Formula One Mid-Season Review

The 2009 season is half over. Webber won his first race ever. Button and Brawn GP don't look so invincible anymore. Here is my take:

1. Brawn GP (112 points). Button is still favored to win the championship, barely. Vettel has a decent shot of overtaking Button in points. As long as the weather in the remaining venues is warm or hot, then Brawn should be okay. As Vettel gets closer to Button, it will become increasingly less likely for Button and Brawn to "give" Barrichello a token win. Button will stay with Brawn next season. So will old timer Barrichello.

2. Red Bull (92.5). As I write this, I'm growing more confident that Red Bull will win the constructor's title. They are on a hot streak and Brawn is slowly fading. Who knows, Mark Webber may win another one this season.

3. Toyota (34.5). The only thing I can predict about Toyota is that it will be unpredictable.

4. Ferrari (32). With Kimi scoring only 10 points so far, I predict that he will retire at the end of the season and go to rallying full time. Massa, the loyal soldier, will stay on. Neither driver will wow anyone for the rest of the season.

5. Williams (20.5). Both Rosberg and Nakajima are clearly talented but their average cars don't help.

6. McLaren (14). McLaren needs to forget about 2009 and focus on 2010. I feel bad for the engineers.

7. Renault (13). Renault may surge, just like Alonso did in the second half of last season. Look for Piquet to bow out of F1 and Alonso to go to Ferrari to replace Kimi next season.

8. BMW (8). With Heidfeld finishing ahead of Kubica in 6 out of 9 races, it should be Kubica that should be worried about his future at BMW. But alas, I have a feeling that Heidfeld will move to Renault or one of the new start-ups next season. The only good thing to come out of today's win for Webber is that Heidfeld's records for most number of points without a win and most number of podiums without a win are no longer under threat. Plus, he continues to hold the record for most completed races (29 and counting). Go Quick Nick!

9. Toro Rosso (5). Bourdais probably drove his last race today. A shame.

10. Force India (0). Too bad about Sutil today. There is Twitter activity of Sutil rounding up a posse and going to Kimi's yacht for a beat down.

Kashgar Teeming With Chinese Troops

Police Brutality In China Against Uyghurs

Austin A30

I was in Richmond this morning when I drove past an auto junk yard. Lined up next to the street, stacked one on top of another, were Lincoln Continentals with suicide doors, an Alfa Romeo GTV, a Jaguar XJ-S, etc. I had to stop as I am looking for a Citroen chevron emblem to decorate my Honda (inspired by Jalopnik's Murilee Martin). There were no French cars in the yard, but there were many rare cars in stock. My favorite is this Austin A30, the first I had ever seen in person. It has to be the smallest four door saloon I've ever seen.

The yard is at the intersection of Richmond Parkway and Gertrude.

Cars of Waltz With Bashir

The realism of this animated movie is supported by a huge cast of accurately rendered cars.

VW Microbus

Volga and Mercedes

Peugeot 404

Mercedes

Mercedes

Chevy Blazer

Cadillac Eldorado

BMW E21

Alfa Romeo 166

Incidentally, I wonder if Ariel Sharon still weighs the same.

All Urumqi Mosques Closed Friday

The Chinese government shut down all mosques in Urumqi for Friday prayers. When they will reopen remains unclear. Signs on mosque doors politely state:
"People coming to worship must all go home to do it. Thank you for your cooperation."


Yeah, that will smooth things over with the Uyghurs. Good thinking.


Source here.

Uyghur Protest Los Angeles July 9

Tomorrow, Thursday, July 9, at 2 p.m., there will be a peaceful protest for Uyghur rights in Los Angeles. It will be outside the Federal Building at 11000 Wilshire Blvd. at Veteran Ave. Please pass this info to anyone who may be interested. Just showing up to lend moral support will mean a lot. See you there.

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I Am A Uyghur Policeman

I am a Uyghur. I grew up on the outskirts of Kashgar in a small and simple village. Because of the lack of job opportunities after high school, I joined the Urumqi police force.

