sea piracy, world trade, russia, hong kong, china

Climate change may have delivered a solution to the risk faced by ships and crew passing through the waters of Gulf of Aden. A cargo ship bearing Hong Kong flag carrying 41,000 tons of iron ore will become part of maritime history as it sails from Norway to China through Russia's arctic passage instead of the pirate-infested Somalian waters.

Although Nordic Barents is not the first ship to pass through the Arctic wasteland, it becomes the first foreign-registered vessel allowed by Russia to make a voyage between two non-Russian ports. The ship's owner aims to prove that the route would become a viable alternative to the longer southern route from Europe to Asia. Nordic Barents is scheduled to leave the small Norwegian port of Kirkenes and head towards the Chinese port of Dalian. If the trip proves successful, the route enters one more step in competing against the Suez Canal sea route.

The first ship to do so was Russian-owned Baltica, which transported 70,000 tons of gas condensate from Murmansk, Russia to Ningbo, China only last week. The successful voyage marks a successful commercial conquest over the famed Northeast Passage. At the most dangerous stretch of the journey – the Vilkitsky Strait – sailors onboard the Baltica threw flowers into the water in memory of all the men who have died in pursuit of a quicker trade route in the past. For centuries, explorers and cargo shop owners have been looking for that elusive northern route between Europe and Asia. 

In 1553, Sir Hugh Willoughby was commissioned by the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands to explore the trade path. However, his expedition hit a major snag as his ship got stuck in ice resulting in the crew freezing to death. Dutch adventurer William Barents also suffered a similar fate in 1597. He, at least, had the Barents Sea named in his honor.

But not not every ship can pass through this frigid zone. Bulk carriers need to be ice-strengthened, and apply necessary precaution to protect sensitive equipment on board. Russian ice-breakers need to escort them in case of breakdown or the crew falling sick amid extreme weather conditions. Also, this path is only available for a few weeks a year at the moment. As climate change further alters the ecological landscape, the Northeast Passage may be available for longer stretches of time. Until that happens, Russia needs a bit more convincing by ship owners that crossing its northern territories not only saves fuel and cuts travel time. Ship owners need to be assured that goods transported using this alternate route can safely arrive at its destination. 

Should the Northeast Passage become a viable alternative to the Suez and Cape of Good Hope, pirates terrorizing Gulf of Aden can expect fewer potential victims.

			wan chai, hong kong, business, population

Hong Kong is a crowded place. And within its habitable confines, people make the most out of any space available. Pedestrian walkways, for example, fit well for folks who distribute promotional materials: a steady stream of people, all-weather facilities and, most importantly, it's free. Businesses need only pay for the printed material and employ a group who have flair at stretching their arms and extending a piece of paper to a passers by. 

Anyone who happens to stay in Hong Kong longer than a typical tourist will observe this. That's because he or she must have gone to the Immigration Tower to apply for a visa of some kind. When getting off from Wan Chai MTR station, the 100-meter pedestrian overpass is the best route to take. Yet during rush hours, a torrent of humanity walking in opposing directions at five miles an hour can be a stressful walk especially for a newcomer. On one direction people coming from the subway station emerge from the escalator and rush towards the government office towers or Central Plaza, Hong Kong's third tallest skyscraper. On the other side are people emerging from bus stops heading towards the more densely populated heartland of Wan Chai. 

While there is no congestion (read: people stopping from their brisk walking), the presence of these leaflet-handing personnel has become an obstacle to overcome. Noticing that very few people tend to accept their offer, leaflet distributors have become more creative. Some of them chase a potential target: a Caucasian man who may be setting up a new virtual office or a visibly confused newcomer. Some wear elaborate costumes that look attractive to kids but look crazy to grown ups. Others are simply carefree and only worry that their piles of paper will be disposed - even if it means nearby trash bins are filled with the same pieces of paper they were dying to hand out. 

Not all of these "obstacles" are considered a nuisance that should be ignored. A team of middle-aged ladies handing out free issues of daily tabloids is a magnet for pedestrians hungry for news and information. But such a scenario creates another roadblock for people. I am not sure if there is a law that prohibits free use of government property at the expense of the comfort of pedestrians. While I think it's obvious in Hong Kong that one can't organize a rally or perform a public performance without permission from a government agency, so it's strange that such practice is so easily tolerated. Otherwise, staff from the nearby Wan Chai police station would be there in no time to remove the "obstacles". 

Public safety and comfort is the first priority of any government. But in this case, it seems that only a few benefit by deploying underpaid staff who harrass pedestrians at Wan Chai and other areas in the city, handing out items that inevitably fill up the garbage bins. 

		1	twitter, Jackie Chan

While the Filipino people got a morale booster when action star Jackie Chan posted a message on his social media account condoling the nation, locals from his native Hong Kong were quick to accuse him of disrespect to victims of the hostage tragedy on August 23 that claimed eight lives. 

Somehow it's a case of lost in translation. Mr Chan's Twitter account may be genuine, but it's not him doing the tweets all the time. "The content in my Twitter account was posted by my American assistant on my behalf, but after interpretation the posts did not entirely capture what I truly meant to say," said the actor.

Without mentioning the 140 character Twitter limit, it seems obvious that Mr Chan's thoughts couldn't be interpreted properly by many people, especially that it wasn't him who made the update. The controversial tweet read,

"this kind of things always happen around the world. It happened to hk's people, the whole hk is talking about it. Its really sad."

It is indeed open to interpretation. At one end it seems that Mr Chan downplays the incident because "this kind of things always happen around the world". Or maybe shrugging his shoulders asking no wonder it's the talk of the town because the "it happened to hk's people". On the other end it seems like Mr Chan was genuinely sad for his fellow Hong Kong citizens.

