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A warning for some of us...
Alcohol damages women's brains faster than men's
Reuters | Tuesday, 24 April 2007
The brain-damaging effects of alcohol strike women more quickly than men, a new study conducted in Russia confirms.
Female alcoholics performed worse on a number of tests of neurocognitive function compared with males, Dr Barbara Flannery from RTI International in Baltimore and her colleagues found.
However, Flannery cautioned in an interview with Reuters Health, the findings aren't good news for alcohol-dependent men. "Women are vulnerable to the extent to which they will experience the negative consequences of alcohol abuse and alcoholism more rapidly than men, but men will also experience it
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So..... if ole Barbie there is a bit of a drinker herself, how can we trust her findings?
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Latest findings indicate that the 'inactive product' created by alcohol dehydrogenase (the enzyme mentioned) is actually several times for active in the body,worse than alcohol itself, seems to be a carcinogen and probably is responsible for more of the damage to liver and brain than the alcohol itself. It is also this same substance that causes Chinese people to go red - they lack one of the genes to deal with this chemical in the blood. Which is acetaldehyde, for those that care.
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Cool, Mr. Nobody, I care. Like the chemical info and stuff like that. bfbfbfbfbf
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...this same substance that causes Chinese people to go red - they lack one of the genes to deal with this chemical in the blood. Which is acetaldehyde, for those that care.
I must have Chinese blood in me...I go red :-[
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I must have Chinese blood in me...I go red
Nah! That's just embarrassment at your drunken behaviour!! ahahahahah ahahahahah
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A smaller proportion of westerners also have this gene deficiency.
It means a reduced ability to deal with acetaldehyde. If alcohol makes you really nauseous then maybe you have this problem. It will also make for severe hangovers, and increased risk of damage from drinking.
Alcohol also dilates surface blood vessels. If a perosn is pale, then they will also go red. It isn't as obvious with darker people. Unless they have this gene problem.
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I must have Chinese blood in me...I go red
Nah! That's just embarrassment at your drunken behaviour!! ahahahahah ahahahahah
I never get embarrassed kkkkkkkkkk,
...if one can't remember how can one be embarrassed :-[
Besides, it's my PI genes - we were originally settled by the Asians...a long, long time ago - so that bloody gene must have stayed stuck jjjjjjjjjj
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I just wanted to share this story from todays' guardian. But it made my eyes water, so be warned.
A man burst into a busy central London restaurant and chopped off his own penis with a knife in front of horrified diners, police and reports said today.
The man - identified by the Sun as a 35-year-old Polish national - ran into Zizzi, in the Strand, at 9pm on Sunday.
"This guy came running in then charged into the kitchen, got a massive knife and started waving it about," Stuart McMahon, who was eating at the restaurant with his girlfriend, told the paper. "Everyone was screaming and running out as he jumped on a table, dropped his trousers and popped his penis out. Then he cut it off. I couldn't believe it."
A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said a man aged between 30 and 40 was the only person hurt in the incident, and that his injuries were self-inflicted.
He was taken to hospital, where his condition was described as stable. According to the Sun, the man was being assessed by psychiatrists and was expected to be detained under the Mental Health Act.
The paper reported that police had subdued the man with CS gas spray and recovered his severed penis, which surgeons at St Thomas' hospital in central London attempted to re-attach. It was not known whether the operation had been a success.
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aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao
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OH MY GOSH!
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OH MY GOSH!
Do not order the Polish sausage in that restaurant!!!!
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asasasasas Beat me to it, Stil.
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Poor, poor guy...
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Poor guy???? What about the poor unsuspecting diners? aoaoaoaoao
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Japanese!! llllllllll llllllllll And we thought Chinese were silly!
Japanese fooled in poodle scam
April 26, 2007 - 8:59PM
Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.
Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.
That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.
The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.
She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.
Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.
One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.
Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.
"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles," Japanese police said, the The Sun reported.
"Sadly we think there is more than one company operating in this way.
"The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas - Britain, Australia."
Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.
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Well maybe next time they'll do some research first.
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Crap, are we eating this every day?
CFIA on border lookout for plastics chemical that could enter food chain[/b]
Last Updated: Friday, April 27, 2007 | 11:28 PM ET
CBC News
Canada's food inspectors have issued border lookouts for vegetable proteins coming from China to prevent melamine
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More misery for men!!
'Women's town' to put men in their place
April 27, 2007 - 9:44AM
Chinese tourism authorities are seeking investment to build a novel concept attraction - the world's first "women's town", where men get punished for disobedience, an official said on Thursday.
The 2.3-square-kilometre Longshuihu village in the Shuangqiao district of Chongqing municipality, also known as "women's town", was based on the local traditional concept of "women rule and men obey", a tourism official told Reuters.
"Traditional women dominate and men have to be obedient in the areas of Sichuan province and Chongqing, and now we are using it as an idea to attract tourists and boost tourism," the official, surname Li, said by telephone.
The tourism bureau planned to invest between 200 million yuan ($31.2 million) and 300 million yuan in infrastructure, roads and buildings, Li said.
"We welcome investors from overseas and nationwide to invest in our project," he added.
The motto of the new town would be "women never make mistakes, and men can never refuse women's requests", Chinese media have reported.
When tour groups enter the town, female tourists would play the dominant role when shopping or choosing a place to stay, and a disobedient man would be punished by "kneeling on an uneven board" or washing dishes in restaurant, media reports said.
The project, begun in the end of 2005, was expected to take three to five years to finish.
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Poor Italy! Whatever have they done to harm us!!
AUSTRALIA has breached the Vienna Convention with a diplomatic shortcut to parachute dumped minister Amanda Vanstone into the ambassador's post in Rome.
The deputy secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Doug Chester, formally notified the Italian embassy in Canberra of Ms Vanstone's appointment only hours before Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced it publicly on Thursday.
John Howard yesterday insisted that everything had been done correctly in sending his former immigration minister, who he dumped from cabinet in January, to Rome.
"I think Amanda will be a very good ambassador," he told Melbourne's 3AW radio yesterday, defending Opposition claims the Government was turning the diplomatic corps into a "Liberal employment agency". "I support the idea that you should have some former politicians as diplomats. I think they do a very good job; most of them do," he said.
The 1961 Vienna Convention, which sets out the rules for diplomacy, requires Australia to wait for Italy's official approval before accrediting new diplomats - giving Italy a chance to knock back nominations in confidence. The process normally takes a month or two.
"The sending state must make certain that the agrement (a French term for approval) of the receiving state has been given for the person it proposes to accredit," the treaty says.
"The receiving state is not obliged to give reasons to the sending state for a refusal of agrement."
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Amanda Gallstone!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/gingermeggs/amandavanstone_wideweb__470x4170.jpg)
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Old nuclear weapons base open to tourists.
May 4, 2007 - 11:03AM
China has declassified its first nuclear weapons base and is inviting tourists to visit the site, in a remote part of the northwestern province of Qinghai, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
Built in 1958 over more than 1100 square kilometres of the grasslands of northern Qinghai, the base was the birthplace of China's atomic and hydrogen bombs, but was closed in the late 1980s, Xinhua said.
China became a nuclear power in 1964.
"The underground headquarters of the nuclear weapons research and production base are a curiosity to many people. They can see the 'nuclear city' for themselves," the report quoted Zuo Xumin, an official in the mainly Tan region where the base is situated, as saying.
"The base will be developed into a key travel site, and it will become a platform for spurring the patriotic spirit of Chinese people," he said.
Opening the base is a rare move for China, where the definition of state secrets is notoriously broad and its weapons development is seen as highly sensitive.
The headquarters of the base comprises several rooms more than 9 metres (30 feet) underground and reinforced with concrete, which originally held a research laboratory, electricity generation room, telegraph transmitting room and a command room.
Tourists will be able to visit the underground rooms, which now stand empty, the report said.
A museum built at the base now houses old machinery, as well as clothes and food coupons that belonged to the workers who once staffed the remote site.
Hotels and restaurants are also springing up in the township in anticipation of a wave of visitors, Xinhua said
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Sheesh.
I might want to go see the old nuke site. The only way you'd get me into the Sichuan "women's town" would be to super-glue my gonads to a Long March rocket and fire it into the village.
Not even ol' Amanda there is going to have me kneel on uneven boards or wash restaurant dishes for having a mind of my own. bababababa
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All the latest in one hit.
http://buzz.stumbleupon.com/ (http://buzz.stumbleupon.com/)
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Spiders make home in boy's ear
Albany, Oregon
May 7, 2007 - 9:21AM
These guys were not exactly Snap, Crackle and Pop.
What began as a faint popping in a 9-year-old boy's ear - "like Rice Krispies" - ended up as an earache, and the doctor's diagnosis was that a pair of spiders made a home in the ear.
"They were walking on my eardrums," Jesse Courtney said.
One of the spiders was still alive after the doctor flushed the fourth-grader's left ear canal. His mother, Diane Courtney, said her son insisted he kept hearing a faint popping in his ear - "like Rice Krispies".
Dr David Irvine said it looked like the boy had something in his ear when he examined him.
When he irrigated the ear, the first spider came out, dead. The other spider took a second dousing before it emerged, still alive. Both were about the size of a pencil eraser.
Jesse was given the spiders - now both dead - as a souvenir. He has taken them to school and his mother has taken them to work.
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Been there, done that - and it wasn't a faint popping, it was more like boy racers inside my head, and it was only one big ol' brown spider. It was awful...and everytime I tell people about it, they laugh! asasasasas
I spent months paranoid that the thing had laid eggs inside there...
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"Harmless Canadian coin led to US spy warning
Washington
May 8, 2007 - 6:19PM
An odd-looking Canadian coin with a bright red flower has been found to be the cause behind a US Defence Department's false espionage warning earlier this year, The Associated Press has learned.
The odd-looking - but harmless - "poppy coin" was so unfamiliar to suspicious US Army contractors travelling in Canada that they filed confidential espionage accounts about them.
The worried contractors described the coins as "anomalous" and "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology," according to once-classified US government reports and emails obtained by the AP."
Sneaky, those Canaducks!!!
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Unfortunately, the Canadian mint didn't do such a great job on the coins, the red coating on the poppy was easily damaged.
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I think it's an old coin. Yeah, 2004.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/gingermeggs/0905COIN_narrowweb__300x3300.jpg)
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There have been other symbols placed on the Canadian 'loonie' as we call it. The Canadian Cancer Society pink ribbon was minted shortly before I left.
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Ha hahaha hahaha hahaha!!!! ahahahahah
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When is a zebra not a zebra?
A Chinese park has reportedly painted stripes on a horse and is charging people to have pictures taken with the 'zebra'.
Shenyang botanical park is charging 30p each for pictures with the animal which, as well as painted black stripes, has fluffy white hair.
When asked if the zebra is real, the feeder answered: "It's from Africa. What do you call it, if it's not a zebra?"
"We saw right away that the zebra is fake, but we are here for fun, so it doesn't really matter," said a mother who had just paid for her child's picture.
According to the City Evening News, the park says it doesn't know if the horse is a zebra or not: "It's not that important. It is for fun," said a spokesman.
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And that just about sums up this wonderful, terrible, and sometimes downright strange country.
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Kiwi judge calls Blair a criminal
By IRENE CHAPPLE - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 13 May 2007
A New Zealand Supreme Court judge has launched a blistering attack on outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair, effectively calling him a war criminal for his role in the Iraq conflict.
Justice Ted Thomas, who retired last year but still presides over ongoing cases, told the Sunday Star-Times yesterday that Blair "deceived Cabinet, parliament and the British people" over the war.
And in a hard-hitting essay published in British journal The Spokesman this month, Thomas writes: "As extreme as it sounds, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that, should he be prosecuted at a time when the plea of sovereign immunity is not available, Mr Blair would be found guilty of a war crime."
Thomas said Blair would be guilty of the customary international law crime of aggression as the war was launched without legal basis. "A regime change is not the basis for conducting an invasion of another sovereign state." He said Blair misrepresented - and must have known he was misrepresenting - his attorney-general's advice on the legality of the war.
...
Thomas's savage essay accuses Blair of treating the foreign affairs portfolio as his "personal fiefdom". Blair, says Thomas, became "almost like a parrot" to the neo-conservatism of US president George W Bush's administration during his tenure.
He says the war is "also an indictment on the political system" which failed to hold him to account over the manipulation of intelligence. The lack of political checks meant Blair "was not constrained from committing political, immoral and illegal misdemeanours".
...
The essay, written as a judicial investigation, said it was "incongruous" Blair had not resigned or been forced to resign over the war, which "was based on a delusion, and which has had such calamitous and humanly tragic consequences. In short, he has not been held accountable in parliament for the manipulation of the intelligence or the deception he practised in pursuit of the war".
...
But speaking yesterday to the Star-Times, Thomas said it was "beyond feasibility" Blair would ever stand trial for a war crime. "It will never happen, but (Blair) may have to be circumspect as to which countries he visits."
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They went into that war saying "I know it's illegal, but trust us, it's necessary for the whole world's survival." Their citizens backed them. So now what? I can't believe they can't effectively impeach Bush.
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Cheney is worse aoaoaoaoao
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Cheney is worse aoaoaoaoao
Yet, tragically, will never hang for treason.
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...or assault with a deadly weapon (shooting that fellow in his.....)
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Bullied teen awarded income for life
By LEONIE LAMONT - SMH | Monday, 14 May 2007
SYDNEY: A bullied teenager will receive substantial damages and an income for life after an Australian Supreme Court judge found NSW educational authorities failed in their duty of care to deal with playground assaults and bullying.
Benjamin Cox's mother, Angela, sued the State of NSW on behalf of the Hunter Valley teenager.
He will receive at least $220,000 for pain and suffering.
She said the bullying, which started in infants school, had resulted in her son having little education and being unable to work.
Outside court his barrister, Dennis Wheelahan, QC, said the judgement had implications for the education system.
"The implications are that pupils in our school systems who are the subject of this type of conduct [if liability is established] can expect to recover substantial damages as is the case for Benjamin Cox."
In her judgement, delivered today, Justice Carolyn Simpson commented that Mr Cox's "adolescence has been all but destroyed; his adulthood will not be any better. He will never know the satisfaction of employment. He will suffer anxiety and depression, almost certainly, for the rest of his life".
During the case, the judge heard that, while at Woodberry Public School in 1995, Mr Cox was "throttled" by an older boy, and received compensation from the Victims Compensation Tribunal over the attack. By the time he went to high school, his mother said he thought school a "scary proposition".
"He didn't like crowds, he didn't like teachers, didn't like the work," she said.
The court heard Mr Cox, who is now 18, was a virtual recluse. He had only completed schooling up until the end of year 7, and an attempt at home schooling had failed.
His mother said he rarely went out, had no friends, and was on a pension.
"He just locks himself in his room playing PlayStation games," she said.
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This part:
Mr Cox's "adolescence has been all but destroyed; his adulthood will not be any better. He will never know the satisfaction of employment. He will suffer anxiety and depression, almost certainly, for the rest of his life".
Never? Almost certainly? They're saying that $220,000 worth of therapy and capital can't fix this guy to the point of being in control of his life?
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This kid needs to get out in the world. Does his mother really think that playing the playstation all day is really the best option out there?
He needs and deserves help, not apathy.
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Kiwi judge calls Blair a criminal
By IRENE CHAPPLE - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 13 May 2007
What I figured was criminal was calling teh US 'oldest ally'. Excuse me - what about the Maori wars in 1860, Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion, Sudan in 1885, WWI WWII (there way before the US ever thought about it), Malayan Emergency in the 1950's, , Indonesia in 1964,
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This part:
Mr Cox's "adolescence has been all but destroyed; his adulthood will not be any better. He will never know the satisfaction of employment. He will suffer anxiety and depression, almost certainly, for the rest of his life".
Never? Almost certainly? They're saying that $220,000 worth of therapy and capital can't fix this guy to the point of being in control of his life?
And who bullied him into taking the case?
I think it's appalling that someone can get that amount of damages...all you Ozzies can use this precedent now and demand compensation for various 'things' that happened to you in the past, that forced you to leave Oz and come to China...
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Kiwi judge calls Blair a criminal
By IRENE CHAPPLE - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 13 May 2007
What I figured was criminal was calling teh US 'oldest ally'.
Wo bu ming bai...who called the US their oldest ally? Ah, was it Blair?
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Rare koala twins new ambassadors
May 15, 2007 - 10:23AM
They may be Australia's cutest icons, but these twins are 100 per cent made in China.
Koala joeys Little Michelle and Little Amanda have captured international attention after finally emerging from their mother's pouch to greet their adoring fans this week at China's Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou.
Experts say the marsupials are the first twins to be born in captivity since the early 1960s, when twin koalas were born at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.
The chances of both twins surviving in the wild are virtually nil, but the six-month-old babies are now believed to have an 85 to 90 per cent chance of reaching maturity.
To ensure their survival, the babies are under round-the-clock supervision by safari park staff who monitor the 10 cameras located inside the enclosure.
The joeys' mum, Murrumbidgee, was a gift to China from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast.
Two other females and three males were also relocated to this new home, much to the delight of the Safari Park staff and visitors.
All three females have since become mothers, with the twins the latest addition to the extended family.
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That's ok. A lot of their pandas were born in oz. bfbfbfbfbf
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Teen paints Queen's portrait in Vegemite
AAP | Thursday, 17 May 2007
BRISBANE: A Queensland teenager has painted a portrait of the Queen in Vegemite.
Sixteen-year-old Stef Chard, from the south-east Queensland town of Gympie, said she did not deliberately set out to capture the likeness of the monarch in yeast extract.
"When you run out of paint, then you really turn to the next best thing
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But it won only second prize at the Gympie Art Show.
Load of bloody philistines up that way, aren't they?
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Is that in response to that Jesus in Chocolate thing?
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Is that in response to that Jesus in Chocolate thing?
I think it was the Queen in Vegemite thing ahahahahah
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Deaf-mutes sold to China pickpocket ring
May 24, 2007 - 5:29PM
Chinese police have detained the vice-principal of a school for deaf-mutes and other special needs children for selling 10 students to a ring that trained them to become pickpockets, the Guizhou Metropolitan Daily reported.