For the most part, my job is simple. I respond to traffic accidents and take reports of petty crime. Sometimes, my job is tough. I'm also on the riot squad. By volunteering for the squad, I earn a few extra hundred RMB a month, which helps as I have to take care of my widower father, who is disabled. This week, I've been assigned to use a police van with a loudspeaker to encourage Uyghur protesters to disperse in our native tongue. I've also had to go to Uyghur enclaves and round up suspected instigators of the riots. They are mostly young men. Some are students. Others are unemployed.

I get a lot of grief about my job from my family, friends, and Uyghurs that don't even know me. They think that I am a sell-out and that I am a tool of the Han Chinese and their government. A student I arrested told me that I was no better than a black policeman during South Africa's apartheid period.

I get grief from the Han as well. I know I will never get a promotion, even to sergeant. My fellow Han officers, though superficially polite to me, all think that deep down inside, my allegiance is to the Uyghurs. At protests, I feel alone.

So why do I do it? It is hard for an undereducated Uyghur man to find a decent, stable job in Xinjiang. I have a family to support. I enjoy serving the community, whether it's investigating car accidents or helping crime victims obtain justice. Also, deep down inside, and I don't tell many people this, I believe that we need social order, especially when it comes to Han-Uyghur relations. The lives of Uyghurs could be worse economically. Just look at my brothers in Central Asia and Russia. Relatively speaking, I justify to myself, life in Xinjiang is not that bad for a Uyghur. I think. Maybe.

That is why I am a Uyghur policeman.

Control 2.0 Beta: China's New Tao of Media Manipulation In Xinjiang

Why can't we have succinct, informative, and intelligent analysis like this on CNN in America? Instead, there's coverage from Don Lemon, et al. about Michael Jackson's image on a tree branch stump in Stockton.

Twitter In Xinjiang Amidst Uyghur-Han Riots

Melissa Chan of Al Jazeera is in Urumqi and sending out constant updates of what she is seeing. It seems like the situation is getting worse. Here is a peek:

1. Equally bad if you're a journalist who is Han-looking in Uighur neighborhoods. We all feel kind of stuck.about 3 hours ago from web
2. It is dangerous to film around Han Chinese if you have blonde hair and white skin. They get angry.about 3 hours ago from web
3. The city is now under martial law.about 4 hours ago from web
4. A Han Chinese man with a stick just tore open our car door to beat our producer. Averted just in time.about 4 hours ago from web
5. There is no right or wrong anymore. Just vigilantes, Han and Uighur. Mostly men but some women and even children.about 5 hours ago from web
6. I asked a Han Chinese girl if she was scared. Yes. But this is to defend my country she says with stick in hand.about 5 hours ago from web
7. Heading to an ethnic neighborhood.about 5 hours ago from web
8. A few hundred Han Chinese with sticks and knives have come down the road singing the national anthem.about 5 hours ago from web
9. Locals tell up there are riots now in three or four locations in the city.about 6 hours ago from web
10. Looking Han Chinese doesn't make me feel safe I must say.about 7 hours ago from web
11. From the other point of view the police did manage the situation well - it could have escalated far more.about 8 hours ago from web
12. The last we saw it looked as if the protesters were dispersing but armed police had guns not by their side, but in hand.about 8 hours ago from web
13. For those wondering how I am twittering. Have been text messaging a Beijing friend who is posting my messages via proxy.about 8 hours ago from web
14. There are rottweilers with the police. I fear if we leave bad things will happen to these people. #urumqiabout 9 hours ago from web
15. The government have finally reacted and they are now trying to round us up back to our buses.about 9 hours ago from web
16. Some men have started throwing rocks.about 10 hours ago from web
17. Chinese plainclothes with sticks now have shown up.about 10 hours ago from web
18. Shot police are moving in the protesters are shouting, "Let them free."about 10 hours ago from web
19. Uighur women with babies and children; hundreds protesting and asking for release of husbands.about 10 hours ago from web