--- be the suffering due to drought, hurricane, volcanoes or earthquakes when tragedy and natural disaster strikes in a socialist country.
The manner in which these journalists report stories of flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa or hurricane damage in New Orleans is quite the opposite. Then it isn't about attaching blame, it becomes about praying for the victims.
These same "journalists" never question why our military doesn't put as much effort into helping people in our own country who are victims of natural disasters with the eagerness and rapidity they launched "Campaign Iraqi Freedom."
As someone who has worked construction in this country as both a roofer and carpenter on large and small projects, I could take "journalists" on a tour of some real "shoddy" construction projects if this is truly their concern.
Not once has our great "free media" had the courage to address the problems resulting in the deadly I-35W bridge collapse or question how it is that United States Congressman James Oberstar receives huge campaign contributions from some of the construction firms involved.
If our great "free media" were truly concerned with what might be "shoddy construction" in China these "journalists" should start to investigate the path of corruption paved with dollars from China back to the United States.
Some "journalist" might want to ask Sharon Stone why God is punishing our own victims of floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.
I wonder if a story has ever appeared in a Chinese newspaper asking why in the most advanced country in the world there is such shoddy construction that an improperly maintained levy broke causing flooding of an entire city; the result of one minor hurricane.
I would be willing to bet that in China, unlike here in the United States, there will be many full-fledged investigations to determine if in fact there was a problem with "shoddy construction" practices or the materials used in construction; perhaps there will even be an investigation to see if the rebar used was up to specs.
If these investigations find someone to be at fault I am sure there will be severe punishments meted out to those found guilty. If any form of corruption is found involving shoddy construction methods or materials I think I know what the punishment will be... unfortunately, those responsible for the collapse of the the I-35W Bridge spanning the mighty Mississippi River and those who allowed the levies in New Orleans to go without proper maintenance and repair will not receive the same ten-cent punishment.
Alan L. Maki
Sensitive China quake photo removed
Jun 15, 6:20 AM (ET)
By CARA ANNA
JUYUAN, China (AP) - A photograph hinting at shoddy school construction was pulled from an exhibition about last month's devastating earthquake, an apparent indication of rising government sensitivity over an issue that has already prompted angry protests from parents of children killed.
The photo showed a hand clutching a twisted piece of steel rebar that looked no thicker than a pencil, taken from the ruins of the middle school in the town of Juyuan that was one of 40 that collapsed in the May 12 quake.
The picture featured prominently among a collection of quake artifacts when it opened to the public last week. By the weekend, though, it was gone. Organizers were reluctant to say exactly why.
"We don't know if we were told to remove the photo," said Wu Zhiwei, assistant to the general manager of Museum Cluster Jianchuan, the organizer of the exhibit and the largest privately run museum in China. "And if we were told to remove the photo, we're not sure we could tell you."
School collapses have become one of the most charged issues in the quake recovery process, and one that local communist leaders seem anxious to suppress.
The entire state-controlled media have almost completely ignored the issue, apparently under the instructions of the propaganda bureau. Parents and volunteers helping them who have questioned authorities about the issue have been rounded up, detained, and threatened.
Juyuan has become a center of the collapsed schools issue, with police pulling grieving parents away from a courthouse where they knelt this month in an attempt to submit a lawsuit.
On Sunday, police cordoned off the area surrounding the town's collapsed middle school where nearly 300 students died, angering parents who had come to observe the 35th day of mourning, a key date in local tradition.
"It's as if we're bad people now," said a man who said he was the father of a dead student.
"This is our last chance to burn incense and they don't let us in," said the man, who declined to give his name, underscoring a growing reluctance to be publicly identified and possibly targeted by authorities.
Engineers hired to inspect the school rubble say many of the schools, including the one in Juyuan, were poorly sited and badly built. The government has promised to submit a report on the schools by June 20, possibly opening the door to charges or lawsuits.
Authorities are always suspicious of independent activism, however, and the possibility of being implicated in school problems offers officials a strong incentive to suppress information about such cases.
Despite the removal of the photo from Juyuan, the quake exhibit on a sprawling campus about an hour's drive from the provincial capital of Chengdu still offered potent reminders of the school tragedies, including schoolbook bags, smashed desks and children's shoes.
Identification cards, crushed appliances and hundreds of other personal items were pulled from the rubble and donated by military rescuers and volunteers. They were displayed alongside hundreds of photos of victims, relief workers and quake devastation.
The collection even included a megaphone said to have been used by Premier Wen Jiabao as he toured the ruins soon after the quake.
The exhibit ends with a wall of photos of about 2,000 people killed in the quake, China's worst natural disaster in a generation.
Visitors on Saturday said they found the exhibit both open and moving.
"It reflects the reality," said Hou Mincu, a retired professor from Sichuan's capital, Chengdu.
Zheng Chengzhi, a 42-year-old worker, was also from Chengdu.
"The earthquake isn't finished yet," said Zeng. "Construction and other issues, we need to talk about these things."
