Summary Railways are the safest means of transportation among all methods in this study. Railway safety-wise, China and France are about twice as safe as Japan and Germany. You are about 2.2 times as likely to die in an American airplane as in a Chinese rail car, traveling the same distance. You are about 200 times as likely to die in a vehicle on an American highway … [Read more...] about China Railways Safety Record: A Comparative Study
Ye Shiwen follow-up: media scorecard (BBC & New York Times)
First, let me emphasize that I don’t believe or even suspect the 800m freestyle Olympic gold medal winner Kathie Ledecky is doping. Yes, she came from nowhere (ranked #55 in 2011) and had a huge one-year improvement (4.2%), but these aren’t unheard of for teenagers. For example, the 2004 200m backstroke gold medal winner, Zimbabwean Kristy Coventry had the similar trajectory … [Read more...] about Ye Shiwen follow-up: media scorecard (BBC & New York Times)
Ye Shiwen, the 16 year old dreamy girl superstar, and the ugly world
As a sports enthusiast, I follow a lot of less known athletes, of which some eventually became superstars, but far more just faded. A superstar example was Liu Xiang. I started following him in 2002 after he clocked 13.12” at age 19. It takes knowledge and experience to link up 13.12” and 19, and figure out the potentiality – or quite frankly just a lot of time waste … [Read more...] about Ye Shiwen, the 16 year old dreamy girl superstar, and the ugly world
High-Speed Rails in China
High-speed rails (HSR) have been built in China at a fanatic pace. Figure this will be an entry to get the debate started. The first HSR, the Shanghai Maglev Train, was completed in late 2003. It was a technical trial and showcase. After its completion and initial operation, the Maglev technology was deemed too expensive to build and maintain. China decided to roll out its … [Read more...] about High-Speed Rails in China
(Letter) Jesse Owens, Hitler and Olympics (narratives and history as it really happened)
This belongs to the "random musing" category. What's your take? In some quarters, the Beijing Olympics were compared to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. During the debates of that IMHO ill-conceived moniker "Genocide Olympics", Jesse Owens' name was often used. A dominant narrative was that in 1936 the more progressive United States, sent in some black athletes such as Jesse Owens … [Read more...] about (Letter) Jesse Owens, Hitler and Olympics (narratives and history as it really happened)