Police rescued the victims, the youngest of whom was 12, in Jiangxi and Henan provinces this month, the online edition of the newspaper said.
They went missing from their school in Liupanshui city, Guizhou, last month, the newspaper said, adding that the ring trained and required each person to steal and turn in 500 yuan ($A79) a day.
Zhu Xiangyu, 52, vice-principal of the school and vice-president of Liupanshui's Deaf-Mute Association, and four other suspects were taken into police custody.
Hundreds of deaf-mute students had gone missing since 2005, the newspaper said.
Bloody schoolteachers!! They'll do anything for a quid!!
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Words fail me.
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Has reality TV gone too far?
Dutch kidney television show a hoax
Saturday Jun 2 07:48 AEST
A Dutch reality television show in which a supposedly dying woman had to pick one of three contestants to whom she would donate a kidney has been revealed as an elaborate hoax.
The show, which the broadcaster had said aimed to focus attention on a shortage of donor organs in the Netherlands, was condemned by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende ahead of transmission and sparked controversy worldwide.
Identified only as Lisa, the 37-year-old woman who had been said to have been suffering from a brain tumour was to base her selection on the person's history and conversations with the candidates' families and friends.
The contestants were also part of the deception, although all three are genuine kidney patients.
"Their life is bitter reality," the presenter said after revealing the deception, just at the moment at which Lisa was to have made her choice.
Dutch Education Minister Ronald Plasterk hailed the show as a "fantastic stunt" and an intelligent way to draw attention to the shortage of donor organs.
The show is expected to set off heated debate between those who believe reality television has gone too far and others who believe the publicity was generated for a good cause.
Program makers apologised to viewers and said they hoped "outrage" over the show would turn into anger over the lack of organs for transplant.
Viewers in the Netherlands were asked to give advice via text messages in the 80-minute show, and appeals ran throughout for people to donate their organs.
Early in the show Lisa was shown selecting three people from 25 candidate profiles who matched her blood group.
"It feels like playing God," said a fraught-looking Lisa. "Think of it as playing Santa Claus," replied the presenter.
The show had set off a storm of criticism, both at home and abroad, though some kidney patients said ahead of the show that they approved of it because it drew attention to their plight.
Balkanende had said the show was detrimental to the whole business of organ donation and it would do the reputation of the Netherlands no good abroad, Dutch news agency ANP said.
Dutch embassies received complaints from people expressing their shock over the show.
Public broadcaster BNN, which came up with the idea, said it wanted to draw attention to the growing shortage of organ donors in the Netherlands.
"Money has never been part of this thing and no money will be made from this," said BNN chairman Laurans Drillich.
Callers to a local radio station had suggested the whole thing could be a hoax by BNN to build up its ratings.
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I am still trying to get over the vegemite/queen thing. A toast to the queen? I mean, who writes this stuff.
Reality TV left reality some time ago. Reality TV is to entertainment what the KT event was to the dinosaurs. I am remain unconvinced there is life before death.
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Mr. Nobody. I am so very glad you have started posting again. bfbfbfbfbf I have truly missed your wit and candour. agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag
Welcome back to the saloon. jjjjjjjjjj
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G8 Africa pledge is a smokescreen: Bono
Friday Jun 8 23:01 AEST
Rock star Bono has denounced world leaders for producing a "deliberately misleading" pledge to fight AIDS and other killer diseases.
"I am exasperated," Bono told Reuters in a telephone interview at the Baltic resort where leaders from the world's rich nations were rounding off their three-day summit.
"I think it is deliberately the language of obfuscation. It is deliberately misleading," he added.
G8 leaders announced a $60 billion pledge to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis with great fanfare but many activists were disappointed that they failed to set a timetable for the spending plans and that it contained little new money.
"They have taken language hostage. We wanted numbers but this is burobabble," Bono said, criticising the lack of a timeline and the fact that the pledge did not apply specifically to Africa.
"It is not real in any language. We are looking for accountable language and numbers. I might be a rock star but I can count."
The U2 singer and campaigner, who has been in Heiligendamm holding private meetings with G8 leaders, identified Italy and Canada as the main obstacles to a more ambitious deal.
He also expressed disappointment that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the summit host, had not managed to convince her counterparts to make concrete commitments.
"We wanted her to be an honest broker - she has a history of that - but she hasn't managed to rein them in."
"I think Merkel showed passion and commitment but she hasn't turned that into real outcomes."
G8 leaders also restated pledges made to double aid spending made two years ago at a summit in Gleneagles in Scotland.
"They say they will keep their pledges on Africa but it is remarkable. In a 25 page document we can't see any evidence of how they are going to get to those. It is a maze."
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"I'm a rock star, but I can count"
ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah love this.
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I've never seen this term "burobabble" before. I know, I'm just not worldly enough. But I like it and what should be it's logical synonym "bureau-speak." The former lends itself to easy abbreviation to yell out "BB! BB! when listening to politicians.
NOw, it's probably due a re-spelling to "bureau-babble." At least Bono's a rock star who can count all the way to and from the bank but I imagine the Reuter's reporter probably ONLY a groupie & p-t journalist who never did well on the J-School spelling test.
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burobabble ???
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Hope this embarrasses my government into stepping up. But , knowing Harper, he probably talked some sh!t about why spend money on africans when there are Canadians with goalie helmets, and now has to back up his stupid words.
When I think of how many vicious diseases we could eradicate from history with a determined, sustained effort, this foot-dragging really pisses me off.
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When I think of how many vicious diseases we could eradicate from history with a determined, sustained effort, this foot-dragging really pisses me off.
More votes in killing people, Con!
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Randy sniffer dogs get the sack
Reuters | Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Two Thai street mutts who became ace sniffer dogs at an airport near the notorious "Golden Triangle" opium-producing region have been fired for urinating on luggage and sexually harassing female passengers.
The pair, Mok and Lai, had been plucked from obscurity under a program initiated by King Bhumibol Adulyadej to turn strays into police dogs, the Bangkok Post said on Sunday.
Although they won plaudits from police for their work in sniffing out drugs at northern Thailand's Chiang Rai airport, near the border with Laos and Myanmar, so many passengers complained about their behavior they had to be fired.
"He liked to pee on luggage while searching for drugs inside," Mok's former handler, Police Lieutenant Colonel Jakapop Kamhon, said. "He also liked to hold on to women's legs."
"Both were just as good as foreign dogs trained for use in drug missions," he added. "But they were stray dogs, so their manners were worse than those of foreign breeds."
Mok and Lai now work on a farm, herding chickens and pigs, the paper said.
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can't trust those Albanians! Someone stole his watch.
http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2007/6/12/120607_bush_horloge.html (http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2007/6/12/120607_bush_horloge.html)
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US denies Bush had watch stolen
June 13, 2007 - 2:08PM
This series of images shows Mr Bush starting his Albanian meet-and-greet walkabout with his watch on, and finishing without the timepiece.
This series of images shows Mr Bush starting his Albanian meet-and-greet walkabout with his watch on, and finishing without the timepiece.
Photo: AP
Reports that US President George Bush had his wristwatch stolen while shaking hands with Albanians on his weekend visit are false, Albanian police and the U.S. embassy said on Tuesday.
"The story is untrue and the president did not lose his watch," a spokesman for the embassy in Tirana said.
Some newspapers, television stations and websites carried reports that Bush's watch vanished on Sunday when he was greeted by ecstatic crowds in Fushe Kruje, outside the capital Tirana.
"It is not true," said Albania's police director, Ahmet Prenci.
Photographs showed Bush, surrounded by five bodyguards, putting his hands behind his back so one of the bodyguards could remove his watch.
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Why the hell's he got a watch? It's not like he can tell the time or anything.
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And this one makes me proud to be a Hoganlander.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1950397.htm (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1950397.htm)
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Getting priorities right is our strong point, Newbs.
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Greetingks,
American Imperialist Swine fellow freedom lovers from the newly liberated West.
My name Blerta is. I is Albanian mans. I haf, for sale, on the ebay, one genuine American Swatch watch. Is kinda funny lookingk. Face of watch is blue. On blue face is, how you say, eagle with no hair, and lots of arrows. What am I bid for funny lookingk watch? Bids start at 10000 Albanian Leke, which is $2-55 in your money. Hurry, hurry, hurry.
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Here is a humdinger for ya: I lifted this from Fox News.
TEHRAN, Iran
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Please note that (although many people do have them) satellite dishes for private use are against the law in Iran!
And they are very strict in their interpretations of acceptable vs forbidden.
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It's my understanding that everybody and their dog have a dish strung up on their roof.
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It's my understanding that everybody and their dog have a dish strung up on their roof.
My penpal estimates about 50% have satellites at home, but they must use them secretly (against the Law)....and whilst the receiving/viewing of porn (or "porn") is one thing, it's the production and distribution that has just been legislated against.
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I always find it interesting that lawmakers everywhere have no trouble with blood,guts, and violence....either real or in a war.....but turn all coy and prudish when it comes to sex. Killing people is fine, and good fun, but depicting the procreation act is a dastardly crime!
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CHINESE police have detained a college student suspected of poisoning three classmates' drinking water with the toxic metal thallium.
Three students from the Chinese University of Mining & Technology in Xuzhou in the eastern province of Jiangsu were hospitalised and diagnosed with thallium poisoning after developing symptoms including stomach aches and vomiting on June 1, the Beijing News said.
Investigators examined their drinking cups and found excessive levels of thallium, a highly toxic metal that can damage the nerves and kidney as well as lead to hair loss, the newspaper said.
Police last week detained a classmate surnamed Chang, who confessed he poisoned the three out of deep resentment that they had isolated him, it said.
Chinese University of Mining & Technology in Xuzhou ...Is this Suzhou??
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Don't think so George. There is a Xuzhou in Jiangsu, about as far away from Suzhou and still be in Jiangsu.
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Did he pass his exams? Sounds like he did.
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'World Cup air' sale hits wall in China
CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2007
BEIJING - A Chinese firm that once tried to sell land on the moon has been banned from a more down-to-earth venture of selling bags of "World Cup air" to fans hoping to recreate the football tournament's atmosphere.
Beijing Lunar Village Aeronautics Science and Technology Co. lost a suit last year against the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce, which refused its application to sell green plastic bags full of air from stadiums that hosted matches in the Germany 2006 World Cup.
Company chief executive Li Jie had planned to sell the bags to football fans for 50 yuan ($7 Cdn) each, the agency said.
"My idea was that fans unable to make the trip to the World Cup soccer tournament in Germany earlier this year could hang the green plastic bags around their necks and breathe in the air while watching matches on television," Li was reported to have said last year.
Oh, my splitting sides...laughing too much axaxaxaxax
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I don't understand why they lost the suit though. It makes perfect sense to want to have relatively clean air from Germany when you're only alternative is Beijing air.
Prediction: 42 athletes drop dead at the 2008 Olympics, just from being unable to chew the air enough to breath.
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Air? They have air in Beijing now? How quickly things change...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- A peacock that roamed into the parking lot of a Burger King in New York City was beaten by a man who insisted it was a vampire.
Animal control officials in Staten Island say the bird was beaten so fiercely that most of its tail feathers fell out and it had to be euthanized.
The seven-year-old male peacock wandered into the restaurant parking lot and perched on a car hood last week. Charmed employees had been feeding it bread when the man appeared.
A restaurant worker says the man grabbed the bird by the neck, hurled it to the ground and started stomping it. She says when he was asked what he was doing, he responded, "'I'm killing a vampire!"'
Employees called police, but the man ran when he saw them.
Maybe he watched "The Birds" one too many times. Normally I find loonies highly amusing, but not animal cruelty loonies. I hope the peacocks take revenge.
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China is to make the Guinness Book of Records...for a 4-storey buildng, housing over 1,000 toilets & urinals!!! (in many different colours, shapes and sizes).
Chongqing in SW China is very proud of their new, public facility, and many Western news agencies are picking up this report.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864916/posts
I hope this link works. Spy squirrels??? Mwahahahaha...soon my army of small, furry animals will be ready!!! qqqqqqqqqq qqqqqqqqqq soon my small friends will know all your secrets and you will bow down to this cgcgcgcgcg
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BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state television has begun sacking contract staff after a bogus news report about toxic dumplings that drew international alarm and angered propaganda chiefs, newspapers reported on Monday.
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A report made by Beijing TV and shown on China Central Television (CCTV) this month claimed to show a vendor selling steamed dumplings stuffed with chemical-laced cardboard masquerading as pork.
The report brought a crescendo of domestic and international alarm about the country's lax product safety, with news of bogus food, drugs and other products ranging from seafood and toothpaste to tires.
And it was with both relief and shame that officials announced days later that a Beijing TV contract worker had fabricated the report.
Propaganda officials are now seeking tighter control on the mammoth, multi-channel national broadcaster by sacking masses of contract and informal staff, according to Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong paper under mainland control.
A staff member told the paper that after the scandal, the ruling Communist Party's propaganda department and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television had demanded that media "carry out resolute self-examination and self-correction."
"CCTV is following the demand and has begun dismissing employees," the employee said. "Those with ability can stay, those that aren't qualified must all be dismissed."
Reflecting its status as an arm of state, CCTV has a limited number of formal staff positions authorized by the government. But as channels and the chase for ratings and advertising revenue have expanded, the broadcaster has taken on many hundreds of contract and informal staff.
"These irregular staff are huge in number -- about as many as there are formal staff," commented the Yangcheng Evening News, a state-run paper in Guangdong province, which also reported the dismissals.
They now face official wrath over the scandal.
The move was confirmed to Reuters by several employees of the state broadcaster. "People must go even if the number of programs is reduced," said one, who said the sackings had begun in recent days.
"These media laborers are too sad. They rushed into CCTV full of ideals ... and now they're being kicked out the door," said one commentator on a Chinese blog.
But staff were also skeptical about how deep and lasting the cuts would be. One CCTV worker said many dismissed staff were likely to be re-employed because many programs could not be made without them.
The reporter who made the dumpling report, Zi Beijia, and a handful of others have been detained.
Now, which version do we believe?
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In re: "dumplings" made of cardboard......But it sounds so very plausible! TIFC, after all. Cheap, convenient and tasty....Yummm.
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I'm sitting here reading the numerous articles reporting that the Danish troops have pulled out of Basra. One sentence struck me as being worthy of quoting: the human cost has been significant. Six soldiers have died since the four-year occupation started and numerous soldiers have returned with emotional and psychological scars.
Six soldiers??? Four years and six soldiers died? I may be a bit callous here but don't find that to be a terribly high body count. I do remember that every time one soldier died, there were several articles in which the parents of the deceased soldier would rant and rave against the government who killed their darling little boy. Now, what do people think happens when soldiers go to war? Their little sweet boy did not go to the Iraq pillow-fight or the Iraq sit-in-a-circle-while-making-sarcastic-comments-about-the-enemies-relatives-and-general-personality conflict. If we put the Iraq war in a historical perspective, especially given the time frame, does six soldiers really seem a lot? How long did WWI last? Or the Crimean war? Or the Korean war?
I think Danish journalists might benefit from a bit of a reality check or a history lesson.
Now they are also debating if we had any positive impact in Iraq. And honestly, I don't think we did. From what I can read, Iraq is currently much worse off than it was under the oppressive rule of Saddam.
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Now they are also debating if we had any positive impact in Iraq. And honestly, I don't think we did. From what I can read, Iraq is currently much worse off than it was under the oppressive rule of Saddam.
The "positive impact" is that European/US have now freed the Iraqi citizens from the tyranny and cruelty of Saddam so that they can now conduct their own civil war.
Trying to impose peace and civility on others seldom works. Iraq is the prime paradigm.
I'm feeling a bit cynical today. Can you tell???
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You and me both. Søren Gade, the deranged junkie-smurf who somehow got to be minister of defense, is jumping around saying we brought peace to Iraq whle rockets are dropping all around him. The power of denial is amazing.
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Mississippi Bridge collapse.......
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/i-thought-i-was-dead/2007/08/02/1185648017276.html (http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/i-thought-i-was-dead/2007/08/02/1185648017276.html)
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What a horror show. The pictures and videos are almost unbelieveable.
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That is just effing unbelievable! How does a gigantic bridge just suddenly collapse? According to authorities, the collapse is not attributable to terrorists but rather maintenance and the severe lack of same. I'm flummoxed.
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MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Russia staked a symbolic claim to the resource-rich Arctic on Thursday when a submersible dived beneath the ice directly under the North Pole and planted a Russian flag on the seabed.
The Akademik Fedorov research ship carried about 100 scientists to the region.
The rust-proof titanium flag was planted on the seabed 4,261 meters (13,980 ft) under the surface of the Arctic Ocean, Itar-Tass news agency quoted Vladimir Strugatsky, vice president of Russia's polar exploration association, as saying from a support vessel.
Russia wants to extend the territory in the Arctic it controls right up to the North Pole. The region is believed to hold vast untapped oil and gas reserves.
Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone around the north of their coastline.
But Russia is claiming a larger slice extending as far as the pole because, Moscow says, the Arctic seabed and Siberia are linked by one continental shelf.
One of the aims of the expedition is to allow oceanographers to study the seabed and establish that Russia and the North Pole are part of the same shelf.
Don't Miss
Russia in Arctic Sea oil and land grab
"It was a soft landing ... There is yellowish gravel down there. No creatures of the deep are visible," Tass quoted expedition leader Artur Chilingarov as saying.
Soviet and U.S. nuclear submarines have often traveled under the polar icecap, but no one has so far reached the seabed under the Pole, where depths exceed 4,000 meters (13,100 feet).
Expedition leaders have said their main worry is to resurface at the ice hole where they dived as the mini-submersibles are not strong enough to break through the North Pole's desolate ice cap.
Tumtitum....and the Ship of Fools sail merrily on...not that the Russians are fools, not at all. All the Russians I have ever encountered were delightful. The world, from what I can tell, just seems to have morphed into a Ship of Fools or the lunatic asylum described in Poe's "Dr.Tar and Professor Feather".
