Death vans and rainmaking machines

Think twice before you step inside

1. China rolls out the big guns, aiming for a dry Olympics
About the rain making technology used in Beijing and other parts of the country to artificially stimulate rainfall. Excerpt:

"I don't feel like God, says fruit farmer Yu Yonggang. I'm just an ordinary worker." But he has a miraculous sideline, making rain with artillery shells and forming part of the world's largest rainmaking force.

See also Danwei: The machine Beijing uses to make rain

2. China makes ultimate punishment mobile
A look at new developments in the way China handles the death penalty and executions. Excerpt:

China [has started meting] out capital punishment from specially equipped "death vans" that shuttle from town to town.

Makers of the death vans say the vehicles and injections are a civilized alternative to the firing squad, ending the life of the condemned more quickly, clinically and safely. The switch from gunshots to injections is a sign that China "promotes human rights now," says Kang Zhongwen, who designed the Jinguan Automobile death van...