Update: Wenzhou train accident: Get the cash & shut up !

Oooops - quick money for the relatives / families of the Wenzhou train accident.
That S M E L L S !
Please read here
quote
Wenzhou Train Crash Families Paid Off by Authorities
Urged to sign quickly and cremate the bodies fast for a bonus

By Chen Yilian
Epoch Times StaffCreated: Jul 29, 2011

Family members grieve after identifying a loved one's body. (STR/AFP Getty Images)

The compensation agreement offered to families of victims of July 23’s Chinese bullet train collision by the Ministry of Railways has raised eyebrows. In exchange for the payment, the families must cremate the victims as soon as possible. And the agreement includes a “bonus” for quick cremation, which has inevitably been viewed as a means of trying to stem more negative fallout.

The Ministry of Railways stipulated that the families who accept the negotiation and sign the agreement shortly after the crash could receive an amount in the tens of thousands of yuan as a cash bonus.

So when a family member of Lin Yan, a victim of the crash, for example, signed an agreement with the Steering Committee of the Incident Management Task Force at 1:00 am on July 26, she received 500,000 yuan ($77,600): 450,000 yuan ($69,840) was compensation, while 50,000 yuan ($7,760) was a bonus for signing the agreement soon after the incident.

Family members that accept financial compensation are also reported to be signing away their rights to pursue legal action against the authorities in future.

After hearing about this, Shu Kexin of the Chinese People’s University Public Policy Research Center commented in his blog that using the term “bonus” gives the impression that the authorities are eager to finalize the incident quickly, with minimal fuss, and that they don’t care enough about the families.

A resident of Wenzhou City surnamed Cheng told The Epoch Times that this incident should be dealt with from a humanitarian perspective. He said: “Urging the families of the victims to sign the agreement as soon as possible is trying to smooth over the incident, so as not to make things worse. However, family affection is priceless, and it is meaningless no matter how much money is paid, as the beloved ones can never come back. Being a third party, I think the amount of the compensation, 500,000 yuan, is way too low.”

The family member of another victim named Li Jianzhong, 44, concurred: “Now that the identity of the victims has been confirmed, I wonder why the authorities do not allow the families of the victims to claim the remains. That’s the first thing that should be dealt with. Now that they are dead, the amount of compensation is of secondary importance.”
The handling of the disaster has faced much similar criticism. People wonder why the wrecked cars, along with victims’ remains, were buried so quickly and why names of the victims were not released promptly—and have still not been released. Though it had been announced that there were no signs of life in the fallen cars, an injured child was later rescued.

Another contested issue is why the Railway Ministry, which is responsible for the accident, should be allowed to conduct its own investigation; many are now calling for an independent investigation.
unquote
Nice !
I am quite curious how & when they will get this payout.
Cash ?
By TT from Beijing into their bank account if they have one ?
So in generally a persons life is less than USD 100,000 worth in China.
Good to know.
Here the list of the victims - it was said that 2 Americans also have died - this must be the number 6 & 26 on the list.

Sir Donald also talking now !

Here some response regarding the remarks of the Beijing General Manager for HK SAR Mr Wang. Donald Tsang is speaking. Honestly we do not need to love both of them.
Mr Wang ? I have no idea - but I guess he comes out of a political gang trying already to influx on Hong Kong as much as possible. One country - two systems ? 2046 is still some time to go guys !
This is from our beloved THE STANDARD:
quote
Tsang deflects Wang criticism of SAR teamDiana Lee and Colleen Lee Friday, July 29, 2011
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday brushed aside criticism that the SAR's civil servants are weak in long-term planning.
His remarks came two days after Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office director Wang Guangya said in Beijing that local civil servants are not bossy enough. Wang urged the government to work more on long-term planning.
On his Facebook page, Upper Albert Road, Tsang said: "The team of the SAR government, be it political appointees or civil servants, has long been working for Hong Kong's long-term interests. We set out policies together.
"In the policy address to be delivered in October this year, we hope to put forth feasible short-term, mid-term and long-term measures to handle housing and home ownership problems, ease the income gap, raise the living standard of grassroots people, improve retirement protection schemes and provide better support for the elderly."
Tsang said in the past few years many of the policies introduced involved long-term planning, including the launch of major infrastructure projects, developing six industries, the minimum wage and putting forth political reform.
These, he said, pushed Hong Kong's development in the political, economic and social arenas.
The government will launch a joint consultation for this year's policy address and next year's budget which will help ensure policies set out will be financially supported, he said.
Meanwhile, Executive Council convener Leung Chun-ying disagreed with speculation that Wang's remarks were aimed at the chief executive.
"The central government has been supporting the chief executive's governance according to the law," he said. However, Leung did not say who Wang may have been referring to in his comments to a group of SAR university students in Beijing.
Leung, tipped as a contender in next year's chief executive election, praised civil servants as professional, capable and diligent, and had adapted to changing times according to the needs of society.
He said effective governance relies on long-term planning and professional execution along with understanding of social phenomena and structural conflicts such as poverty and economic development.
"In the past it was the British who mapped out the planning that was executed by Hong Kong's civil servants. Since the handover, it was Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong," Leung said.
"Hong Kong people need to plan as well as execute [policies]."
Leung said civil servants have faced a greater workload since the handover with the same manpower, as society has become more politicized.
unquote

2-step verification: stay safe around the world in 40 languages

(Cross-posted on the Online Security Blog)

Earlier this year, we introduced a security feature called 2-step verification that helps protect your Google Account from threats like password compromise and identity theft. By entering a one-time verification code from your phone after you type your password, you can make it much tougher for an unauthorized person to gain access to your account.