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Mississippi Bridge collapse.......
According to reports on (all) the news, the bridge had gotten a "still safe" but "in need of repairs in the future" and "structurally deficient".....and there are about 750 aoaoaoaoao other bridges of the same design in and around the US (in a similar state of disrepair?).
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It would seem that the authorities responsible for bridge maintenance work according to the time-honoured maxim: If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
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Tell that to the families of the dead.
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I think they know already. I only wonder who will be to blame? I mean, someone must be held responsible for a horrible incident like this. I find it hard to call this an accident as, from what the news tell me, all those fatalities and injuries could have been avoided if someone somewhere had been doing their job.
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I feel very sad for this panda, for so many reasons ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
Sexually suspect panda gives birth to twins
A panda once believed to be male gave birth to twin cubs this week
The panda was sent to Japan in 2000 to mate with a female... that didn't work out
The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species
Next Article in Technology »
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A panda once believed to be male and sent to Japan to breed with a female without success gave birth to twin cubs this week, state media reported on Thursday.
An estimated 1,600 wild pandas live in nature reserves in China's Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
The panda, "Jinzhu", gave birth to two female cubs on Monday at the Wolong Nature Reserve in the mountainous southwestern province of Sichuan, 11 years after being declared male at birth in 1996, Xinhua news agency said.
"Jinzhu was believed to be male owing to her inconspicuous secondary sex characteristic and behavior," the agency quoted Wei Rongping, assistant director of the reserve's research center, as saying.
Jinzhu was sent to Japan in 2000 to mate with a female, the report said.
"When the pandas showed complete disinterest, experts decided to turn to artificial insemination, leading to the discovery that Jinzhu had no penis," it added.
Jinzhu was sent back to China in 2002, with experts arguing the panda was either a hermaphrodite or had "undeveloped" sexual organs.
"The penis of an adult panda is only about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) long," Xinhua quoted Li Deshen, a panda expert, as saying, as a possible reason for the mix-up.
It was not until 2005 that scientists discovered nine-year-old Jinzhu's ovaries were positioned in the wrong place, and gave her a two-hour operation to make her a "normal girl", Xinhua said.
Jinzhu subsequently mated with a male in March 2007 and gave birth 142 days later, Xinhua said.
The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species and is found only in China. An estimated 1,600 wild pandas live in nature reserves in China's Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
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language barriers???
"Strewth. Crikey. Bloody hell. An Australian woman has reportedly sparked a security scare aboard a US flight after her use of a common Australian phrase was apparently misinterpreted as an act of aggression.
Sophie Reynolds, 41, from Queanbeyan, was flying aboard SkyWest Airlines from Atlanta to Pittsburgh this week when she asked a flight attendant if she could have a pack of pretzels instead of crackers.
"[The flight attendant] said they didn't have any [pretzels], and I said, 'Fair dinkum,' out of frustration," Reynolds was quoted as saying in the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Before she knew it a second flight attendant asked her for her passport and copied down her name.
Then, when the flight landed, three uniformed officers greeted her.
"They said, 'You swore at the hostess and there are federal rules against that,"' Reynolds said. "And I said, 'I did not swear at the hostess, I just said 'fair dinkum."'
A spokeswoman for the airline said it was not simply a matter of misunderstanding the language.
"We witnessed aggressive behaviour throughout the flight," she said.
Reynolds was not charged and allowed to go on her way, she said."
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I'm constantly collecting news articles, mostly realted to China. This one's a year old, but remains a favorite "evergreen." ;D
From Reuters:
Flaming dog meat sets Chinese school afire
July 21, 2006
A Chinese headmaster, who tried to buy off colleagues by cooking dog meat for them after secretly selling off trees around the school, ended up setting fire to classrooms when the meal burst into flames, a Chinese newspaper said on Friday.
Ten classrooms containing televisions, computers, printers and textbooks burnt down, leaving nearly 100 children unable to go to school, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
The headmaster, in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, sold off a 1,000-tree arboretum surrounding the school on the sly, the newspaper said.
"In order to get the teachers not to tell anyone what he had done, on the afternoon of May 16, headmaster Meng got friends to obtain two dogs, which they proceeded to kill on the school grounds," the report said.
"He then told the teachers they would have dog meat to eat that afternoon," it added.
But the plan went awry when the dog being baked burst into flames and set fire to the school's main office and then the classrooms.
The local education bureau fined the headmaster 10,000 yuan (677 pounds) and suggested he be fired, the newspaper said.
bibibibibi
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Xinhua quoted Li Deshen, a panda expert,
Hang on! This bloke is a panda expert but he doesn't know the difference between boy pandas and girl pandas. mmmmmmmmmm
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...and I thought Chinese people were crazy... from today's AP wire:
Woman calls police about 'fake' cocaine
August 13, 2007
Associated Press
ROCHELLE, GA -- A woman was arrested after she called police to help "get her money back" after she was unhappy with the crack cocaine she purchased.
Juanita Marie Jones, 53, called Rochelle Police late Thursday night after she purchased what she thought was a $20 piece of crack cocaine, according to police reports.
She told officers she broke the rock into three pieces and smoked one, only to discover the drugs were "fake."
She took Officer Joel Quinn and Deputy John Shedd of the Wilcox County Sheriff's Office into her kitchen and showed them the drugs, police said.
She was promptly arrested on charges of possession of cocaine.
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...and I thought Chinese people were crazy... from today's AP wire:
Woman calls police about 'fake' cocaine
August 13, 2007
Associated Press
ROCHELLE, GA -- A woman was arrested after she called police to help "get her money back" after she was unhappy with the crack cocaine she purchased.
ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah That is the funniest thing I have read all day. What an optmistic little junkie. What'll be next? Burglars calling the police because the TV they stole does not work? Does crack come with a warranty? Full satisfaction or your braincells back?
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The cocaine mustnt have been fake - she got dooped to the extent of calling the police! ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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Hey, ericthered, glad you got your daily dose of amusement!
The original reporter of the story, Cindy Bishop -- for the Cordele Dispatch in Georgia -- (http://www.cordeledispatch.com/local/local_story_223195348.html) opens her article with the burning question: “Do drug dealers issue gift cards if their buyers aren’t satisfied with the product?”
...and cheekygal makes an excellent point!
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If it was fake she can sue for wrongful arrest - no possession case at all.
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Yeah, lotus eater! Let's hope her lawyer makes that same argument in her defense. In Rochelle, Georgia, I imagine she worked hard for that $20! She can't be wastin' twenty bucks on bugus rocks and not get wasted herself!
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This does raise a rather interesting point: crack cocaine is very bad for you, we all know this. Now, this woman attempted to purchase an illegal substance. A fellow cheated her and sold her something that she believed was crack cocaine. The particulars of the case, for instance what the actual substance was, have not been reported but if we work from the assumption that the purchased substance was completely harmless, like buying oregano and thinking it is pot, how exactly did she and the pusher break the law. Techincally, she had the intention of acquiring something illegal but she did not. The pusher did not sell something illegal, so is it not, in theory, wrong to arrest her? I know you can be arrested for intention to sell drugs but can you be arrested for intention to buy drugs or, in her case, for not buying drugs? I mean, isn't that what she did? Not buy drugs and then proceed to tell the police that she had not bought drugs, she had not taken drugs and the pusher had not sold her drugs?
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Eric...I'm beginning to feel like I'm in the middle of a Monty Python skit!!! aoaoaoaoao
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Actually, AMonk, I think the year-old story I posted today about the exploding dog meat hush-lunch in China is much more "Monty Python" than the wacky-crack antics in Georgia!
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Oh, I don't know. I can just picture John Cleese as the arresting bobby and Eric Idle in a dress, discussing this. I wish I had the talent to write down the sketch being played in my head but alas, no.
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Maybe I should have referenced Danny Kaye's "The Vessel with the Pestle"?? bgbgbgbgbg
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"The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true". ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah I love that movie.
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Yeah, Eric... I can only imagine the conversation between Juanita Marie and the police dispatch who first received her call...
"Lookahere... Somebody done ripped me off for some whack crack! I ain't gonna stand for this! You gotta get some PO-lice over here, now!"
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bkbkbkbkbk bkbkbkbkbk
But seriously, if the thing she bought is not crack or, theoretically, not drugs, they can't really arrest her for possession, can they?
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I wouldn't have thought so. but she claimed it was - so maybe they could arrest her for 'waste of police time'.
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While I am in no way a legal expert, I think there is something known as "unclean hands," meaning that people who engage in unlawful behavior for a particular outcome, are guilty of a crime. The fact that Juanita was (or believed she was) engaged in the purchase of illegal substances makes her a participant in a crime. But I also agree that it's a "shaky" case, at best.
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Apparently there is something like "ill will" or some such, which basically means that you can be arrested if proven that you had intended to break the law in some case. I'm no legal eagle either but all my friends are. Yeah, lawyers the lot of them...my mother always said I would end up hanging out with the wrong crowd...
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It's not like the police officers had a choice. Someone told them they bought crack and then points to it, even claiming it's fake, their duty is to arrest the person for possession. Doing nothing, or even worse, trying to figure out for themselves if it's real or not, is more trouble than it's worth and would probably cost them their pensions. The Police officers' duty was to enforce the letter of the law. The rest is up to the courts. Easypeasy. Solid arrest. Stupid woman.
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I am not disputing the arrest nor the action taken by the police. It is indeed a matter for the courts, as you say, and that is what I find interesting. A clear open-and-shut case involving a triple axe-murder can be thrown out of court on insignificant technicalities. I can just see the judge's face when Juanita is questioned.
"Did you have any cocaine?"
"No"
"Had you bought any cocaine?"
"No"
Errr....
"Malicious intent" seems to be the techincal term. In this case it is no more than a misdemeanor and Juanita will probably face a fine and a short suspended sentence.
But what to do with the pusher? It's not as if Juanita can actually finger him to cut a deal. One thing intent to purchase but I don't think there is any law that says you cannot sell dried hamster poo to crack addicts.
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"China closes Carlsberg down
A Carlsberg brewery in China was closed down in April by the local authorities for allegedly violating environmental laws. Although China isn’t renowned for its re-cord on the environment, the brewery in the Ganzu province was forced to shut down production for weeks because it hadn’t built a cleaning plant as required. Carlsberg claimed that construction of the plant had been delayed by Chinese bureaucracy."
aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao bureaucracy in China...nonono, gotta be a mistake.
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Well, how else can you call it if someone did not pay enough money to the responsible official - without blaming him and losing your face? ahahahahah
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NEWSFLASH!!!
MattelR is the latest Toy Company to issue a recall of products manufactured in PRC. It is fairly comprehensive (Elmo, Dora, etc) and the majority of toys were manufactured in the past 3 months!!!
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I read about that somewhere. Didn't the CEO commit suicide due to this recall. Something about awarding a contract to a friend whose company failed do meet the health requirements and used poisonous paint?
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Here is a german article about it - sorry, I normally do not read english news(papers)
http://onleben.t-online.de/c/11/97/67/82/11976782.html
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Don't know about the CEO, but the paint was lead-laden, and the toys also had tiny, detachable parts that could be (too) easily swallowed. Not good for little tummies!
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I was right. The poor chap did commit suicide.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/13/china.toymaker.ap/index.html
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It gets worse:
Chinese officials knew about magnetic toy problems: report
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 | 10:12 AM ET CBC News
Chinese authorities knew about safety problems with magnets on toys months before Mattel Inc. issued a massive recall, an industry official told Reuters Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the California-based toymaker recalled nearly 18.7 million toys worldwide because of magnets that could be swallowed, risking potentially fatal intestinal perforations, infections or blockage in children that swallow more than one, and excessive amounts of lead in the paint. About 10 million toys were recalled in Canada and the United States.
The Chinese official, who asked not to be identified, said the issue with the magnetic toys was known back in March, but neither the U.S. company nor the manufacturers were notified.
"We knew about the situation, because since March some toys had been recalled due to magnetic parts problems," said an official with the China Toy Association.
The China Toy Association plans to meet with the Commerce Ministry and a quality watchdog Wednesday to discuss solutions to the problem.
China has been struggling to regain the trust of consumers worldwide after a string of recalls involving a number of products, including defective tires and tainted toothpaste.
Two weeks ago, Mattel's Fisher-Price division recalled about one million toys sold in the U.S. that could contain lead paint. The toys were painted by a Chinese subcontractor.
Chinese authorities have admitted that it will take years to set up a proper inspection system to ensure products are safe.
Already, officials are looking at solutions such as having North American companies send their own inspectors to Chinese factories to ensure their standards are met. As well, some companies have begun training Chinese inspectors.
Tuesday's recall by Mattel involves toys such as Polly Pocket dolls and Batman action figures, about 890,000 of which were sold in Canada. About 32,800 Sarge die-cast cars sold in Canada were also recalled because they contained lead paint.
The recall expanded on a similar recall in November 2006.
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Is your teaching job already influenced by this?
http://www.china.org.cn/english/education/220537.htm
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OHHHh! Dethpicable Dutch perthons!!.....
THREE young men in the northern Dutch town of Damwoude were charged with damaging property after adding maggots to supermarket meat that was later sold to a customer, police said today.
The shopkeeper found 40 maggots after the customer complained, and identified the men, aged between 18 and 21, on a surveillance tape as they put the insect larvae into packaged meat.
bibibibibi bibibibibi
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aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa that's disgusting.
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Is your teaching job already influenced by this?
http://www.china.org.cn/english/education/220537.htm
Not directly, but yes.
In their politics classes they are getting some of this these days. Don't know how much sinks in, because the politics classes are generally the ones where students catch up on their sleep or SMS's. But all are aware of it and I have seen an increase in these "political lessons" in the last couple of years. It's a good thing, really. It's the closest thing to a "moral education" you will find here.
But students really don't like to hear it first coming from the FTs unless you have been teaching them for quite awhile and you have built up a large reserve of trust and respect with them.
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My students complain to me about the corruption - especially academic and in finding jobs - clearly it affects them as well. It seems to be much more openly talked about now. Reporting in the China daily of corruption has increased and this always seems to be the indicator that things are Ok to discuss.
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Australian woman killed by pet camel
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- An Australian woman was killed by a pet camel given to her as a 60th birthday present, police said Sunday.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was killed Saturday at her family sheep and cattle ranch near Mitchell, 350 miles west of the Queensland state capital Brisbane, state police Detective Senior Constable Craig Gregory said.
The 10-month-old male -- weighing about 330 pounds -- had knocked her to the ground then lay on top of her in what police suspect was mating behavior, Gregory said.
Camel expert Chris Hill agreed with Gregory.
Hill, who has offered camel rides to tourists for 20 years, said young camels are not aggressive but can be dangerous if treated as pets without discipline.
The woman was given the hand-reared camel in March as a birthday present from her husband and daughter.
The fate of the camel is not known.
An autopsy of the woman will determine the precise cause of death within days.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/20/camel.death.ap/index.html?eref=rss_world
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bibibibibi
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There is so many things one could say about that article but, as someone died, I won't.
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Yeah, Eric, that's why I also refrained from making a comment (or two), but I thought the piece warranted posting.
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Another, far more important story from today's Agence France Presse:
Freed dissident calls for 'taxpayers' revolution' in China
by P. Parameswaran -- Agence France Presse
August 21, 2007
A high-profile Chinese dissident freed from prison called on Tuesday for a "taxpayers revolution" in China to bring about greater openness and accountability in the world's most populous nation.
Yang Jianli, a veteran of the bloody Tiananmen Square student uprising in Beijing in 1989, urged Chinese communist leaders to give in to "mounting pressures from bottom to top for democracy in China" so that they could minimize the "social cost" for such change.
A permanent US resident, Yang returned to his Boston home from Beijing at the weekend after serving a five-year prison sentence for spying and illegally entering China.
Holder of doctorates from both Harvard and Berkeley, Yang was detained for illegal entry and alleged espionage for Taiwan in April 2002 when entering China with a friend's passport to observe labor unrest.
Beijing had refused to renew his own passport due to his involvement in the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement that ended in bloodshed when tanks crushed the demonstrations, killing hundreds or even thousands of protesters.
"People in China are more and more aware of their rights as taxpayers and I have been advocating a taxpayers' revolution from prison," Yang told AFP in a telephone interview from Boston.
Yang, who is to give a news conference at Capitol Hill with US legislators on Tuesday, said he wrote a number of chapters for a book on the topic while in prison.
"Everybody in China is a taxpayer and are entitled to certain rights as masters of the country, masters of the government," he said.
"They are entitled, for example, to ask the government to make public their budget so that they can choose the most efficient, cost effective public services people," he said.
The dissident believed "the days are not too far away" for democracy to take root in China and transform from a "100 percent police state now."
He said that President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders were already "feeling the urgency for freedom but are worried that if they open up, they will lose their power and everything.
"The reality is nobody can stop democratization in China now. The value of human rights has become universal."
Yang, a father of two, was released from prison on April 27 but his status has been in limbo as Beijing had refused to give him an identity card to stay in the country or an exit visa or passport to leave the country.
Yang's case was brought up with the Chinese leaders several times by US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The US House of Representatives and Senate had unanimously passed several resolutions calling for his unconditional release.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also found that Yang had been held in violation of international law.
Barney Frank, the Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts, whose constituents include Yang and his family, said US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's "intervention" with Chinese leaders in July helped prod Beijing to issue a passport for Yang and paved the way for his return.
"I also very much appreciate that the Chinese government acceded to Secretary Paulson's request and allowed Jianli to come home," Frank said.
Yang said that the Chinese authorities had taken him to Beijing airport in September 2006 to send him to the United States but he refused because they could not give him a verbal or written assurance that he could return to China or allow him to visit the grave of his father, who died during his imprisonment.
"So they put me back in prison and I fully served my term," he said. "I paid a high price but I accomplished my goals -- including getting a passport, which theoretically allows me to go back to China even tomorrow."
