May
09
2006
Heard an interesting interview on Diane Rehm show of the author Barry Werth. He wrote a book that builds an very interesting narrative that retraces today’s conservative movement back to the Watergate days. Fascinating and very engaging. Reminded me of another book, Before the Storm.
The book is “31 Days : The Crisis That Gave Us the Government We Have Today”
Some interesting things:
1. Rummy ordered a review of WMD gap b/w the U.S. and the Soviets. The review claimed that the USSR spent almost all GDP on weapons and were on track to dominate in space, and so on. The project was headed by Wolfowitz and Feith.
2. Migdal mentioned that Cheney and Rummy weren’t like what they used to be (see also NYKr’s piece on Scowcroft, on not recognizing the old Cheney). This may not be the case.
3. Cheney’s provocative stance on the power of the president may be heavily influenced by his experience during the 31 days.
4. How subtle the promise of pardon was communicated to Alexander Haig (”do what you have to do”). Even politician at critical juncture with so much at stake chose to use ambiguity. Is ambiguity the norm or the exception in public communication?
5. Extension: censorship, ambiguity, Lisa Wadeen
May
09
2006
毛泽东时代的矿难:
国家安全生产监督管理总局, 调查研究, 第3 期 总119期）2006年 3月28日
采矿史上最悲惨的煤尘大爆炸惨案682人亡 尘封38年, Net article
or from 贵阳日报
国家煤矿安全监察局局长张宝明在全国煤矿安全电话会议上的讲话
Human Rights Issue:
The state needs to take a stronger and more aggressive stance toward mining companies.
Coal in Economy:
上海证券报：警惕关闭煤矿引发新矿难
Coal provides a significant 7 percent of urban industrial jobs, in a country with rising urban unemployment.
Severity of Disasters:
上世纪九十年代，全国煤矿每年死亡７０００人左右。进入本世纪后，２０００年、２００１年两年由于小煤矿处于关闭、停产整顿期间，伤亡事故相对较少。２００２年后在煤炭产量持续增长的情况下，全国煤矿死亡人数仍呈现下降趋势，２００５年全国煤矿事故３３０６起、死亡５９３８人，分别比“十五”高峰期的２００２年减少１０３８起、１０５７人。
figures released in June 2004 show that over 6,000 miners died in 2003
２００５年全国煤矿事故发生３３０６起，死亡５９３８人。其中地方国有煤矿发生４１０起，死亡５７０人，分别占事故总起数和死亡总人数的１２．４％和９．６％；乡镇煤矿发生２４８０起，死亡４３８４人，分别占７５．０％和７３．８％。从多年的统计情况看，煤矿伤亡事故的绝大部分也是发生在中小煤矿, 百万吨死亡率是国有重点煤矿的５倍至６倍，安全生产面临的形势十分严峻。
我国煤矿死亡率为美国百倍
吉林江源矿难6人死亡 矿主瞒报私自处理尸体
众多媒体纷纷报道，官煤勾结是中国矿难频发的症结所在
陕西省铜川陈家山矿难遇难者赔付金标准敲定
地方煤矿平均每2小时死亡1人
some two-thirds of the reported 6,000 coal mining fatalities per year occur in small coal mines
System Deficiency:
产权不明是矿难的根本原因
李至伦：腐败不除 矿难难止
瞭望：煤矿安全存在六大隐忧是事故频发重要原因
中国治理官煤勾结 人大代表建议重罚红顶煤商
打击非法煤矿 法律软肋在哪
“调出近年的矿难资料看，70％都是非法煤矿造成的。”非法煤矿招募的大都是外地人. 坑口周边栽上碗口粗的柏树。副市长薛振忠说：“这是防止非法煤矿卷土重来的无奈之举，以后谁再滥挖，我们就以毁林罪法办。”
种种办法，犹显不足。以河津市下化乡为例，一亩地种粮收100多元，挖一晚上煤就挣3000多元，相当于30亩地种一年。非法矿主们铤而走险，气焰嚣张，有的大肆行贿，有的用电话恐吓干部，甚至还有人将棺木送到乡长门口。河津市一位长期分管煤矿的负责人，就因压力太大，多次以身体不适为由要求调换工作.
山西省政府法制办的同志也表示，国家在法律上应该有一个更严密、更有力打击的规定。
破除人贱煤贵的矿难宿命:中国煤炭企业为安全所付出的代价太低，是造成重大事故频仍发生的根本原因之一
几年前，煤炭价格在一时间下降，中国政府便立即卸包袱，将大量的煤矿扔给地方或承包给私人, 正是这些不合格的小煤矿提供了某些县的70%甚至更多的财政收入
但是政府帮助企业提高安全水平的最重要的方面，还不是这些技术层面的措施，而是对矿主所有权的保护
广东梅州大兴煤矿煤矿董事长为当地人大代表
广东农村居民收入差距目前仍处于相对合理区间
梅江区农业概况
梅州城市居民家庭收支
在刚刚结束的北京商务车展上，由山西煤窑主组成的“大款团, ”煤窑主如此豪迈是有底气的。有报道说，他们有时一天的收入就高达几十万！而与此同时，我看到了一份山西省劳动和社会保障厅今年发布的煤矿井下从业人员最低工资标准：采掘人员月薪１２００元，辅助人员１０００元。
发生矿难的陈家山矿领导年收入最高不超过9万元
Central Government/Law:
The government says it has invested more than $240m in safety equipment over the past year, and safety procedures have been improved in hundreds of mines.