People have told us how much they like the feature, which is why we're thrilled to offer 2-step verification in 40 languages and in more than 150 countries. There’s never been a better time to set it up: Examples in the news of password theft and data breaches constantly remind us to stay on our toes and take advantage of tools to properly secure our valuable online information. Email, social networking and other online accounts still get compromised today, but 2-step verification cuts those risks significantly.

We recommend investing some time in keeping your information safe by watching our 2-step verification video to learn how to quickly increase your Google Account’s resistance to common problems like reused passwords and malware and phishing scams. Wherever you are in the world, sign up for 2-step verification and help keep yourself one step ahead of the bad guys.

To learn more about online safety tips and resources, visit our ongoing security blog series, and review a couple of simple tips and tricks for online security. Also, watch our video about five easy ways to help you stay safe and secure as you browse.

Update on 12/1/11: We recently made 2-step verification available for users in even more places, including Iran, Japan, Liberia, Myanmar (Burma), Sudan and Syria. This enhanced security feature for Google Accounts is now available in more than 175 countries.

Posted by Nishit Shah, Product Manager, Google Security

Mr Wang Guangya is talking..........

The general manager from Beijing overseeing the Hong Kong SAR & Macao made some comments about Hong Kong civil servants. The first hit out was indirectly against the 1997 ended british administration. But he did hit out more - very nice packaged and very indirect - but it seems he has meant the top of the Hong Kong "Government". So ? 2046 is still some time to go.......but guys like Mr Wang will mostly not have the pleasure to see that day of the 1st of July 2046 !
Here some of the news readings about that:
Very short message from RTHK - click it !
And here our beloved THE STANDARD - click it !
SCMP: Civil servants hitting back - click it !
China Daily: HK Edition - click it !
Harmony seems to be one of the most favourite words of chinese officials:
"On the upcoming elections, Mr Wang hoped that they could be conducted in a harmonious way."
With elections I guess he means the next HK CE "election" which is conducted by 1,200 people - isn't it ?
Happy (ahhh harmonious) elctions from my side then !
A harmonious cheers from Mr Wang himself here (but it looks like water only...............):

Update: Wenzhou train accident

Mr. Wen going there himself - then you need to consider the problem as serious or the other way around the concerns of the Government as very serious.
Please see the video here:

Catch the London Underground with Google Maps

(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog)

Starting today, you can get public transport directions for London within Google Maps. One of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas, London is a major destination for both business travelers and tourists. More than 1 billion passengers are serviced by Transport for London (TfL) every year across over 18,000 bus stops and over 250 Underground stations.

Let’s say you’re at Trafalgar Square, and you want to visit Madame Tussauds. With a simple directions search, you’ll see all the possible public transport connections. In Maps, click “Get directions” in the left-hand panel, and then the train icon to see public transport directions. Enter your departure location next to A, and your destination next to B. These can be either street addresses or names of popular places, businesses or restaurants. When you’re done, click the “Get directions” button and suggestions for your trip will appear below.

Public transport directions are available on both Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile, so you always have access to a trip planner. When you’re on mobile, Maps even uses your current location to determine the best trip to your destination. Just search for your destination location, select it on the map and choose the “Directions” option. The suggested trips will be based on your location by default, and provide you multiple alternatives whenever possible.

If you’re using an Android-powered device, you can also get public transport directions with Transit Navigation (Beta) in Google Maps. With this new feature, which we launched earlier this month, you’ll get alerts when it’s time to get off the bus or train at your destination or to make a transfer. Transit Navigation is available in all regions where public transport directions are available, including London.

TfL is among the first agencies in a major European city to make its timetable information publicly available through the London Datastore. We’re strong supporters of open data and bringing information out into the open, and believe that making information publicly accessible can be an enormous engine of economic growth and innovation. ITO World has been a great partner in this launch by ensuring TfL’s data was adapted correctly and ready for our use.

Public transport directions are available for all Underground, bus, tram and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) lines, and we’ll include more public transport information as soon as it’s available. Whether you use public transport every day or infrequently, as a commuter, on a business trip or as a tourist, we hope that public transport directions in London make planning your trips more convenient!

Posted by Thijs van As, Associate Product Manager, Transit Directions

Save your friends from outdated email—help them switch to Gmail

(Cross-posted from the Gmail Blog)

I switched to Gmail the first month it came out, mere seconds after receiving an invitation from a friend and two years before joining Google. Since then, I’ve invited hundreds of people, most of whom have happily made the switch to Gmail and never looked back.

But I have one friend, Andy, who’s the straggler in the group. A couple months ago, I sent out an email about a barbecue I was having. On the “To:” line, there were 15 Gmail addresses and then Andy. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Shortly thereafter, Andy was complaining to us about how much spam he got. That was the last straw.

My friends and I sat Andy down and talked him through how to import his contacts. We answered his questions, guilt-tripped him a little, and a few painless minutes later we were done. Andy had Gmail.

We all have a story like this. On the Gmail team, we affectionately refer to them as “email interventions.” We hear about them all the time: the cousin who finally switched from an embarassing address like hottie6elliot1977 to a more professional elliot.d.smith@gmail.com, a co-worker who helped his dentist switch after he heard her grumble about having to pay for IMAP access, etc.

It’s for these folks we created emailintervention.com, a site that makes it easier than ever to help your friends and family make the switch.



Staging an intervention is simple:

1. Visit emailintervention.com
   
2. Sign in and automatically identify who from your contacts has yet to make the switch, or just enter a friend’s email address manually
   
3. Choose from one of three intervention message templates (“straightforward”, “concerned” or “ embarrassed”), and add your own intervention video if you’d like
   
4. Send a customized email and follow up as needed

Your loved ones are counting on you. Even if they don't know it yet.

Posted by Peter Harbison, Product Marketing Manager