Yang said he would "spend meaningful time with his family" over the next few months to decide on what specific projects he would undertake to push for democratization in China.
In "Beijing Prison No. 2," he said, he taught mathematics, economics and English and coached basketball to inmates.
"I also offered them a course, for which I wrote textbooks, on common sense logic and the ability to search for truth," he said. "We all need it."
Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
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Odd. How are they going to maintain the Colonel Schultz approach to the whole Tianneman Square business when they let people who participated in it out of jail? A course in common sense, logic and the search for truth? ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah I mean, there are some places and people in China who could benefit from such a course but I don't think he'll have much chance in setting it up.
A dissident is running around dizzing China...geez, the Chairman would be rolling in his mausoleum if he knew how much his Party is slipping. agagagagag
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The 10-month-old male -- weighing about 330 pounds -- had knocked her to the ground then lay on top of her in what police suspect was mating behavior, Gregory said.
WA HAHAHA HAHA HA HA HA!!!!!!!
Hell, I never met her. Figure she was wearing a fur coat at the time? Little camel tease.
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Arm Wrestling Machine Breaks Arms
TOKYO, Aug. 22, 2007
(AP) Lose a game of chess to a computer, and you could bruise your ego. Lose an arm-wrestling match to a Japanese arcade machine, and you could break your arm.
Distributor Atlus Co. said it will remove all 150 "Arm Spirit" arm wrestling machines from Japanese arcades after three players broke their arms grappling with the machine's mechanized appendage.
"The machine isn't that strong, much less so than a muscular man. Even women should be able to beat it," said Atlus spokeswoman Ayano Sakiyama, calling the recall "a precaution."
"We think that maybe some players get overexcited and twist their arms in an unnatural way," she said. The company was investigating the incidents and checking the machines for any signs of malfunction.
Players of "Arm Spirit" advance through 10 levels, battling a French maid, drunken martial arts master and a Chihuahua before reaching the final showdown with a professional wrestler.
The arcade machine is not distributed overseas.
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"Even women should be able to beat it" ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah Any comments on that, dear ladies, whom I know would not only beat me in armwrestling but would do it with the left hand, blind drunk while re-organizing your closet.
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China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation
By Matthew Philips
Newsweek
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in T from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, T's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.
At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in T so long as it's under Chinese control. Assuming he's able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks. "It will be a very hot issue," says Paul Harrison, a Buddhism scholar at Stanford. "The Dalai Lama has been the prime symbol of unity and national identity in T, and so it's quite likely the battle for his incarnation will be a lot more important than the others."
So where in the world will the next Dalai Lama be born? Harrison and other Buddhism scholars agree that it will likely be from within the 130,000 Tan exiles spread throughout India, Europe and North America. With an estimated 8,000 Tans living in the United States, could the next Dalai Lama be American-born? "You'll have to ask him," says Harrison. If so, he'll likely be welcomed into a culture that has increasingly embraced reincarnation over the years. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 20 percent of all U.S. adults believe in reincarnation. Recent surveys by the Barna Group, a Christian research nonprofit, have found that a quarter of U.S. Christians, including 10 percent of all born-again Christians, embrace it as their favored end-of-life view. A non-Tan Dalai Lama, experts say, is probably out of the question.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227400/site/newsweek/
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Reincarnating without a license, eh? You're getting a ticket, mister. cbcbcbcbcb
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What will be the punishment for reincarnation without a license? Send to hell immediately? aoaoaoaoao
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Eternal limbo? afafafafaf
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You'll come back as a politician and have to work your way up to dungbeetle?
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Koala sex machine thrills zoo
August 24, 2007 - 6:31AM
A sex-mad koala recruited from Scotland to teach his counterpart in an Austrian zoo about the birds and the bees is finding himself very much in demand.
When romantic music, erotic movies and aphrodisiac food failed to entice their male koala, Bilyarra, to mate with female Mirali, staff at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo sought the help of Edinburgh Zoo's resident stud, Chumbee.
The five-year-old male and his super-active libido arrived on loan in the Austrian capital in March and zoo managers are confident they will soon be hearing the patter of tiny koala paws after Bilyarra started to get in on the action.
"Chumbee hasn't stopped since he got here," said Schoenbrunn Zoo manager Helmut Pechlaner.
"It has been almost non-stop sex in the koala enclosure ever since, and now even our own male is joining in."
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Canadian cops tried to instigate violence at a protest so they could then step in and bash some heads!
Quebec police admit they went undercover at Montebello protest[/b]
Last Updated: Thursday, August 23, 2007 | 7:52 PM ET CBC News
Quebec provincial police admitted Thursday that three of their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators during the protest at the North American leaders summit in Montebello, Que.
A YouTube video shows Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, ordering three masked men back from a line of riot police.
However, the police force denied allegations its undercover officers were there on Monday to provoke the crowd and instigate violence.
"At no time did the police of the Sûreté du Québec act as instigators or commit criminal acts," the police force said in French in a news release. "It is not in the police force's policies, nor in its strategies, to act in that manner.
"At all times, they responded within their mandate to keep order and security."
Police said the three undercover officers were only at the protest to locate and identify non-peaceful protesters in order to prevent any incidents.
Police came under fire Tuesday, when a video surfaced on YouTube that appeared to show three plainclothes police officers at the protest with bandanas across their faces. One of the men was carrying a rock.
In the video, protest organizers in suits order the men to put the rock down, call them police instigators and try unsuccessfully to unmask them.
Police-issued boots identified fake protesters
Protest organizers on Wednesday played the video for the media at a news conference in Ottawa. One of the organizers, union leader Dave Coles, explained that one reason protesters knew the men's true identities was because they were wearing the same boots as other police officers.
Coles said on Wednesday that the only thing he didn't know was whether the men were Quebec police, RCMP or hired security officers.
"[Our union] believes that the security force at Montebello were ordered to infiltrate our peaceful assembly and provoke incidents," said Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.
Police said the three were told to monitor protesters who were not peacefully demonstrating to prevent any violent incidents, but they were called out as undercover agents when they refused to throw objects.
Concern Canada losing control of its energy
The protest at Montebello occurred outside the Fairmont Le Château Montebello hotel, near Ottawa, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. The summit about border security, free trade and other issues began Monday and finished Tuesday.
Protesters said they gathered to voice their concern about Canada losing control of its energy and water resources and borders. Others decried what they called a high level of secrecy at the summit.
The Quebec provincial police will not comment any further on the affair, a spokeswoman in Montreal said.
Quebec Justice Minister Jacques Dupuis was made aware of the news, but a spokesman from his office said he will not comment on the matter either.
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Bob Brown is a good guy - calls it right! I figure, even coming up to elections, there should be a couple more important things for the Oz Federal Gov't to be worried about.
Rudd strip club visit sparks rash of confessions
August 20, 2007 05:06pm
Article from: NEWS.com.au
OPPOSITION Leader Kevin Rudd says he's never claimed to be "Captain Perfect", and his decision to visit a New York strip club is the kind of mistake blokes make.
He may be right, because today a number of his blokey colleagues, and one woman, admitted they had seen strippers.
It was revealed yesterday that Mr Rudd visited Scores gentlemen's club in Manhattan in 2003 with fellow Labor MP Warren Snowdon and New York Post editor Col Allan during a taxpayer-funded trip when he was opposition foreign affairs spokesman.
Mr Rudd has apologised but said he has little recollection of what happened in the strip club, because he had had too much to drink.
"I think any bloke who's honest about their lives can point to times in their lives when they've got it wrong," Mr Rudd said today.
"I've done that, but can I say the attitude of the Australian community, their evaluation of me, that's a matter for them and I accept their judgment.
"I have never tried to present myself as Captain Perfect - I'm not, never have been. Captain Morality or anything like that - I'm not, never have been and we all make mistakes and I've made one here."
Mr Rudd said he had been embarrassed by the revelation but he and Mr Snowdon had no recollection of any inappropriate behaviour and he had apologised to his wife after the incident.
When asked whether wife Terese Rein had given him a "verbal bollocking", a jovial Mr Rudd said: "Therese is a firm woman, we've been married a long time."
The confessions came thick and fast from other politicians after Mr Rudd's revelations.
First, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson admitted he visited a strip club almost 30 years ago.
"I remember being at one when I was 20, in Adelaide," he said on ABC radio in Adelaide.
"I suspect that there are many Australian men and an increasing number of women who have done so as well."
Then Victorian Premier John Brumby suggested strip clubs were the only reason people visited
Sydney.
"The last time I attended a strip place would have probably been in the 1970s, when I was a student, I think if my memory's correct it was probably in Sydney," he said.
"It was with a group of mates, male and female, I can't remember the name of the place."
Queensland Government ministers were falling over themselves to fess up and even Deputy Premier Anna Bligh owned up to a bit of mischief.
"I've seen a strip-o-gram in a Chinese restaurant once - does that count?" she said.
Local Government Minister Andrew Fraser said he hadn't been to a strip club - at least recently.
"Not as a married man. I suppose we're all young once."
Transport Minister Paul Lucas said he had seen strip shows "a couple of times" in his 20s.
"I also actually had a couple of ciggies behind the bike shed at school, I think I swore on the football field when I played football a couple of times, and I was almost late for Mass on Sunday," he said.
But Premier Peter Beattie said he had never been interested in strip clubs. and Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott wouldn't say.
Prime Minister John Howard today declined to comment on the scandal.
But Greens leader Bob Brown said the revelations should be kept in perspective.
"Four years ago Kevin Rudd got drunk and took himself into a strip club," Senator Brown said.
"Four years ago John Howard, sober, took Australia into the Iraq war.
"I think the electorate can judge which one did the more harm," he said.
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The police infiltration of the Canadian Summit protestors is extremely disturbing, especially since they appeared to be trying to incite a riot. This was the lead story on CBC radio this morning and it will likely stay at in the public eye for awhile.
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Errr...where is Matthew Hopkins when ya need him?
SALEM, Massachusetts (AP) -- A self-proclaimed high priestess of Salem witches and a second person were accused of tossing raccoon parts on the doorsteps of businesses, allegedly as part of a Wiccan community feud.
Sharon Graham, 46, and a fellow Wiccan, Frederick Purtz, 22, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of littering and malicious destruction of property. Graham also was charged with intimidating a witness.
They were accused of putting a raccoon head and entrails on the doorsteps of Angelica of the Angels and the Goddess' Treasure Chest in May.
Salem, a historic seaport famous for holding witch trials in the 17th century, has an active Wiccan community and thriving witch-related tourism.
David Gavegnano, a lawyer for Graham, and Sean Wynne, a lawyer for Purtz, both denied that their clients had anything to do with the incident. They also argued that at any rate, the malicious destruction charge wasn't valid because the storefronts weren't permanently damaged.
A witness, Richard Watson, told police he accompanied Graham, Purtz and other people when they put the raccoon remains on the doorsteps. He said Graham hoped to frame a Wiccan businessman who had fired Graham from a psychic telephone business last spring.
Watson also said Graham had a disagreement with the owners of the two targeted businesses over proposed regulations that would limit the number of psychics who come to the city during the Halloween season. He said he was told the group had found the raccoon dead.
Gavegnano declined to comment on Watson's accusations Thursday. Wynne told The Boston Herald said there were probably "internal issues within the Wiccan community," but the tossing of raccoon entrails may be a "bastardization" of Wiccan practice because the religion doesn't condone harming others
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This is a bit of a worry!!
Chinese police track missing uranium
Mary-anne Toy
August 25, 2007
CHINESE police are attempting to trace eight kilograms of radioactive uranium ore that has gone missing.
The police arrested four men trying to sell the highly dangerous substance on the black market, state media have reported.
The men from Hunan province are on trial in Guangzhou, capital of the southern province of Guangdong, after they were arrested attempting to sell the the ore — comprising U-235 and U-238 uranium — for 1.6 million yuan ($A260,000) per kilogram.
A fifth accomplice, who allegedly has the bulk of the ore, has not been found.
Health authorities warned that the ore was highly dangerous. "The radioactive substance uranium does not explode when it is in its raw state, but it is very harmful to people's health," Jiang Chaoqiang, director of the Guangzhou No. 12 People's Hospital, told China Daily.
Mr Jiang said close contact with uranium for long periods could lead to leukaemia or other cancers.
Two of the defendants were arrested in Guangzhou in January trying to sell the uranium to Peng Shuang Jin. He offered to buy apparently on behalf of a customer in Hong Kong, but then informed police of the illegal activity, the New Express Daily newspaper reported.
Another two accomplices were arrested in Hunan six days later.
Police have recovered only 35 grams of uranium from the four men. They claimed a fifth partner, Zhang Xinfang, had disappeared with the bulk of the uranium and had since become seriously ill, presumably from exposure to the radioactivity.
"The men claimed it had been lost because it had been moved around so much between potential buyers," the paper said.
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British dwarf's penis gets stuck to hoover
(Agencies)
August 22, 2007
Edingburgh - A dwarf performer at the Edinburgh fringe festival had to be rushed to hospital after his penis got stuck to a vacuum cleaner during an act that went horribly awry.
Daniel Blackner, or "Captain Dan the Demon Dwarf", was due to perform at the Circus of Horrors at the festival known for its oddball, offbeat performances.
The main part of his act saw him appear on stage with a vacuum cleaner attached to his member through a special attachment.
The attachment broke before the performance and Blackner tried to fix it using extra-strong glue, but unfortunately only let it dry for 20 seconds instead of the 20 minutes required.
He then joined it directly to his organ. The end result? A solid attachment, laughter, mortification and ... hospitalisation.
"It was the most embarrassing moment of my life when I got wheeled into a packed AE with a vacuum attached to me," Blackner said.
"I just wished the ground could swallow me up. Luckily, they saw me quickly so the embarrassment was short-lived."
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Daily life in America now also includes a heightened sense of paranoia:
Beer runners' trail a recipe for trouble
Pair arrested after marking a powdery path through IKEA parking lot
The Associated Press
August 25, 2007
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Two people who sprinkled flour in a parking lot to mark a trail for their offbeat running club inadvertently caused a bioterrorism scare and now face a felony charge.
The sprinkled powder forced hundreds to evacuate an IKEA furniture store Thursday.
New Haven ophthalmologist Daniel Salchow, 36, and his sister, Dorothee, 31, who is visiting from Hamburg, Germany, were both charged with first-degree breach of peace, a felony.
The siblings set off the scare while organizing a run for a local chapter of the Hash House Harriers, a worldwide group that bills itself as a “drinking club with a running problem.”
“Hares” are given the task of marking a trail to direct runners, throwing in some dead ends and forks as challenges. On Thursday, the Salchows decided to route runners through the massive IKEA parking lot.
Police fielded a call just before 5 p.m. that someone was sprinkling powder on the ground. The store was evacuated and remained closed the rest of the night. The incident prompted a massive response from police in New Haven and surrounding towns.
Flouring the road from coast to coast
Daniel Salchow biked back to IKEA when he heard there was a problem and told officers the powder was just harmless flour, which he said he and his sister have sprinkled everywhere from New York to California without incident.
“Not in my wildest dreams did I ever anticipate anything like that,” he said.
Mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said the city plans to seek restitution from the Salchows, who are due in court Sept. 14.
“You see powder connected by arrows and chalk, you never know,” she said. “It could be a terrorist, it could be something more serious. We’re thankful it wasn’t, but there were a lot of resources that went into figuring that out.”
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20441775/
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© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
bibibibibi
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Say what, George?
Are you suggesting that I be paranoid about The Associated Press too, or that I should truly refrain from making any future posts from AP, or other news wires or publications?
mmmmmmmmmm
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agagagagag Don't worry about them, BD. Their lawyers probably don't know where China is!!
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/24/michael.vick/index.html
I have to plow my way through newspapers everyday, pages of which are filled with reports of illegal activities. Some minor, some that leaves me with a distinct feeling that Shakespeare was on some really strong drugs, when he had Hamlet declare: What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
Unless Hamlet was ironic, of course...
Michael Vick leaves me just angry. Does it matter that he did not bet on the dog-fighting? If anyone ever deserved to be kicked repeatedly in the crotch by a camel, it is Michael Vick. He likes being cruel to animals, right then, let's see how he likes it when animals are cruel to him.
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Trapped Chinese miners survive on coal, urine diet 40 minutes ago
BEIJING (Reuters) - Two Chinese brothers who tunneled their way out of a coal mine collapse after being trapped for nearly six days survived by eating coal and drinking urine, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Brothers Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou became trapped while working at an illegal mine in Beijing's Fangshan District late on Saturday, August 18, the latest in a series of disasters to strike the world's deadliest coal mining industry.
Two days later, rescue efforts were called off and relatives began burning "ghost money" at the entrance of the mine for the dearly departed.
"At first there was no feeling, but then I was so hungry I couldn't crawl any more," Xianchen told the Beijing News. "I got so hungry, I ate a piece of coal, and I thought it quite fragrant.
"Actually, coal is bitter and unsmooth but you can chew up pieces the size of a finger. In the mine, we picked up two discarded water bottles, and drank our urine. You can only take small sips, and when you've finished, you just want to cry."
He said because they were eating coal, and were in the mine for nearly six days, they did not defecate.
"We were only able to do that the day before yesterday in hospital. It was full of coal."
Both said they would not go back into mining.
But their younger brother, Meng Xianjun, who has a decade of experience in the mines, cut in to the interview to add: "I'll still do it."
Chinese mine owners regularly flout safety regulations to meet insatiable demand for a fuel powering the country's booming economy.
A gas explosion in an Inner Mongolian mine that was operating illegally killed seven people on Saturday, as officials began handing compensation to families of 181 miners trapped and presumed dead after a flood last week in eastern China.
But in a second miraculous rescue, four builders trapped more than a week ago inside a collapsed tunnel at a hydropower project in the southwestern province of Yunnan were pulled out alive early on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Rescuers in Yunnan's Yingjiang County dug an extra passage to reach the workers and used a ventilation pipe to carry food and drinking water to the four, who were being treated in a local hospital following their rescue.
