snowstorm coverage by

Adam Minter discovers “belt tongues” that help disable your car's seatbelt alarm without you needing to put on your seatbelt. Jeez, it's like people want to die in a traffic accident here or something. [Shanghai Scrap]
The heaviest snowfall in at least 54 years just hit Beijing, causing tens of thousands of people to be stranded on highways linking the city with Shanxi, Hebei, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. Tragically, the snow also caused a primary school cafeteria's roof to collapse in Hebei, killing three children and injuring 28 others. [Bloomberg]
An international human rights group is urging China to abolish its secretive “black jails,” a cottage industry created to keep petitioners from ever reaching their final destinations. They tend to become the most crowded at politically sensitive times... like, most likely, the upcoming President Obama visit. [Reuters]

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Extra! Extra! Seatbelt foilers, snowfall in Beijing, and Pearl River residents sickened by pollution