Extra! Extra! Obama, Obama, Obama... and some other news too
- Who knew that one simple gesture, like holding your own umbrella, could mean so much? Obama made an awesome first impression by shielding himself from rain on Sunday evening, thanks partially to the habit of Chinese officials usually having a flukey to hold their umbrellas, P. Diddy style. [Wall Street Journal]
- The LA Times has a great look at the story behild Jiyuan, a place known for manufacturing lead batteries where lead poisoning has gotten so bad that entire villages are being evacuated. [LA Times]
- So should we be calling President Obama 奥巴马 (àobāmǎ) or 欧巴马 (ōubāmǎ)? Both have been used in press releases, though the U.S. Embassy said it was now standardizing the Chinese translation of Barack's last name and should now be using the latter exclusively. [Danwei]
- A Three Gorges official has finally admitted that they can't fill the giant reservoir up to 175 meters, the maximum height at which the dam can operate and produce the most power. Without raising it to that height, power output will be unpredictable and the Three Gorges will fail to ever become the "world's largest generator of reliable power" like China had hoped. [Probe International]
- A CNN correspondent said on Monday that she was detained by Chinese security guards for displaying one of those Obamao t-shirts. [AFP]
- Suntech Power, China's largest solar panel manufacturer, is planning on opening its first American plant in Phoenix, Arizona. It'll begin production in Q3 2010... hopefully. [New York Times]
- For what it's worth, Obama's trip to Shanghai was much more grand - and plenty more friendly - than Ulysses S Grant's back in the late 1800s. [China Rhyming]
- Jottings from the Granite Studio talks about several maps that explore China's diversity by dividing the PRC into discrete "nations," each with their own "internal socioeconomic logic." [Jottings from the Granite Studio]
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