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Brothers Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou became trapped while working at an illegal mine
Well, that was the problem you see, if they had been working in a legal mine this sort of thing wouldn't have happened.
I'm not making fun of the poor bastards plight, but I am making satirical comment on China's mine safety record.
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Brothers Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou became trapped while working at an illegal mine
Well, that was the problem you see, if they had been working in a legal mine this sort of thing wouldn't have happened.
I'm not making fun of the poor bastards plight, but I am making satirical comment on China's mine safety record.
mine safety??? China does not have mine safety. That term is anathema.
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Michael Vick made a point of denying any gambling because, I figure, his lawyer rightly surmised this could affect Vick's ability to get reinstated to the NFL after he serves whatever time he'll do.
Uranium is missing in China. aoaoaoaoao Think I'll fix myself a drink. jjjjjjjjjj
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Uranium is missing in China. aoaoaoaoao Think I'll fix myself a drink. jjjjjjjjjj
Just DON'T touch that canister to the left of the Absinthe!!
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Ummm...some criminals are just plain odd.
FBI: Strip-Or-Get-Bombed Threat Spreads
15 Stores Targeted In 11 States In Past Week, Police Say
POSTED: 1:15 pm PDT August 28, 2007
UPDATED: 8:33 pm PDT August 29, 2007
PHOENIX -- A telephone caller making a bomb threat to a Hutchinson, Kan., grocery store kept more than 100 people hostage, demanding they disrobe and that the store wire money to his bank account.
Tuesday's incident may be part of a broader scam targeting other businesses around the country, the FBI said. Similar bomb threats are under investigation at more than 15 stores in at least 11 states -- all in the past week, authorities said.
FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said the threat appears to be related to a plot in recent days focusing on banks and stores in places like Detroit, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia and Newport, R.I.
SURVEY: Should A Company Pay A Bomb Scare Bribe?
"At this point, there's enough similarities that we think it's potentially one person or one group," Kolko said.
Police in Kansas safely led the 46 employees and 64 customers, some of whom had taken off their clothes, out of a Dillons grocery store after about 90 minutes.
Authorities said the caller appeared to have visual access to the store, although officials were investigating whether the caller was out of state and may have hacked into the store's security system.
"If they can access the Internet, they can get to anything," Hutchinson Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt said. "Anyone in the whole world could have access, if that's what really happened."
On Wednesday, two other stores in Hutchinson also received bomb threats, said police Lt. Steven Nelson.
In Arizona, a bomb threat led to the evacuation of a Prescott Safeway on Tuesday.
A caller with an accent demanded $2,850, according to police and city spokesman Kim Kapin.
"The maximum that Western Union can send through its service is $3,000," Kapin said. Wiring money also includes a $150 service charge, Kapin added. "This individual was obviously aware of that."
Initially, the caller led employees to believe he was observing them.
"After a while, it sounded like he was just taking a shot in the dark at what they might be doing, or what they looked like or how they were reacting to his call," Prescott police Lt. Ken Morley said.
Sherry Johnson, a spokeswoman for Englewood, Colo.-based Western Union, said the company was working with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service to trace the money sent through the service.
It was also telling its agents to be on the lookout for the extortion plot.
"This is an ongoing law enforcement investigation," Johnson said.
A bomb threat at a supermarket in Millinocket, Maine, on Wednesday was tied to the scam. Authorities there said a caller threatened to detonate a bomb inside the store unless money was wired to a bank account. Click here to read about the incident.
An unidentified man called a Newport Wal-Mart on Tuesday morning, saying he had a bomb and would harm employees. He also demanded that workers transfer $10,000 to an account, said Newport Police Sgt. James Quinn. The store wired the money, Quinn said.
FBI Looks For Overseas Connection
The FBI was looking into whether the calls to the banks and stores were being placed from overseas and was compiling reports from local police departments to probe for similarities between the cases, Kolko said Wednesday.
"At this point, there's enough similarities that we think it's potentially one person or one group," Kolko said from Washington.
Police in Virginia said a similar threat was made at a store there on Tuesday. In that case, no money was sent and no bomb was found.
In Newport, the caller placed three separate calls to the store, Quinn said. An employee reported the bomb threat to police at 6:52 a.m., minutes before the store's scheduled opening.
Roughly 25 employees who were inside at the time were evacuated as a police SWAT team spent hours sweeping the building and bomb-sniffing dogs searched around cars in the parking lot. Neither the suspect nor any explosive device was found in the store, and no one was injured.
Quinn said police have identified the account where the money was wired, but he would not say where it was held. He said the caller used a land line from out of state, but would not say from where. No arrests have been made.
A similar call was made to a bank inside a Wal-Mart store in western Virginia late Tuesday morning, police said. An employee at a bank branch inside a Wal-Mart store in Salem was told that a bomb would explode unless an undisclosed amount of money was sent via Western Union. The store was evacuated and later reopened after no bombs were found, police said.
Another bomb threat was called in a few minutes later to a bank inside a store in Virginia's Pulaski County. That store was also evacuated and no bombs were found.
No arrests have been made in either of the Virginia incidents.
The store in Newport does not have a bank branch inside, but offers a money transfer service similar to Western Union, police said.
College Campuses Get Bomb Threats
Separately, the FBI is looking into bomb threats on college campuses, including three in Ohio -- the University of Akron, Kenyon College and a community college in Lorain County, Ohio.
No explosive devices have been found. Law enforcement officials said there was no evidence at this time linking the college bomb threats with those at grocery and discount stores.
Kenyon, in Gambier in central Ohio, received six separate bomb threats in a general admissions e-mail account between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Wednesday, college spokesman Shawn Presley said.
Local and federal authorities determined the threats to be a hoax and the school was not evacuated as officials swept buildings searching for the bomb, he said.
The University of Akron closed classrooms, labs and offices in its Auburn Science and Engineering building on Wednesday, after a secretary in a dean's office received an anonymous e-mail that included a bomb threat.
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This is just plain cheating.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/02/megamillions.jackpot.ap/index.html
You can't just go around making financial deals with deities. It's not fair gggggggggg
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How can you trust a healer with such an overt glandular problem?
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/04/dating.mating.ap/index.html
And in other news: Scientists have, after extensive studies, reached numerous conclusions:
- Water is wet.
- The majority of people find it quite annoying to be hit over the head with a mallet.
- If you want to be a pop star, looks count for more than talent.
- People do in fact eat rice in China.
- If an elephant steps on a mouse, the mouse will die.
- Nobody really likes celery and brussel sprouts.
- Dolly the sheep is not the reincarnation of Errol Flynn.
- Homer Simpson could never become president of the US since, as recent studies show, the man is overqualified.
- Men who wear pink glasses stand a good chance of being the target of unwanted attention from gay men in bars.
- Women like shopping and shoes. They really like shopping for shoes. Some women do not like shopping, shoes or shopping for shoes.
and the list continues.
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Actually, that isn't quite true. I only like brussell sprouts cooked one way - stuffed with bacon and cheese sort of thing - and celery is only good for their leaves, used as a parsley substitute which I dislike even more than celery. But who finds out these things? People must be checking my shopping trolley.
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- Nobody really likes celery and brussel sprouts.
With Thanks to Ogden Nash (R.I.P.)
Celery, raw,
Develops the jaw.
While celery, stewed,
Is more quietly chewed.
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And in other news: Scientists have, after extensive studies, reached numerous conclusions:
- Water is wet.
Hmmm, I bought powdered water the other day.
Anybody know what I should add to it?
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Three tears from a unicorn.
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Dog sauce.
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
Oh, Bush, your oratorical skills would make even Cicero envious.
I can just imagine an interview with the President.
"Mr. President, why did you invade Iraq?"
"Because it was time to kick ass and chew bubblegum and I was all out of bubblegum!!"
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Well, but speaking clearly what he is thinking about leads to no misinterpretation ahahahahah ahahahahah
agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag
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http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007410737,00.html
Now, if the only one in the world who understands you is a kitten on crack, you have serious issues. I mean, other than the serious issues that led you to give crack to the poor kitty in the first place. I think people like Pete Doherty and Michael Vick should be sentenced to a lifetime of being punched repeatedly in the face my Evander Holyfield. What a pair of jackasses! llllllllll llllllllll
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Man's waist exceeds height
(China Daily)
September 7, 2007
A man learned that his waist measurement surpassed his height by 18 cm after he visited a hospital in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.
The obese man, surnamed Zhou, arrived at the local hospital to get advice from doctors about how to lose weight.
Zhou measured 147 cm but his weight was 160 kg. The 23-year-old said he attracts many curious glares from pedestrians whenever he is in public. Zhou said he has little freedom because of his heavy body.
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Judge rejects case against carpenter, saying he has right to work nude
Published: Sunday, September 9, 2007 | 5:17 PM ET
Canadian Press
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A carpenter caught hammering nails and sawing wood in the nude has been found by a judge to be not guilty of indecent exposure.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Julie Conger ruled Thursday that although Percy Honniball of Oakland was naked, he was not acting lewdly or seeking sexual gratification.
Honniball, 51, was arrested last year after he was spotted building cabinets naked at a home where he had been hired to work.
The carpenter has said he likes to work in the nude because it is more comfortable and it helps him keep his clothes clean.
Honniball earned two years' probation in 2003 after being caught three times working naked in Berkeley, which prohibits public nudity. Oakland does not have a similar
law.
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The cling-free carpenter's name is "Honniball"? The whole thing sounds like some sort of gay porn fantasy! ahahahahah
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Weirdest story in a long time. How does this even work?
Israeli neo-Nazi gang attacked Jews, police say
Last Updated: Sunday, September 9, 2007 | 3:02 PM ET
CBC News
Eight Israeli youths have been arrested and accused of being in a neo-Nazi gang that attacked foreign workers, gays, homeless people and orthodox Jews, police said Sunday.
The suspects were taken into custody a month ago, but police had not previously released details of the arrests.
All the suspects are between the ages of 16 and 21 and have Israeli citizenship, said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld.
They all arrived from Russia over the past few years and were living in the central Israel city of Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, where police have been investigating reports of attacks for more than a year, Rosenfeld said.
During a court appearance Sunday in the town of Ramle, the accused covered their faces with their shirts.
The court ordered seven of the suspects to be held for another 48 hours pending a review of the evidence against them and was to rule on the eighth suspect on Monday, Agence France-Press reported.
A ninth suspect fled the country, Rosenfeld said.
News of the arrests came as a shock to people in Israel, which was founded nearly 60 years ago as a refuge for Jews in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the allegations suggest that society has 'failed in educating these youths and distancing them from crazy and dangerous ideologies.'
Police allege the gang made videos of their attacks. After watching a video at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speculated on possible reasons for the violence.
"We saw the appalling documentation of violence for its own sake, suspected — and I stress, suspected — of being motivated by neo-Nazi ideology," Olmert said in a statement.
"I'm sure that no one in Israel is indifferent to these scenes, which demonstrate that we as a society have failed in educating these youths and distancing them from crazy and dangerous ideologies."
Investigators allege they seized Nazi uniforms and portraits of Adolf Hitler in the suspects' homes. At one home, police allegedly found explosives.
Investigators have also released photographs showing spray-painted swastikas on the interiors and exteriors of synagogues in Petah Tikva.
The suspects all came to Israel under the Law of Return, which allows anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent to become a citizen.
Revital Almog, the police official who led the investigation, told Israeli public radio that the suspects' connection to Judaism "is distant, through grandparents or distant family connections."
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Equal parts tragic, horrifying (although not surprising) and amusing...
China's censors scour the Web
Electronic offenders are the new frontier
By Edward Cody
The Washington Post
Sept. 10, 2007
DANZHOU, China - Li Hua was outraged. The public high school where he had been teaching civics for six years was about to be swallowed up by a fancy private institution. The merger had been ordered by local officials, Li suspected, because they had a financial stake in the big new school and wanted to see it flourish.
Following the literary traditions of this little farm town in the center of Hainan Island, just off China's southern rim, Li gave voice to his anger with a bawdy folk song in the distinctive local dialect. Among other things, it said merrily that Danzhou's leaders "sold us like pigs, sold our flesh and sold our doo-doo." One verse took things a step further: It named as main culprits the Danzhou Communist Party secretary, Zhao Zhongshe; the deputy mayor, Wang Yuehua; and the school superintendent, Li Shenghua.
Li's irreverent ditty was folk art of a kind Danzhou officials did not appreciate. On July 27, five days after the lyrics were posted on various Web sites -- including the school system's -- Li was thrown in jail. He was interrogated twice, he recalled, and forced to translate the song into Mandarin Chinese so his jailers could understand it. At noon on the seventh day, he was released, but only after writing a self-criticism about how naughty it was to compose ribald lyrics describing the actions of party officials.
"I felt the sky was broken and the earth was cracked," Li said, still appearing shaken and dejected as he described his experience six weeks later. "When I made up that folk song, I could never have imagined it would bring me such trouble."
Li, 31, a short, slight native of the nearby countryside who has big, round eyes, fell victim to the Communist Party's enduring determination to decide what Chinese people can read or hear, sing or say, write or perform. His travails were not unusual for modern China, even in a backwater town far from the center of power in Beijing. More than a quarter-century after Deng Xiaoping launched the country on a course of drastic reforms, the party at all levels has clung to rigid censorship over information and art -- including folk songs in a dialect only the locals understand.
But party censors are now turning to China's booming Internet and cellphone networks with particular vigor. Given the easy access to technologies such as text messaging, censors have found it difficult to keep a grip on information.
It hasn't been for lack of trying. The Public Security Ministry, which monitors the Internet under guidance from the Central Propaganda Department, has recruited an estimated 30,000 people to snoop on electronic communications. The ministry recently introduced two cartoon characters -- a male and female in police uniforms -- that it said would pop up on computer screens occasionally to remind people that their activity is being tracked.
Traditionally, the censors' main concern has been keeping political expression in check. That has become particularly urgent, officials say, as the country prepares for the 17th Communist Party Congress in October, during which President Hu Jintao is to solidify his leadership and move a successor into place. But because transmitting information of all kinds through the Internet and cellphone messages is relatively easy, the party's censorship bureaucrats also have been fighting new battles. As Li Hua's case showed, the enemy is not always political.
Satire stings the party
Fan Bin, who runs a little-known Web site in eastern China, was about 300 feet from his house in the Hangzhou suburb of Ling An in early June when he saw a police tow truck taking away a car.
Curious, Fan and his intern, Sang Yang, 26, moved closer to take a look inside. What they saw, Fan recalled, was the naked body of the local party secretary, Xu Xinxian, and the equally naked body of one of his female colleagues. The two apparently had been enjoying a tryst in the back seat, he said, and because they had left the motor running to power air conditioning, both were asphyxiated by leaking exhaust fumes.
Sang, the intern, could not resist the opportunity to poke fun at the philandering. Too inexperienced to worry about issues such as taste and official wrath, he immediately posted a satirical report on Fan's Web site.
"It was said that party secretary Xu and the lady had been discussing job issues in the car until the fuel ran out and the air conditioner was cut off. In order to cool down, the two people stripped off their clothes. They kept on talking business until they finally died," he wrote, employing an impressive imagination in describing the episode. "Local people are really lucky to have such a serious party secretary. He kept the people's business in his heart and even took care of the women's rights issue in person."
For two months, the posting bounced from Web site to Web site around the country, with delighted readers eager to share it with others. The topic touched a nerve for many Chinese, who are constantly told in official propaganda how party leaders are the "vanguard" to be emulated but who just as constantly see their local officials involved in corruption and dissolute living.
For reasons Fan does not understand, the posting long escaped the notice of Ling An censors. Finally, though, officials from Ling An and surrounding Qing Liangfeng County got wind of the merriment. Not amused, they had the city Propaganda Department order that the report be deleted immediately. The department's deputy director called, Fan said, accusing him of airing dirty laundry in public.
Fan, a businessman at heart, quickly complied, taking the satire down Aug. 8 and replacing it with a statement saying the intern "lacked social experience" and had made a blunder. The description of Xu's death was untrue, the Web site said, and the intern was fired for posting it. He has since gone into hiding, Fan said.
"We hope readers don't talk about this anymore, and please do trust the party," the notice concluded.
Fan's troubles were not over. Police raided his offices Aug. 24 and seized 13 computers, confiscating his investment and putting him out of business. Officials said he was allowing young people to log on from his office, turning it into an unauthorized Internet cafe. But in Fan's view, it was the Ling An party leadership getting back at him for the embarrassing report on their colleagues' deaths.
"It's revenge," Fan said.
Web wins in credibility
As July rains pelted China, the northeastern province of Shandong got an unusually heavy three-hour downpour. As a result, the provincial capital, Jinan, flooded.
Guided by the provincial Propaganda Department, government-controlled newspapers and television stations focused their reports on efforts by authorities to rescue those stranded by the floodwaters and restore municipal services to affected areas. In all, officials reported, 34 people were killed in and around the city.
Not so, insisted an Internet contributor who identified herself as Red Diamond Empire. At least 100 people were killed in downtown Jinan alone, she said, when floodwaters poured into an underground supermarket.
As usual, she went on, authorities were concealing the real death toll to minimize the scope of the tragedy. The truth came out because bystanders saw the bodies as the floodwaters receded, she said.
After her account attracted wide attention, the 23-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Li, was arrested and charged with contributing to public disorder by spreading rumors. The arrest was widely reported in government-controlled media. But more than a month later, a Jinan taxi driver eagerly recounted to a visitor how several hundred people had died in the supermarket.
Jinan residents and others across China readily believed the anonymous Internet posting rather than the official version provided by city and provincial authorities. Using their censorship powers, local governments routinely have concealed the extent of natural disasters and other accidents to avoid blame from the central government in Beijing. As a result, many Chinese learned long ago not to believe statistics relayed by the government-controlled media.
Tracking a cancer rumor
From spring well into the summer, southern China's banana farmers faced a crisis they could not understand. From cellphone to cellphone, a text-message rumor had swept the country saying that Chinese bananas carried an infection called "Panama virus" that could cause cancer. As a result, consumers everywhere were leery, and bananas piled up unsold.