May I have a word with that assistant-cum-Twitter-correspondent? If that assistant posted that controversial tweet on behalf of Jackie Chan, the latter apologized to Hong Kong people apparently on behalf of the assistant who made the blunder. Mr Chan has figured in a number of incidents that received frowns from the locals. Disrupting a concert (apparently attributed to his singing aspirations),  and releasing a statement about the Chinese people enjoying too much freedom are among them.

"What happened to the Hong Kong tourists in the Philippines was a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy. I am 100 percent Chinese and I'm from Hong Kong. I feel grief and pain for the Hong Kong citizens who lost their lives during this unfortunate incident," said Chan in a statement. To ease possible confusion, his statement was released in both English and Chinese.

Jackie Chan might be losing his appeal to fellow Hong Kong people, but he still commands a legion of supporters elsewhere. On the other side of South China Sea, Jackie Chan's statements were welcomed warmly. In Manila, even a celebrity columnist (along with other Filipino celebrities) called him a hero: "Just like in his blockbuster movies, Jackie comes to the rescue when everything is falling apart. He’s definitely our kind of hero."

			mtr, transportation, hong kong, crime

There is one more risk passengers have to deal with when they are within the premises of Hong Kong's subway system: pickpockets. While there is no area that's absolutely free from these culprits, the cases taking place in the MTR has been growing almost 60 percent in the first half of 2010, compared with the same period last year. The train company seems unfazed with the growth as it insists the MTR remains as one of the safest urban rail networks in the world.

If we translate these perecentages into numbers, that's 76 pickpocket incidents from January to June of 2009 to 121 cases in the same period this year. Considering that the railway network carries 3.7 million passengers on a given weekday, pickpocket cases is almost negligible and therefore this blog post may not be worth reading. Yet, the issue needs to be shared to everyone due to a simple reason. As more communities are built around MTR stations -- an important consideration when choosing home -- more people prefer to take the train. The likelihood of crowding becomes more prevalent and job opportunities for pickpockets gets better. Also, a large portion of the 29.5 million tourists that visit Hong Kong each year take the MTR around the city. Many of them may be too naive and fall into the theft trap.

The next time we board the crowded train we could be the next victim. Also, not all cases are reported and some people prefer to mind their own business instead of tipping authorities of a crime taking place even if the MTR hands awards to responsible passengers who helped prevent crime.

Rush hour may be the favorite time for pickpockets to operate. And why not, when everyone is busy ensuring they fit into the crowded carriage instead of paying attention to the welfare of others. For women, this is an additional challenge as cases of indecent assault is also one of the leading petty crimes happening inside the train. 

The warning is simple: be safe or be sorry even at one of the safest public transport systems in the world.

			iPhone humidity issues

Hong Kong people love Apple products of all shapes and sizes. In Hong Kong, the iPhone dominates the smartphone market with a 78 percent market share, according to a March report by AdMob, which serves advertisements to mobile websites and applications around the world.

When a new product is launched, the whole social media world spits the new buzzword once in every millisecond. Say for example iPhone. It got so much publicity that Apple would have done fine even if it did not advertise the product. But as much as local people adore iPhone, the feeling isn't exactly mutual as Apple's prized posession is apparently sensitive to humid surroundings.

Behind the sleek new features such as 5 megapixel camera, improved screen resolution and FaceTime video calling, a feature more essential to phone operation was never included in the latest release. Hong Kong's humid conditions pose a threat to the smooth operation of these gadgets. On many occasions, humidity in the city exceeds 95%, bringing sweaty a experience not only to humans but also to electronic devices like that beloved iPhone. Worse, Apple appears to have detected the problem and does not accept any warranty coverage for similar damages. Normally, if your phone is damaged by liquid, it is not covered by AppleCare Protection Plan, Apple's warranty coverage. That sounds justified if you're careless and dropped your phone into the pool or it got soaked in the rain while still in your pocket. 

But what about if it were damaged by liquid due to the humidity of the surroundings? Unfortunately, that also belongs to the same category of damage and will therefore not be covered by the warranty service. Different districts in Hong Kong experience varying degrees of humidity but it doesn't mean there is a location safe enough to prevent the problem.

Shall we wait for iPhone 5 or a later upgrade of iPhone 4 to get assurance that humidity is no longer an iPhone issue?

			weather, technology

At this time last year, whether it's rainy or not, the skies appear the same: dull grey white with the same humid feeling. This year, the clouds parted, smog somehow eased and to everyone's pleasant surprise, clear blue skies became a permanent fixture for days without rain since last month. In fact, not one of the 11 air monitoring stations recorded high pollution at any time in July. 

Environmentalists attribute it to winds blowing from the south, where pollution is minimal at most, and to frequent heavy rains during this year's summer months. 70 percent of the time, the readings recorded a low 0-25 level. As a result, air quality in Hong Kong was at an 11-year high. These readings are a welcome change from the depressing trend of poor air quality highlighted by a series of record-shattering air pollution levels in March that prompted the government to issue warnings to locals to stay indoors. In July last year, a pollution index of 50 or higher was recorded 12 percent of the time.

There's also a reason to be pleasantly happy about recent roadside pollution readings. In June, very high air pollution index of between 101 and 200 was recorded 7 percent of the time. But last month, there was no such reading ever recorded. 

We must enjoy the improving pollution levels while it lasts. As I see it, the results were due to natural causes instead of Hong Kong's efforts bearing fruit. What about during winter season when there's no typhoon blowing the dirty air away? Or when wind blows from the north? We'll find out.