Meanwhile, the plague death toll in Qinghai has now gone up to 3.
It's not widely known, but there are usually a few cases of black plague in the US every year. Mostly hunters in the western part of the country, just like China. The good news is that normal cases don't tend to spread so easily. Pneumonic ones are much more dangerous, since it's airborne and the disease is more aggressive in that form. Since there have only had 3 deaths in extreme close proximity, that means the quarantine is working as planned. (Amazingly, I actually was awake most of the time in Epidemiology classes.)
Man, what a downer thread this has become...
Raoul, please allow me to brighten your day.
Prostitutes better than officials in China: surveyAFP Tue Aug 4, 2:29 am ET
BEIJING (AFP) – Prostitutes are considered more trustworthy in China than government officials and scientists, a recent survey of more than 3,000 respondents showed.
The online survey of 3,376 Chinese showed that 7.9 percent of respondents* considered sex workers trustworthy, putting them in third place after farmers and religious workers, the Insight China magazine said on its website.
"A list like this is at the same time surprising and embarrassing," the China Daily said Tuesday in an editorial, commenting on the result of the survey, which was carried out in June and July.
"The sex workers' unexpected prominence on this list of honour... is indeed unusual."
The newspaper said the list showed scientists and teachers ranked "way below, and that government functionaries, too, scored hardly better."
Soldiers and students were ranked after sex workers on the list of trustworthy professions, the Insight China magazine said.
"Given the constant feed of scandals involving the country's elite, this is not bad at all," the China Daily editorial commented.
"At least (the scientists and officials) have not slid into the least credible category which consists of real estate developers, secretaries, agents, entertainers and directors."
*EL Note: I wonder if there was a significant difference in trust placed in Chinese rental girls by male vs. female survey respondents?