Distraught agriculture officials knew of no such problem with Chinese bananas. Eager to restore the market, they called in the Public Security Ministry's electronic censors to find out where the rumor originated. From message to message, the monitors traced it back through thousands of cellphone connections.
After weeks of sleuthing, they discovered the first message had been sent by a woman in Nanning, capital of Guangxi province just northwest of Vietnam. Because she lived in a major banana-growing region, they surmised the woman might have been seeking to inflict harm on a local businessman or farmer.
But after tracking her down and interrogating her, Nanning police said she explained that she was only passing along what she had read in an article in China Daily, the government's main English-language newspaper. Beijing police launched an investigation at the newspaper's head office in the capital. The article in question was indeed about bananas and it did mention cancer, they found, but the writer had said nothing about bananas causing cancer.
After further interrogation, China Daily editors said, Nanning police discovered the woman was reading the paper as a way to improve her English -- which was still shaky -- and she had misunderstood the article.
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20685526/
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Leading headline from today's edition of USAToday:
"Poll: Most Want a Pullout Date"
Hmmm... Is this a survey of U.S. citizens regarding the war in Iraq, or single women's definition of a good time? afafafafaf
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This is just horrible aaaaaaaaaa
Chinese woman to have 23 needles removed
Tuesday Sep 11 11:32 AEST
Chinese surgeons are planning to remove 23 needles from a woman, possibly imbedded under her skin by grandparents trying to kill her so that a baby boy might take her place.
The needles had been discovered by X-ray after Luo Cuifen, 29, went to doctors complaining of blood in her urine.
Many have worked their way into Luo's vital organs including her lungs, liver, bladder and kidneys, making their removal difficult, said Qu Rui, a spokesman for the Richland International Hospital in Yunnan province's capital, Kunming.
He said six of the 23 needles, all of them in Luo's abdomen, would be removed Tuesday in the first of several expected operations.
"Tomorrow's surgery carries a definite degree of risk," Qu said.
According to a hospital news release, Luo suffered from severe depression and anxiety and long-term insomnia, and was completely unable to do any heavy lifting or hard physical labour.
The operation will involve 23 doctors in fields ranging from women's medicine to neurology and including bone specialists and cardiologists, the news release said.
Doctors from Canada and the United States will join those from China in the operation. It did not say how long the operation was expected to last.
He said doctors believe Luo's grandparents may have inserted the needles long ago, hoping she would die and her parents might have a boy in her place. China limits most families to just one child, although rural Chinese may be allowed to have a second if their first is a girl, subject to the payment of fines.
In many parts of China, baby boys are still heavily favoured over girls because they are bound by tradition to support their parents in their old age, and because they carry on the family name.
Infanticide and abortions of female fetuses have created a skewed ratio between the genders, with 119 boys reported born for every 100 girls, according to official figures. By comparison, the ratio in industrialised countries is 107 to 104 boys for every 100 girls.
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Thousands of ex-soldiers riot in China
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
September 11, 2007
Thousands of demobilized Chinese soldiers rioted last week at training centers in at least three cities in an extremely rare series of coordinated demonstrations, a human rights group said Tuesday.
Former troops smashed classrooms, overturned cars and set fires to protest their poor living conditions, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported.
At least 20 people were injured and five arrested when riot police moved in to quell the disturbances, which started on the afternoon of Sept. 3, it said.
The center said about 2,000 ex-soldiers took part in the riots in the cities of Baotou, Wuhan, and Baoji, spread over a 775-mile stretch of eastern China. Reports posted on the Internet along with video clips appearing to show some of the violence said the disturbances were even more widespread, but gave few details.
The reported protests, which authorities refused to confirm, were notable for their level of coordination, something not seen on a nationwide scale since the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing and several other cities.
They also follow a string of recent campus unrest by students angered by poor living conditions or administrative changes that reduced the value of their diplomas.
However, they were the first incidents reported involving former soldiers, who are usually deferential and loyal to the communist regime.
Demobilized soldiers are frequently rewarded for their service with government jobs, and 6,000 of them were sent to 12 different railway schools in July for two years of training, the reports said.
However, they were angered by run-down dormitories, bad but expensive food and a lack of study materials, according to the center and Internet reports.
Dorm rooms did not have electrical outlets and students were charged 75 cents each time they charged their mobile phones, the reports said.
The reports said classes have been suspended and police moved in to patrol.
Phones at the Baotou school rang unanswered, while officials who answered at the Baoji and Wuhan schools refused to comment on the reports or further identify themselves. The Railways Ministry that runs the schools did not immediately reply to faxed questions.
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Anyone heard more about this??
FORMER Big Brother contestant Gordon Sloan has died in mysterious circumstances in Beijing, reports have claimed.
Sloan allegedly collapsed on September 1st and was in a coma when he died at 1pm yesterday at a Beijing hospital.
Sources told ninemsn.com.au that drugs may have played a part in the 34-year-old's death, but it has not yet been confirmed whether this was due to an overdose or being deliberately drugged by another person.
It was confirmed by the Department of Foreign Affairs that a New Zealand-born Australian citizen from Victoria died in Beijing yesterday.
Sloan's parents, who are based in New-Zealand, and his brother and sister, flew to Beijing yesterday but declined to comment.
One of the housemates in the first series of Big Brother, Sloan was evicted after 35 days. Fellow contestant Ben Williams went on to win the series.
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Just what I've read on the net, friends say that he wouldn't be into heroine and that they expect that Sloan had be drugged intentionally.
I wonder where it'll go from there.
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As my students always say to me: "Be Happy Everyday!"
Check the color of your chopsticks
(China Daily)
September 14, 2007
A woman's two front teeth became discolored last week after using poor-quality painted chopsticks.
Living in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Shenyang Province, Wang thought it would be fashionable to buy the colorful chopsticks to brighten up her dining experience.
But little did she know that as the color of the chopsticks began to fade, her teeth would turn a pastel paint color, much to her embarrassment when she smiled at people.
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China Blues
By Al Meyeroff
The Huffington Post September 15, 2007
________________________________________
"Merchants Have No Countries" - Thomas Jefferson
What was she thinking? CNBC commentator Erin Burnett got a huge laugh when her comments on China were broadcast on Jon Stewart's Daily Show. "I think people need to be careful what they wish for in China. If China were to say start making toys without lead in them, or food that isn't poisonous, their costs of production are going to go up. And that means that prices at Wal-Mart here in the United States are going to go up too." Her utter lack of irony blew the audience away.
And yet, she's right. Here's why. We live now in an out of control global economy - one created by a Second Industrial Revolution - with consequences more far reaching than the first. Some of these are well known, such as trading high paying jobs in the West for low paying jobs elsewhere, with trade deficits turning the U.S. into a debtor nation -and China holds the mortgage. But this ongoing global shift also adversely impacts the food we eat and the products we buy. China trade, especially if not exclusively, demonstrates how we further open our borders to imported goods at our peril. This is not xenophobia. This is a price we pay beyond the one on the sticker, when food is grown and processed without regulation or inspection, when goods from t-shirts to toasters are manufactured by the lowest bidder.
For more than 150 years, reformers - from Upton Sinclair to Ralph Nader - have fought to achieve tough regulation of our food, drugs, cosmetics and other consumer products. In 1848, Congress first imposed controls on imported goods with the Drug Importation Act. In the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln helped establish the Bureau of Chemistry, forerunner of FDA. Following exposés like The Jungle documenting unsanitary factories and adulterated food, populist Teddy Roosevelt pressed through the nation's first food safety statute. And during The New Deal, Congress enacted the comprehensive food, drug and cosmetic legislation still in force today.
These and other efforts were intended to insure quality consumer products; they established our safety net. Compliance with such laws requires on-site and product inspection; liability is then imposed throughout the production chain. The absence of such safeguards in China makes production there of goods less costly. The absence of such safeguards too often makes imported goods of inferior quality, presenting higher risks.
During the NAFTA and other "free trade" debates, lip service was paid to imposing labor and environmental controls offshore. This approach was rejected "as protectionism". Well they were meant to protect, alright. They were meant to protect you against poisons in Fido's meal and on Timmy's toys.
Regrettably, we simply cannot rely entirely on our domestic safety net to protect us from hazards we import. First of all, from e coli in the spinach to Vioxx in the medicine chest, enforcement even for domestic goods is often weak and product inspection less than thorough.
Agencies like FDA, USDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are woefully under-funded and poorly staffed. And they decidedly lack the resources to protect us from the ever increasing volume of goods coming off the ships, into the stores and onto the dinner table. When more than one million imported toys were found contaminated with lead, the government response was to calm and placate, not protect. Just this month, more than 1 million pounds of Chinese seafood - shrimp, catfish and eel - went to our supermarkets despite an FDA "import alert" that it all should be tested for contamination.
And only a tiny fraction of imported goods even get to that step.
So what's an American consumer to do? Use the one power you have, self defense. Be careful of what you buy and from where you buy it. From toys to organic food, there has been a recent and dramatic surge in "buying American". That's a start. But unfortunately, products do not always identify the country of origin. Nor are can we be confident that assurances from retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys 'R Us ( Toys 'R Lead?) are legitimate.
So here's an idea. Institute a "global right to know". In California, often the place of new ideas, we already have laws on the books requiring companies to warn us when products - domestic or imported - present an unacceptable risk of cancer or birth defects. How about a warning on products that present other risks because they fail to meet minimum U.S. standards? Companies should be required to certify goods are safe. If not, tell us. If the warning is lacking and the product proves dangerous, then make the seller responsible for substantial penalties and a return of the purchase price. Let the market work.
Why punish the U.S. company? Why not the Chinese factory owner? Because it is Wal-Mart that took the manufacturing offshore and brought the products to us - they have a duty to insure product safety.
Unsafe workplace conditions translate to unsafe consumer products. The absence of adequate labor, health and environmental controls, together with cheap labor (Chinese toy workers make about twenty-five cents an hour), allow U.S. companies to garner even higher profits. The absence of such safeguards puts these workers at enormous risk; consider what the ambient lead exposure must be in a Chinese toy factory. China Labor Watch, a New York based human rights group, this week issued a report finding widespread labor violations in toy factories, including child labor, mandatory overtime, unsafe working conditions, and abusive managers. This is only the latest in a series of such reports by nongovernmental organizations this year. A market driven more level playing field would benefit workers and consumers alike.
If you went to a restaurant and were a victim of food poisoning, you would not return. Not so for U.S. retailers. They will keep going back to the same or similar factories so long as the price is right. It is a matter of business judgment, of risk-benefit. Your risk, their benefit. They have the power to insure safe products - and some do - by imposing tough quality controls in their supply contracts, by rigorous inspection of foreign factories, by comprehensive testing of consumer goods. But many would rather not know what they're selling - or what we're buying. They lack the incentive.
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They lack the incentive.
But they have the greed!
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That's an interesting notion: don't go after the foreign factories but rather the domestic retailers. If Walmart has to risk lawsuits, they'll have to check the products.
It's always an eye opener to watch CCTV-9 news: tells you exactly what the government is embarrassed about. A news item pronounced that the banned products represented a tiny fraction of China's overall production, and hysteria over the issue would be regrettable.
In other words, most of China's products are NOT lethal to humans, so why worry?
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Sen. Craig's airport stall now a tourist stop
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — "Where's the bathroom?"
That's the question camera-toting tourists in Minneapolis are asking as they visit the men's room where U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was arrested in a sex-solicitation sting.
"It's become a tourist attraction," said Karen Evans, information specialist at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. "People are taking pictures."
Craig was arrested June 11 by a Minneapolis airport police officer. The Idaho Republican pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Craig has since said his guilty plea was a mistake. His request to withdraw the guilty plea will be heard Sept. 26, four days before he has said he will step down from his Senate seat.
Craig's arrest came to light Aug. 27, and Evans said airport workers have since been giving directions to the men's room near a central food court and shopping area.
Just 15 minutes into her shift at the airport Friday, Evans said she had been asked directions to the new tourist attraction four times. Other airport workers field the same question.
"It's by the Lottery shop, right next to the shoeshine shop," said newsstand worker Abdalla Said, adding he gets the question daily.
At the Royal Zino Shoeshine shop, Royal Zino, the owner's grandson, said he might have been working the day of Craig's arrest.
"I might've actually been here. Me and my buddy were watching them doing a sting," he told TheIdaho Statesman. Zino said he gets to watch tourists now.
On their way to Guatemala, Jon and Sally Westby of Minneapolis made a visit to the new tourist attraction. "We had to just stop and check out the bathroom," Sally said. "In fact, it's Jon's second time — he was here last week already."
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Oh, those tourists certainly know how to have a good time.
Dear deary me.
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bibibibibi
What is so interesting about a bathroom? Just because a famous person had sex there? I could understand they take pictures while he is having sex, but now, it is just a batroom.
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Wow, kids, this is the real McCoy! It's a waterfall out there! adadadadad
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A powerful typhoon targeted China's booming eastern province of Zhejiang and financial hub Shanghai on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people as ships and boats were called back to port.
Typhoon Wipha was 440 km (270 miles) southeast of the former foreign treaty port of Wenzhou in Zhejiang at 0300 GMT. With gusts of up to 198 km per hour, it was moving northwest at 20 km per hour, Xinhua news agency said, putting it on a course to skirt Taiwan.
"East China, including the commercial hub of Shanghai, is preparing for what may be the most destructive typhoon in a decade," the agency said.
It did not mention Typhoon Saomai, which killed 436 people in southeast China in August and was labeled the strongest storm to hit China in 50 years.
The Hong Kong Observatory chart showed Wipha heading directly for Zhejiang where it was likely to make landfall early on Wednesday and sweep north across the province towards Shanghai.
China's National Meteorological Centre described the storm on its Web site (www.nmc.gov.cn) as a "super typhoon."
About 200,000 people living in exposed areas in Shanghai, bordering Zhejiang in the north and with a population of over 14 million, would be moved to temporary shelter before evening.
Tens of thousands of boats and ships had returned to harbor in Zhejiang, where beach resorts and sea farms were evacuated and ferry services suspended, state media said.
"Wipha will hit our province head on and the areas affected would be the most economically developed and densely populated," the Zhejiang provincial government warned.
"Strong winds will come with heavy rainfall ... The relief work will be complicated and grave," it said in a statement on its Web site (www.zj.gov.cn).
Zhejiang's inland areas also faced the threats of floods and landslides caused by torrential rain, it said.
The edge of Wipha grazed northern Taiwan on Tuesday, bringing downpours and prompting the area to close schools, offices and markets.
The major northern port of Keelung stopped all traffic on Tuesday until further notice, while five airlines cancelled some international flights.
Typhoons, large cyclones known as hurricanes in the West, regularly hit China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan in the summer season, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific or the South China Sea before weakening over land.
Sometimes they make a u-turn, gather strength at sea again, and return to wreak more havoc.
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The latest idiot addition to "The View" panel...(and to think she gets paid HANDSOMELY to proudly utter such nonsense) cbcbcbcbcb
I'm sure her son will be ridiculed at school now. Thanks, Mom!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/18/new-view-cohost-sherri_n_64864.html
And be sure to read viewer's comments... Priceless! For example: "She doesn't look like she has any trouble whatsoever finding food."
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http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/foreign-teachers-dudded-in-japan/2007/09/18/1189881510131.html (http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/foreign-teachers-dudded-in-japan/2007/09/18/1189881510131.html)
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The Japan one is really interesting. Why would the major English language company go under in Japan after being so successful for so long? And the other places aren't hiring.
My daughter worked for NOVA for 12 months. Shared accommodation, weekends and night classes. Set boring textbooks you were not meant to deviate from, and classes that changed relatively regularly, so you were not sure which students you would be teaching. Not permitted to make friends with the students outside class.
Is the "English bubble' bursting finally in Japan? After all English is now studied in all primary and high schools.
Also interesting that they say they have not enough money to fly home on - NOVA used to do the return airticket stuff - 6 months/12 months same as here. NOVA's pay wasn't the best over there, my daughter also took extra work in a bar so she could save money. Living in Japan is EXPENSIVE.
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Park apologizes for cursing myna
(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-18 11:18
A hill myna with a foul mouth (or should that be beak?) has been causing headaches for a bird park in Changsha, Hunan Province.
A tourist surnamed Du was showered with invective when he visited the park last Wednesday morning.
According to bird park officials the myna, one of nature's best mimics, learned how to swear from other visiting tourists. Officials said this was the first time there had been a complaint.
(Sanxiang Metropolitan News)
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That The View clip: I don't have sound, but the look on Joy behar' face: "Thank God hiring this twit wasn't my call!"
Imagine all those foreigners, suddenly broke and unemployed. Wonder if a rival will buy Nova out.
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Well, here's a turn of events!
Mattel apologizes to China over recalls of toys
Vast majority of recalls were Mattel design flaws
Last Updated: Friday, September 21, 2007 | 7:29 AM ET
CBC News
U.S.-based toy giant Mattel issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.
The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice-president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.
"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li's office at which reporters were allowed to be present.
"And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski said.
Mattel ordered three high-profile recalls this summer involving more than 21 million Chinese-made toys, including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars because of concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
The recalls have prompted complaints from China that manufacturers were being blamed for design faults introduced by Mattel.
On Friday, Debrowski acknowledged that the "vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel's design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China's manufacturers."
Lead-tainted toys accounted for only a small percentage of all toys recalled, he said. "We understand and appreciate deeply the issues that this has caused for the reputation of Chinese manufacturers."
In a statement issued by the company, Mattel said its lead-related recalls were "overly inclusive, including toys that may not have had lead in paint in excess of the U.S. standards.
"The followup inspections also confirmed that part of the recalled toys complied with the U.S. standards," the statement said.
Li reminded Debrowski that "a large part of your annual profit … comes from your factories in China.
"This shows that our co-operation is in the interests of Mattel, and both parties should value our co-operation. I really hope that Mattel can learn lessons and gain experience from these incidents," Li said, adding that Mattel should "improve their control measures."
