Davos Newbies

I’m slowly recovering the hundred or so posts that sort of vanished when I ported over from Manila to WordPress. For observant readers, you’ll find the Archives in the right-hand column here seem to grow mysteriously from time to time.

This isn’t because I’m confecting posts. It’s because I’ve retrieved something from, say, March 2001 and restored it to its rightful place. It hasn’t been my highest priority, but it is fun going back to these very old (in weblog terms) posts.

Justin McCurry: “One expert has predicted that over a 40-year period starting in 2000, the number of deaths from the disease could exceed 100,000. Thought will also have to be given to how an unknown number of old, asbestos-laden buildings, including schools, can be demolished without posing a risk to both workers and nearby residents.”

He’s not talking about a left-over from the former Soviet Union or an impoverished state. The country whose government seems to have turned a completely blind eye to the dangers of asbestos is the world’s second largest economy, Japan. Unfathomable.