Xinjiang: Headline Roundup

This week has been a most interesting week here in China thanks to the ever-evolving Great Firewall.  For those unfamiliar with the term, "Great Firewall" refers to the censorship that occurs for those trying to access certain sites within China.  This week, for the first time since I arrived here 3 years ago, Google was blocked - effectively cutting my ties to this blog as well as email.  While this and other computer frustrations have kept me from updating the blog more than once this week, it has also pushed me to finally decide to purchase a simple bridge to take me over the Great Firewall.

Since I haven't been able to update much I thought I'd point out a few other articles I've read this week that I highly recommend:

• A friend living a couple hours south of us posted some incredible pictures of her recent camping trips here in Xinjiang.  Absolutely stunning scenery!
• A crazy series of events is unfolding in Sweden right now.  First a Uyghur is arrested on charges of spying for the Chinese government.  Then a Chinese diplomat in Sweden is quietly kicked out of the country.  China retaliates by kicking a Swedish diplomat out of China.  The events are obviously connected, although who knows if we'll ever know the whole story.

• Coca-Cola opens a new beverage factory in Xinjiang.  Thank goodness. That imported stuff was...well, I guess no different than now.  But hey, at least much-needed jobs were created, right?
• Believe it or not, Michael Jackson was hugely popular in China, even in Xinjiang.  Check out how all the newspapers mourned his recent death.