Since this summer's recall, Mattel has announced plans to upgrade its safety system by certifying suppliers and increasing the frequency of random, unannounced inspections. It has fired several manufacturers.
Tests had found that lead levels in paint in recalled toys were as high as 110,000 parts per million, or nearly 200 times higher than the accepted safety ceiling of 600 parts per million.
China has become a centre for the world's toymaking industry, exporting $7.5 US billion worth of toys last year.
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bdbdbdbdbd says it all, IMHO. What a wanker.
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What it means to me is "Mattel" is off my shopping list permanently. Too much bdbdbdbdbd Not sure why they felt the need to bdbdbdbdbd
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Chinese brothers lose court battle to stay in Canada
September 21, 2007 Agence France Presse
Two Chinese brothers accused by China of embezzling tens of millions of dollars lost a legal battle Friday in their fight to avoid deportation from Canada.
The Federal Court of Canada refused to overturn orders to deport the brothers, Li Dongzhe and Li Donghu, from the country.
The siblings also lost their appeal of Canada's refusal to consider their refugee applications, which had been denied on the grounds that they were already under a removal order.
The Federal Court said their applications were "without foundation in fact and in law."
The brothers, who arrived the Pacific coast city of Vancouver in December 2004, were arrested on February 23.
China accuses the Li brothers, along with a third man, Chinese banker Gao Shan, of involvement in embezzling more than 100 million dollars from a Chinese bank.
The Federal Court's ruling allows Canadian official to begin a process to determine if siblings are at risk of facing the death penalty if they are sent back to China.
Canada does not have capital punishment, and therefore cannot legally deport people to countries where they could be killed or tortured.
The Pre-Removal Risk Assessment process can take more than six months, said Citizenship and Immigration Department spokeswoman Lois Reimer.
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Not that I exactly sympathize with these two guys, but I think most of us can agree that a death sentence likely awaits them in China, yes?
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and yeah guys, as for the Mattel "olive branch"... who can possibly explain? Chinese manufacturers and American corporations make for bizarre and sado-masochistic bedfellows indeed! That whip is obviously being passed back and forth.
But now, did you the read the article today about the recall of Made-in-China baby cribs?
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I'm not too wracked with concern over those crook brothers. I do oppose the death penalty, but I'm sick of the sleazebag types getting away with this kind of crap. And it really pisses me off that they figured they'd get away with it by hiding out in Canada.
Cribs? bibibibibi
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Yeah, Con, I agree with you completely regarding those two brothers... I'm just commenting on the fact that the article states: "The Federal Court's ruling allows Canadian official to begin a process to determine if siblings are at risk of facing the death penalty if they are sent back to China." Again, I think we can all agree, yes, they ARE at risk of facing the death penalty. Very little doubt about that!
As for the cribs... very interesting... In the short interval between the time I first read the article, and now -- returning to copy and paste a weblink -- the title has been altered. They have removed the reference to China in the title (although the text still claims all of the cribs were manufactured in China). Hmmmm.... That whip is makin' the rounds!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20907633/
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Ok, here's Newsweek's explanation of the Mattel's bdbdbdbdbd to China...
Why Mattel Must Save Face with China
Quick to blame its Chinese suppliers for a massive recall, the toy giant now apologizes for its own mistakes. Why Mattel—and other major American companies—must save face with China.
WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Daniel Gross
Newsweek
Sept. 21, 2007 - When Mattel recalled lead-tainted toys in August, and earlier this month, the company was quick to blame its suppliers in China. It was as if Mattel weren’t responsible for the quality of products sold under its name.
But today the toy giant changed its tune. An executive offered a public apology to China and Chinese suppliers. “Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls,” Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel’s executive vice president for worldwide operations, told a Chinese consumer-products safety official. “And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys.”
This kowtow isn’t a sudden outbreak of good manners or even responsibility at a Fortune 500 company. Rather, it’s a sign of how the balance of power has shifted between massive American consumer-products companies and their rapidly growing China-based suppliers.
Companies like Mattel have pursued a deliberate strategy in recent years: get out of the low-margin, capital-intensive business of manufacturing goods and focus on the higher-margin business of branding and marketing. Pursuing this strategy has led them to relentlessly seek centers of low-cost production. As a result, China has quickly emerged as the world’s workshop, able to cheaply mold petrochemicals into toys and just about anything else.
Today Mattel and other American companies can’t do business without Chinese partners. In a highly competitive environment, they need suppliers who can turn around new products quickly, complete their orders ahead of those placed by rivals, and commit to maintaining the desired production levels at the desired costs. Yes, Chinese toy producers need Mattel’s orders. But it’s now a two-way street.
The U.S. economy finds itself in a similar situation vis-à-vis China, as does Mattel and its supplies. America can’t afford to offend or alienate China—not because it would suddenly stop selling goods to us, but because the U.S. economy has evolved in such a way that its health depends on China.
U.S. companies need China to produce goods cheaply and thus keep our rate of inflation in check. Many companies—from Wal-Mart to General Motors, from Starbucks to McDonald’s—feel as if they need China since it represents a vast, largely untapped consumer market, a billion-strong frontier for growth. And the U.S. government needs Chinese investors—including China’s central bank—to purchase and hold the massive quantities of debt the U.S. creates each year.
Until recently, large companies haven’t asked many questions about how China is delivering all the goods we require. And there’s been a general willingness to overlook the downsides of China’s rampant growth—the environmental degradation, the lack of civil rights, the culture of piracy—mostly because those are phenomena whose impact seems limited to China. As the Mattel recall shows, however, that is increasingly not the case. The relationship between the two distant countries has evolved beyond a simple supplier-purchaser relationship.
To a degree unthinkable 10 years ago, China and the United States now share a bloodstream. The toxins that China ingests as it produces goods are exported here. Clouds of mercury emitted from Chinese power plants waft over the West Coast of the U.S. several days later.
Financially, the two countries are connected as if through an umbilical cord. Inflation in China would translate into inflation in the United States. It works the other way, too. A sudden downturn in the U.S. economy would be horrific news for China. China has expressed concerns about the health of imported pork from America. And if Mattel is to be believed, some of the problems with its China-produced toys stem from flaws in designs created by Mattel.
All of which is to say that it’s not sufficient for American executives or American consumers, who have benefited in equal measure from China’s willingness to produce goods cheaply, simply to blame their Chinese counterparts for the problems that crop up, or to turn a blind eye to industrial conditions in China. Just as conditions in America’s factories and slaughterhouses a century ago led to increased vigilance and reform, conditions in China should lead to similar vigilance and reform there. And it’s likely we’ll be seeing more apologies—from Chinese suppliers and from their American customers. Today the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it is recalling 1 million cribs made in China and marketed under American brand names, due to a potential lethal safety problem.
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From neighbours back in Canada we find that a similar story has been published there in the papers. Of course, it is headlines in the China Daily.
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A learning fad that's truly crazy
By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-22 06:52
English as a second language (ESL) is all the rage in China. Gazillions of people are learning it. Unfortunately, the experience is quite unpleasant for many. Long hours and endless repetition of dry lessons yields little tangible result in terms of ability to use the language. No wonder the "I hate English" club is growing in leaps and bounds.
Into this chorus of grumbling stepped Li Yang, an entrepreneur who has invented his own pedagogy called "Crazy English".
Simply put, he has his students stand in large formations and shout at the top of their lungs. It is designed to overcome the innate shyness of most Chinese in verbalizing what they have learned in the classroom or by themselves.
All this sounds innocent enough. But is it?
In recent weeks, Li Yang has incurred the wrath of the public after encouraging his students to kneel "in gratitude" towards him. Photos of a huge crowd in kowtow positions, first published by Li himself on his blog, raised the question: What's wrong with this person and his tactics?
The answer, in my opinion, is everything.
Li Yang is a demagogue, to say the least. He wants you to believe that he has come up with an effective way of learning a foreign language. But actually it is an excuse for mind control, intended to maximize his commercial interests. In addition to the exorbitant tuition fees, his overpriced books and tapes - many lifted from copyrighted materials - form the basis of his business empire.
Many students and their parents are deceived by him because they gain new confidence when they hear him preach. Like all demagogues, Li correctly identified a problem plaguing most ESL students in China.
The traditional method of learning words and grammar rules by rote has produced an army of students whose approach to the language is with a scalpel in hand. Many tend to use the language as if it were a dead one like Latin. One gets the feeling that it is a strange echo of the real language, sapped of any vitality.
But saying the old way is wrong does not make the new way necessarily right. What the tongue-in-cheek "Crazy English" offers is truly crazy. The teaching sessions are like cult meetings; the shouting matches are reminiscent of the slogan fests during the cultural revolution (1966-76). If shouting can improve one's linguistic skills, we would have all turned into Confucius after that mass movement.
Indeed, shouting breaks down psychological barriers and helps strengthen bonding. The question is: Is the new camaraderie used to inspire and learn, or to submit and be obedient? Can you question authority? Can you conduct a rational discourse?
Many reported a feeling of liberation at the "Crazy English" hollered gatherings. That is not unique. The catch is, Li Yang liberates students in order to enslave them even further, very much like most agitators, political or commercial.
Even though our traditional methodology is fraught with rituals of submission, it has not stooped as low as asking hundreds of students to kneel as if they were being received by a feudal emperor. That is not a manifestation of a student's gratitude towards a teacher; rather, it strips a person of individuality and pounds him into obsequiousness.
Just imagine if Li had called his language education a "pyramid scheme" or "cult meeting" - what would have become of it? He is clever because he engages in these activities but adroitly avoids the label, of which many "regular" teachers of English have long accused him, at least in private.
After the kneeling incident, Li encouraged his female students to shave their heads. So far nobody has complied. But his true colors are now clear: he is crazy.
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Li Yang is also a racist and a xenophobic. His books contain material that openly mocks America and Japan. And his English sucks.
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ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah decurso, don't be shy... go ahead, open up... don't be afraid to express your true feelings... ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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I've met him. Had dinner with him in Jianxi. he has nothing but contempt for foreigners. He particularly dislikes Americans. He also doesn't seem to understand that some foreigners can understand Chinese spoken between two or more Chinese people. In Chinese he's quite crass. Typical businessman type. Others fawn over him but don't like him. As Decurso said, his English is not very good. He speaks in idioms. In Chinese that shows education in English it just makes him sound like an idiot.
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He's a shonky businessman. His products are faulty!!
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I've met him. Had dinner with him in Jianxi. he has nothing but contempt for foreigners. He particularly dislikes Americans. He also doesn't seem to understand that some foreigners can understand Chinese spoken between two or more Chinese people. In Chinese he's quite crass. Typical businessman type. Others fawn over him but don't like him. As Decurso said, his English is not very good. He speaks in idioms. In Chinese that shows education in English it just makes him sound like an idiot.
Yeah an Ozzie friend of mine went to one of his cult meetings. The guy totally ridiculed him in Chinese and was shocked when my friend told him in Chinese that what he was saying was rude. He attempted to apologize in English and my friend told him he couldn't understand his pronunciation and to either speak slower or use Chinese. What a loss of face!
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Recommended reading...
VERY funny piece in the latest edition of The Onion entitled:
"Chinese Authorities Execute 10 Million Recalled Toys"
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/chinese_authorities_execute_10
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Typical of this little piece of manure: running behind in election results and tries to show his 'green' credentials - but actually does nothing,.
Australia's PM Goes Green, Opponents See Red
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CANBERRA - Australia's prime minister, facing a tough re-election fight and under pressure over his climate credentials, has pledged new "clean energy" targets in a move environment groups said would not sway green-leaning voters.
By 2020, John Howard said, 15 percent of Australia's energy would come from "clean" sources including solar, wind, nuclear or clean coal, reversing his coalition government's previous reluctance to lift its renewable energy target from 2 percent.
The promise also dropped "renewable" from the government's agenda, paving the way for a controversial switch to nuclear energy, backed by Howard as a greenhouse-friendly alternative.
"It will drive additional investment in renewable energy and other low-emissions electricity generation. This will reduce costs for business, and ultimately for households," Howard said, promising to roll state and national schemes into one.
But environment group Greenpeace said the target only streamlined existing state-based schemes, leaving sunny Australia lagging behind renewable energy leaders such as Germany and Spain, which are harnessing solar and wind power.
"The coalition's clean energy target is a missed opportunity to drive the growth of Australia's renewable energy industry and cut greenhouse pollution," Greenpeace energy campaigner Mark Wakeham said.
Howard, 68, is expected to call a national election within weeks and is polling well behind the opposition Labor Party, whose leader Kevin Rudd has pledged to sign the Kyoto Protocol capping greenhouse gas emissions in 35 developed nations.
A long-running drought in much of Australia and warnings by international scientists about the impact of global warming have spooked voters and elevated climate change to an election-turning issue.
A Galaxy poll on Monday had Labor 12 points in front of the government, 56 to 44, which would hand a landslide election victory to the youthful Rudd.
Rudd, who is this week tipped to unveil a renewable energy target of 20 percent, also won backing at the weekend from former US vice-president and climate change campaigner Al Gore.
To win over voters Howard has promised a carbon emissions trading system, banned incandescent light bulbs and pledged A$200 million (US$173 million) to combat forest clearing in Asia.
Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne said Howard's clean target of 30,000 gigawatt hours each year did not add up and was just 9 percent of demand projected by the government's official commodities forecaster to reach 342,000 GWh in 2019.
"Around the world, the renewable energy industry is booming. In Australia, where we have tremendous resources and world-leading researchers, our industry is stalling," Milne said. (US$1=A$1.15)
Story by Rob Taylor
Story Date: 25/9/2007
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Recommended reading...
VERY funny piece in the latest edition of The Onion entitled:
"Chinese Authorities Execute 10 Million Recalled Toys"
A most excellent article!!! agagagagag
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To 15 percent by 2020? That will likely happen anyway, even if the guv does nothing.
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I got 3 for yez.
Bush's grammar lessons: "Childrens do learn"
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=300075
Things you can buy at auction: (smoked long-ham) (dammit they took it off before i could get it here. Some guy bought a smoker at an auction and found a human leg in it. The previous owner lost it in an accident and kept it there.)
And my favourite, Everyone Loves Elton is now guilty of distributing photos of naked children! The Kingpin of Child Porn! (Er, he gave famous old pictures to a museum but some idiot objected by the sound of it.) http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=300079
Remember, you read it here first. Pictures at 11.
Elton John investigated for child porn after artwork seized
Thursday Sep 27 08:00 AEST
By ninemsn staff
Elton John has become the centre of a child pornography investigation after a painting of two naked girls he donated to an art gallery was seized by authorities.
The artwork was taken by British authorities yesterday after the gallery began fielding a number of complaints, the Times of London reports.
Authorities are concerned the painting, which John said has been published numerous times around the world, could breach UK child pornography laws.
"We attended the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead last Thursday at the invitation of the management, who were seeking advice about an item for an exhibition prior to it going on public display," a police spokesperson told the paper.
"This item is being assessed, and Northumbria Police, in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding it."
An investigation has begun to determine whether it violates Britain's 1978 Protection of Children Act.
According to a statement posted on the singer's website, the photograph is one of 149 comprising the "Thanksgiving installation by renowned US photographer Nan Goldin."
"The photograph … has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world," the statement read.
"It … has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware."
Neither the artist or the gallery have commented on the investigation.
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We told you so...
BEIJING - China's huge Three Gorges Dam hydropower project could spark environmental catastrophe unless accumulating threats are quickly defused, senior officials and experts have warned.
The dam in southwest China, the world's biggest hydropower project, has begun generating electricity and serving as a barrier against seasonal flooding threatening lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Xinhua news agency reported late on Tuesday, citing a forum of experts and officials.
But even senior dam officials who have often defended the project as an engineering wonder and ecological boon now warn that areas around the dam are paying a heavy, potentially calamitous environmental cost.
"There exist many ecological and environmental problems concerning the Three Gorges Dam," the senior officials were quoted as saying. "If no preventive measures are taken, the project could lead to catastrophe."
The US$25 billion dam, whose construction flooded 116 towns and hundreds of cultural sites, is still a work in progress, but state media have said it could be completed by the end of 2008, just after the Beijing Olympic Games.
Wang Xiaofeng, director of the administrative office in charge of building the dam, told the forum that it was time to face up to the environmental consequences of constructing the massive concrete wall across the country's biggest river.
"We absolutely cannot relax our guard against ecological and environmental security problems sparked by the Three Gorges Project," Wang told the meeting, according to Xinhua.
"We cannot win passing economic prosperity at the cost of the environment."
LITANY OF THREATS
Wang cited a litany of threats, especially erosion and landslides on steep hills around the dam, conflicts over land shortages and "ecological deterioration caused by irrational development".
The strikingly frank acknowledgement of problems comes weeks before a congress of the ruling Communist Party that is set to consolidate policies giving more attention to environmental worries after decades of unfettered industrial growth.
Wang revealed that Premier Wen Jiabao had used a cabinet meeting earlier this year to discuss the environmental problems surrounding the dam.
Tensions over residents resettled to steep hills where good farmland is scarce had been reduced and water quality in the dam was "generally stable", Xinhua said.
But the officials and experts were worried about the landslides threatening densely populated hill country.
"Regular geological disasters are a severe threat to the lives of residents around the dam," senior engineer Huang Xuebin told the forum.
Huang described landslides into the dam waters making waves dozens of metres high that crashed into surrounding shores, creating even more damage.
The dam has displaced 1.4 million people and is retaining huge amounts of sediment and nutrients, damaging fish stocks and the fertility of farmland downstream, researchers say.
Story Date: 27/9/2007
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Chinese, US citizens charged with espionage in San Francisco
Agence France Presse
September 27, 2007
A Chinese national and a US citizen have been charged with conspiring to steal sensitive microchip designs capable of use in military technology, justice officials said Wednesday.
The US Attorney's office in northern California said Lee Lan and Ge Yuefei had been indicted on multiple charges of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and to steal trade secrets.
Lee, 42, a US citizen, and Ge, 34, a Chinese national, had sought to steal secrets from their employer, NetLogics Microsystems, and from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, a statement said.