我国发布新版煤矿安全规程 明年1月1日起实施
国务院安全生产委员会：遏制重特大事故多发势头
国务院安委会有关负责人强调，要认真贯彻落实《国务院关于特大安全事故行政责任追究的规定》
中国已制定了“煤矿生产安全科技行动”实施方案
国家安监总局严令5290处煤矿停产整顿
国务院规定煤矿有15项重大隐患之一须立即停产
安监局升格 李毅中赴任 “官煤勾结”成众矢之的 官煤勾结、权钱交易。腐败不除，矿难不止！
中国30亿国债支持煤矿安全改造 煤炭修法已启动
the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, himself a mining engineer by training
国务院办公厅《关于进一步做好关闭整顿小煤矿和煤矿安全生产工作的通知》
国务院办公厅下发《关于关闭国有煤矿矿办小井和乡镇煤矿停产整顿的紧急通知》
温家宝含泪慰问陕西铜川矿难遇难矿工家属
公报首页-煤矿安全
知识产权保护
法规检索
国务院安委办敦促湖南加快煤矿关闭进程
湖南永兴:政府称无非法煤矿 事实是非法采煤不止
Locality/Enforcement:
山西吕梁：煤矿事故死亡十人以上县委书记县长免职
贪图私利搞”权钱交易” 矿难和5种渎职行为有关
山西开出国内最高矿难赔偿 整治煤矿安全用重典
河北通过安全生产条例 死亡10人以上罚矿主20万
内蒙古严惩非法违法采煤 每死1人罚100万元
煤矿官股撤资还远远没有结束
国家十一部门联合发文强调：不得整合已关闭煤矿
规定凡是在我省境内从事煤炭生产和经营的企业必须执行《合法煤矿公示牌》和《合法煤炭销售票》制度.《合法煤矿公示牌》是向社会公示生产矿井“证照”齐全、合法、有效的标志
Industry Deficiency:
我国煤炭业结构性、体制性矛盾突出
News Media/Society Response:
我国最大矿难发生地建成安全教育基地
应该将采气核心区内居住的群众全部搬迁出来，并解决好他们的生产生活问题
CCTV: Coal Mine Accidents Special
改进矿难报道的N个建议
6·22”矿难被认定为“特大事故，隐瞒不报, 忻州市副市长说：《中国青年报》的报道立了大功
我国煤矿死亡率为美国百倍
突发事件报道的不断改进折射政府执政理念转变
人权新闻 ->国内新闻
亚洲时报在线 邱鑫:新浪网、搜狐十六日则继续实施言禁，仅援引新华社等官方传媒消息，报道救援的最新进展，但没有开放有关论坛，供网友留言讨论, 《沈阳今报》2月16日刊登署名评论文章，指摘中央电视台在发生国人皆恸的矿难当晚 … 北京《新京报》2月18日也发表评论指出，原有的赔偿金与矿方的高额收益非常不成比例
广东兴宁特大矿难
建立安全生产长效机制
US Coal Mine Safety History:
Article: In 1952, a mine safety act was passed, after an explosion that killed 119 miners in West Frankfurt, Illinois, that for the first time established a federal role in mine safety
Milestones in U.S. Food and Drug Law History:
In U.S. v. CARDIFF, the Supreme Court rules that the factory inspection provision of the 1938 FDC Act is too vague to be enforced as criminal law.
We drove the Federal Bureau of Mines out, because they had weaker laws than the state of Illinois. About 1950, we had a federal law passed, but it wasn’t e f f e c t i v e . It didn’t have any police power. But the state law gave police power i n 1953 to the inspector. From that point on, we’ve had little or no trouble, except that we’ve had to protect the law every once i n a while.
经济指标成为基层党政干部政绩考核的主要依据，这已经是时下普遍存在的不争事实
Regional Competition，Fiscal Reform and Local Governance in China
Decentralization and Local Governance in the Context of China’s Transition
The Cadre Responsibility System at the Local Level in China
The Political Economy of Coal Mine Disasters in China: “Your Rice Bowl or Your Life”
Tim Wright
Reforming China’s Coal Industry
国家将用四大安全生产控制指标考核领导干部政绩
我国安全生产在法制建设、责任追究上还存在失之于宽、失之于软的问题，
国家安监总局
下一步煤矿整顿关闭工作基本思路
安全生产重在落实行政首长负责制
Regulating Death at Coalmines: changing mode of governance in China, SHAOGUANG WANG*
India coal mining data from Minstry of Coal
India coal mining regulations: http://www.indiacore.com/coal.html
China coal mine disaster watch
In China: energy needs vs. mine safety, Christian Science, However, a government audit of those orders found that only 40 percent of those ordered to stop mining actually had.
State Administration of Work Safety SAWS 事故查寻
Side Effects/Misc:
讨工钱未果 湖南矿工在翁源公安局自爆身亡 (other google results here)
May
09
2006
China’s Biggest Gamble
Can it have capitalism without democracy? A prediction.
By Henry Blodget
(Summary: we can only tell when China goes bust)
The filter at Berkman Center
Wu Hao case,
A sample reactions from China on Google censorship by BBC
(All Chinese people know that their expression is censored. We don’t need people outside continually reminding us of this. … there are so many things that Chinese people are doing. … My blog talks about internet developments and entrepreneurial activities…)
China Political Culture: Popular Protest and Political Culture in Modern China
edited by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom and Elizabeth J. Perry
Requested.
Online entry: Political Economy:
Seymour Martin Lipset, turned from explanations of political values based on social class to those based on history and culture, which, he argued, displayed consistency throughout history. American political scientist Robert Putnam followed in this Tocquevillian tradition.
Negotiating the State: good summary of Chinese NGO