BBC Actually Aired This? John Sweeney’s Unethical, Horrible North Korea Hack Job

John Sweeney on his North Korea trip
Just about anyone not holding a select diplomatic or South Korean passport can travel to North Korea. All it takes is money, which you give to a tour agency. They’ll even take you to the countryside if that’s what you’re after. It’s only the hucksters who try to dress up their North Korean trip as... Read more » Read more »

Chinese Grad Student From Shenyang Is Third Boston Marathon Bombing Victim [UPDATE]

Boston Marathon bombing aftermath
Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, and an as-yet unidentified Chinese national, whose family has requested anonymity, according to Xinhua, are the three killed at the Boston Marathon. Reports are that the third victim was a graduate student at Boston University, came from Shenyang, Liaoning province, and was a graduate of Beijing Institute of Technology. The deceased was... Read more » Read more »

Old Men In Beijing Park Give The Wackiest Interpretative Gangnam Dance We’ve Ever Seen

Weird Gangnam Style in Beijing park
We've seen our share of Gangnam Style dances and remixes, from the good to the bad to the political to the Ai Weiwei, but nothing quite as weird as this. Our friends over at That's Beijing tweeted the above video, titled "Beijing Dancer (Mr. Fabulous)." It was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday by Michaeljava, who writes: Read more »

Here’s North Korean Children Swearing Their Lives To Kim Jong-un

North Korean children swearing their lives for Kim Jong-un
Indoctrination sucks, and if you needed proof, watch this clip from North Korean TV showing a reported 18,423 children at a medal ceremony in Pyongyang paying obeisance to their country and Kim Jong-un. According to the Youku video description, the highest honors are reserved for those standing in the front rows: they're the ones who have volunteered to become suicide bombers in case of a war with the US. Read more »

238 Pigs And 89 Dogs “Suddenly Dead” In Chinese Village [UPDATE]

Dead pigs in Luoyang, Henan province
This is alarming. According to Nandu.com, 238 dead pigs and 89 dead dogs were found in Dongtun village in Luoyang, Henan province yesterday. By all accounts, they died suddenly and at the same time. Initial tests have ruled out the H7N9 virus as a cause. Thank goodness for that and all, to know the zombie apocalypse... Read more » Read more »

Kids Do The Fightiest Things

Taiwan kids fight brawl
Three separate incidents involving underaged fighters drew a collective 93,000 views on Youku this week. Check out the last video, in which rocks are introduced by a third party and the combatants, as if in Hunger Games, momentarily ponder whether they want this escalation. Read more »

Explosion Rocks Boston Marathon, Chinese Netizens Watch (On Youku)

Police officers run with their guns drawn as they hear the second explosion down the street. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
In the worst bombing on US soil since 9/11, three are dead and more than 100 are injured after two blasts ripped through a crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on an otherwise perfect day. You'll find updating coverage everywhere at this moment, led by the Boston Globe and Gawker, so we'll spare the words here. Just a little China angle though, via Reuters: Read more »