The two men had set up a company for the purpose of developing and marketing products related to the stolen trade secrets, and had attempted to secure funding from the Chinese government, it added.
"The vigorous enforcement of intellectual property statutes increases the economic vitality of this region, and adds to the security of our nation as a whole," US attorney Scott Schools said.
"This office is committed to the prosecution of individuals who seek to benefit foreign governments or instrumentalities with stolen trade secrets."
Lee and Ge have been released on 300,000 dollars bail and must reappear in court on October 29. They face up to 15 years in jail and a 500,000 dollar fine if convicted.
US officials have said China and Russia are spying in the United States at levels close to those of the Cold War.
In July, FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that China's espionage operations were a "substantial concern" and Beijing was stealing US secrets to boost its fast developing military and economy.\
Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that China's military had hacked into the Pentagon's military computer network -- though the Chinese government denied the report.
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More than 600,000 toys recalled
Playthings ranging from rakes, jewelry to train sets could contain lead
The Associated Press
Sept. 26, 2007
WASHINGTON - Toys and children’s necklaces made in China were recalled Wednesday, including five more items from the popular Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line, because they contain dangerous levels of lead.
RC2 Corp.’s “Knights of the Sword” series toys and some of its Thomas and Friends items, along with floor puppet theaters and gardening tools and chairs for children, were among the more than 601,000 toys and children’s jewelry announced in the recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The recalled toys contain high levels of lead in their surface paint, and the necklaces and jewelry sets contain excessive lead in some of their metal parts, the agency said.
Under current regulations, children’s products found to have more than .06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall. The government warned parents to make sure children are not playing with or using any of the recalled products.
This is the second recall from the Thomas & Friends product line after RC2 Corp. on June 13 announced a recall of 1.5 million wooden railway toys. The company is recalling five product items, totaling about 200,000 toys in all, of Thomas & Friends toys not included in the first recall.
Julie Vallese, a spokeswoman for the CPSC, said the latest recalls were a result of both pressure from her agency and the toy industry’s own initiative.
“There’s been a very concentrated, concerted effort by both the CPSC and the industry to do a top-to-bottom investigation of the products to make sure they are not in violation with any toy safety standards,” said Vallese. “The agency overall has been pushing and strongly suggesting to industry, whether it’s RC2 or anybody else, to do a systematic inventory. Today’s recall is a result of that work.”
“I don’t think consumers have seen the end to lead paint recalls,” she said.
The CPSC announced seven product recalls in all:
Target, the importer of Happy Giddy gardening tools and children’s Sunny Patch chairs, recalled about 350,000 items of the product. The children’s gardening tools and chairs, manufactured by Starite International Ltd., were sold nationwide from August 2006 through August 2007.
RC2 recalled about 200,000 Thomas and Friends Wood Railway Toys and 800 Britain’s “Knights of the Sword” series toys. The five recalled Thomas and Friends items, sold nationwide from March 2003 through September 2007, include the all-black cargo car, toad vehicle, olive green cargo box and all-green maple tree top and signal base accessories.
The “Knights of the Sword” recalled toys products include three items: a mounted silver knight on a red horse with an ax; a mounted silver knight on a red horse with two hands on a raised weapon; and a mounted silver knight on a red horse with a lance. The products were sold at specialty toy stores nationwide from April 2004 through March 2006.
Jo-Ann Stores Inc. recalled about 16,000 children’s toy rakes. The rakes, each about 24 inches long with a yellow duck head attached to the green handle, were sold only at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores from January 2007 to September 2007.
Guidecraft Inc. recalled about 10,000 floor puppet theaters. The recalled puppet theaters, each with a chalkboard surface on the front and colored side panels, were sold nationwide in specialty toy stores, gift shops, catalogs and Web sites from June 2006 through August 2007.
TOBY N.Y.C. expanded its recall of TOBY & ME jewelry sets to include 23,500 more. The company recalled about 14,000 jewelry sets Aug. 22, also due to high levels of lead in the metal jewelry. This recall was expanded to include two additional styles: a pink crystal and wood bead necklace and bracelet set with a monkey pendant as well as a pink and clear crystal bead necklace and bracelet set with a heart pendant.
The recalled products were sold at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, A.J. Wright, Cracker Barrel and Shopko stores nationwide from August 2006 through August 2007.
Rhode Island Novelty recalled about 850 children’s spinning wheel metal necklaces because the clasp on the necklaces contain high levels of lead. This recall includes necklaces with a spinning wheel pendant, which has rhinestones attached to the front and a silver base. They were sold nationwide from November 2006 through May 2007.
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It'll be interesting to see if these companies and this federal agency suddenly turn around and apologize to China...
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These toys are not designed in China. They are designed in USAnia , Pommyland, or wherever, then contracted out to Chinese factories to be manufactured to a price! The responsibility lies on the designers to maintain quality control, but this might cost a little more, so they take the gamble. I have no sympathy for those importers who have to bear the costs of recall. They should have done their homework in the first place.
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Wow, I figured America would threaten a trade war over these recalls. I'm utterly gobsmacked that they're pusyfooting around the Chinese on this.
vvvvvvvvvv blblblblbl I think the Yankx have lost face. They should have gotten tough. Call me dismayed. Is it really too late? Is the U.S. over a barrel?
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China couldn't sell this shit if there weren't buyers! The buyers, by and large, couldn't care less if the product is bad, poisonous, or faulty. They want something cheaper than their competitors. I have seen so many "offers to buy" on trade websites.....most stipulate a lowest price!! They don't care two hoots how the stuff is made, as long as it doesn't cost more than a dollar!
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I think you're too cynical, old bean. If Mattel had known, surely the basic fear instinct would kick in and they'd avoid being the butt of poisoning jokes on Letterman.
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I think they would have planned to have their PR division ready to blame China, but something went wrong.
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I think you're too cynical, old bean.
When it comes to Big Business (and politics) there's no such thing as "too cynical".
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Well, things are not all bad: At least they are getting rid of 'reality' tv, and dodgy 'outrageous and unsupportable' claims in advertising and other things that we should get rid of too. Pity that the tv stations back home don't take it that these things reflect badly on themselves, not to mention the general public for watching it.
Not so sure of the 'pornographic' nature of the shows they banned though. Oh well. TIFC.
China bans figure-enhancing undies ads
Sunday Sep 30 19:00 AEST
AP - China has banned TV and radio ads for push-up bras and figure-enhancing underwear in the communist government's latest move to purge the nation's airwaves of what it calls social pollution.
No examples were given, but Chinese television channels have increasingly broadcast late-night infomercials featuring scantily clad women, as well as ads for products that claim to boost sexual performance.
Regulators have already targeted ads using crude or suggestive language, behaviour, and images, tightening their grip on television and radio a few weeks ahead of a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress at which some new senior leaders will be appointed.
The latest ban by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or SARFT, also bans advertisements for sexual aids including tonics and sex toys, along with "inelegant images" in ads for what it referred to simply as "adult products".
The notice indicated that regulators were concerned about both lascivious imagery and outrageous or insupportable claims about some products' benefits or effectiveness.
"Illegal 'sexual medication' advertisements and other harmful ads pose a grave threat to society," said the SAFT notice, issued last week and seen on the administration's website.
"They not only seriously mislead consumers, harm the people's health, pollute the social environment, and corrupt social mores, but also directly harm the credibility of public broadcasting and affect the image of the Communist Party and the government," the notice said.
China has already issued strict rules for TV talent shows, including the banning of American Idol-style mass audience voting by mobile phone text message or the internet.
A few weeks ago, SARFT ordered 11 radio shows off the air in southern and central China for talking too explicitly about sex or for broadcasting material of an "extreme pornographic nature".
Regulators have also banned television shows about cosmetic surgery and sex changes, and a talent show that they deemed coarse.
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http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14264375/detail.html
Poor Devil, so much slander and libel. Poor old Lucifer would never do anything like what this woman describes. I mean, do you have any idea how much trouble he would be in if they found out about it upstairs? It violates the Angelic-Infernal Treaty of 1645 and the Armageddon Agreement of 2001.
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It's already on, episode 3 should be tonight. Watched the first one just cause it was in China, but this is season 15 after all, I'm a little Survivored out.
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They don't put things on TV unless they can sell advertising space. People who watch TV are stupid, is my guess. It is an indictment of society.
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Remember the good ol' days of the Great Leap Forward? Well, I reckon something like it is being played out in Hoganland this year.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/05/2051428.htm (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/05/2051428.htm)
If I read this correctly some farmers got a payment for a wheat crop that was due to be harvested some months later. Now farmers, of all people, should know about the vagaries of the weather. Yet some of them seem to be in deep bqbqbqbqbq right now. It reminds me of the GLF, when peasants would promise that they would harvest 10 tonnes of rice per hectare (say) and the next commune would promise 20, and so on. Come harvest time, and only 5 tonnes was harvested. bibibibibi
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Leave him! Marry me! I tell funnier jokes! I'm good with kids!
China's richest person is 26-year old woman Mon Oct 8, 12:56 PM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - The twenty-six year-old daughter of a rags-to-riches property developer is China's wealthiest person, with a $16 billion ( 7.8 billion pound) fortune, Forbes magazine said on Monday.
Yang Huiyan shot to the top of the China Rich List after the firm her father founded floated on the Hong Kong stock exchange in April, creating five billionaires at once.
Her low-profile father, Yeung Kwok Keung -- who worked as a farmer and on construction sites before making his fortune, according to Chinese media -- had transferred his stake in Country Garden Holdings Co. to his daughter in 2005.
Also Asia's richest woman, the Ohio State University graduate this year married the son of a top Chinese official she met on a blind date, the China Daily reported.
She is one of the few on the list to have inherited her wealth, in a country where booming economic growth has created fortunes virtually overnight.
The economy has expanded so fast that the country's 40 wealthiest people are now all dollar billionaires, compared with just 15 last year, Forbes said in a press release.
Their combined net worth more than tripled to $120 billion, from last year's $38 billion, Forbes said.
But as the number of the super-rich grows, officials in Beijing are stepping up efforts to tackle the gulf between rich and poor because they fear it threatens social stability.
Real estate was among the most lucrative sectors. Eight of the top ten have big property development interests.
"Household incomes are rising rapidly, and a growing number of people are moving into cities from rural areas. Those trends are creating great business opportunities for property developers," said Russell Flannery, Forbes senior editor and compiler of the China Rich List.
Country Garden, based in the southern city of Guangdong focuses on building villas, townhouses and large apartments.
Yang's father is still chairman and chief executive while she sits on the board as an executive director.
Last year's number one on the Forbes list, Wong Kwong Yu, slipped nine places to squeeze into the top ten, even though his fortune rose by nearly 50 percent.
Forbes compiles its list by looking at stakes in listed and private companies and other assets. It excludes Hong Kong residents like tycoon Li Ka-shing -- estimated by Forbes to have a $22 billion fortune in January.
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Space Exploration.
Here's a digital simulation of a landing on a meteor, created by my little Sister's Company in Maffra......
http://www.space.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=NEOnauts2 (http://www.space.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=NEOnauts2)
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Men, it seems your in the wrong Country agagagagag
NZ women most promiscuous: survey
New Zealand women have the most sexual partners in the world, according to a global sex survey reported on Saturday.
They have an average of 20.4 sexual partners, according to a survey by condom-maker Durex - well above the global average of 7.3.
The Durex Sexual Wellbeing Global survey, which questioned 26,000 people in 26 countries, found that Austrians topped the male list with 29.3 sexual partners, more than twice the global average of 13.2.
New Zealand was the only country where women were more promiscuous than their men, who averaged 16.8 sexual partners, The Press newspaper said, reporting the survey.
advertisement
The survey showed that Austrians were the youngest to lose their virginity at an average of 17.3 years, followed by Brazilians (17.4), Germans (17.6) and New Zealanders (17.8).
cheexyblonde cheexyblonde cheexyblonde
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Durex company did the survey? and got these results? Well!! The results are only as good as the customers that use the product.....we (sadly) have had a record of illegitimate birth rate of 1/3 for at least the past 70 years!! Maybe the Company should have surveyed "in the islands" afafafafaf
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Yes, Kiwi women top the world's list.
...for honesty. ahahahahah
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Mite not right — in prison
Reid Sexton
October 14, 2007
VEGEMITE is off the menu for Victoria's 4200 prisoners because of fears they could use Australia's favourite breakfast spread to make booze.
Authorities have cracked down on the dark spread because prisoners have discovered ways to refine Vegemite, which has a high yeast content, to brew alcohol.
Authorities first cracked down on the breakfast spread in the late '90s, but there are concerns that home brew is still being made inside prisons, particularly in the lead-up to Christmas.
The Department of Justice said Vegemite was banned because prisoners have been known to extract the yeast. The extraction process involves melting Vegemite and using the yeast to ferment sugar or carbohydrates into alcohol.
Last year, several prisoners were found severely drunk at the Metropolitan Remand Centre.
They had secretly fermented fruit, believed to be stolen from the prison's kitchen, and turned it into alcohol.
Brimbank Legal Centre spokesman Charandev Singh said the only times prisoner advocates came in contact with the Vegemite issue was after alcohol-related deaths in custody.
"Anything in prison can be turned into alcohol. Fruit, sugar, bread. The issue for us is not banning Vegemite. It's about basic safety."
Is that all the cons we got?? bibibibibi
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Another wonderful initiative by a Hoganland entity. In fact, it happens to be the football club with the oldest and finest tradition in the
land world. George, ... GEORGE wwwwwwwwww For goodness sake, stir from your alcoholic slumber and pay attention.
http://melbournefc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/7415/Default.aspx?newsId=52511 (http://melbournefc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/7415/Default.aspx?newsId=52511) There's a mention there of them visiting Suzhou. Just giving you a heads up, boss. uuuuuuuuuu
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Yeah! They'll probably start a brawl in Suzhou! Keep away from them, fellas!!
Interesting quote, which shows the intelligence of the MFC executive......
"There is currently an AFL youth ambassador in Tianjin, Australian football has been endorsed nationally as an approved physical exercise in Chinese schools, and there are young and middle aged children, and university students already playing the game," said Harris
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Yeah, I have been drinking with those middle aged children many times.
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BBC world service are doing a series on China. Not too bad actually. I would love my student's to listen to it. The in county reporters are good. Nothing really that we don't alreday know. Well their take on things agrees with mine.
Corruption blah blah That even though Central goverment passes down good laws they can't implement them. Don't do business with the Chinese unless you have a Chinese helping you. Guanxi is all important but even though you may know the word you have to know how it works. A few good stories about that. Foreigners getting burnt. Foreigners believing all the flattery, appealig to their egos, such an easy target.
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Woza, is that the "Brits Get Rich in China" documentary? Agreed, it's nothing most of us don't already know, but it IS very good.
Youtube has it in 6 or 7 parts. Part 1 starts here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_n4pTMJLnE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_n4pTMJLnE)
BTW, where I am at here in China, Youtube is slow as hell most of the day - 3 second chops. But before 8 AM, which is when the China Internet cranks up for yet another day in paradise of business, Youtube streams like a river.
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OLD34 thanks for the linK I will check it out
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I watched the first installment this morning and will definitely watch the rest.
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Somthin' to make ol' Newbs' busom swell with pride. My boys, the mighty Dees, Melbourne football club playing footy on the Great Wall.
http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/no-rabbits-but-a-few-demons/2007/10/18/1192300952268.html (http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/no-rabbits-but-a-few-demons/2007/10/18/1192300952268.html)
Watch this spot. If previous form is anything to go by, they'll be involved in a punch up in some bar in Beijing one night real soon. uuuuuuuuuu
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I'm sure the Suzhou blokes could organize a brawl at the Shamrock! jjjjjjjjjj jjjjjjjjjj
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That could be Fun!!! Looking forward to meeting Ron Barrasi, hope that the guys realize that the only place to be SEEN in Suzhou is at the Shamrock :)
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Looking forward to meeting Ron Barrasi
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo
My life has been one of, from time to time, a successions of meetings with Ron Barrassi and on each succeeding occasion being more and more disappointed in him.
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I'll bear that in mind, thanks for the warning :) agagagagag
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When your woman is watching yuo sure can't be taken down!
Man sentenced in 'pride' killing of ostrich
Posted Sun Oct 7, 2007 10:02am AEST
A US man was sentenced to five months in jail after he and a friend, acting on wounded pride, gunned down an ostrich that had kicked them as their female companions laughed.
"This whole thing is about male pride," prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The powerful flightless bird, named Gaylord, kicked Timothy McKevitt, 19, and Jonathon Porter, 21, last October when they trespassed on an ostrich ranch south of San Francisco after a night of drinking, the paper cited attorneys as saying.
As the startled bird attacked, the women began to laugh, prosecutors said.
McKevitt was kicked in the ribs and knocked over, while Porter suffered scrapes and bruises.
The two men returned with a rifle and shotgun seeking revenge, the Chronicle said. They fired at least seven shots at Gaylord, according to a police report.
McKevitt, free on bail, was ordered to turn himself in on November 3. Porter was sentenced in March to seven months in jail after pleading no contest in the ostrich killing.
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Two men with firearms vs one ostrich named Gaylord.
Yes, I can see where you would be proud of that.
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Will Google Crush The iPhone?
Take one look at the smart-phone market, and it's easy to see a murderer's row. Apple sold one million iPhones in less than three months this summer. Palm is rejuvenating its lineup with the cheap, pretty Centro. Research in Motion's BlackBerry continues to enslave the corporate class. And Microsoft looms large as well, with its software on 140 phone models available from 160 mobile-phone carriers.
But all those devices are, well, just phones. None truly disrupt the wireless industry. That fact has left the field wide open for Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) to do a little murdering of its own. Industry sources say the online search and advertising specialist could publicly detail its long-rumored mobile-phone project as early as next week--with tech-gadget bloggers gossiping about every aspect of the look and feel of the latest tech toy.
Ultimately, however, the device's design won't matter. Instead, it is the business model powering Google's phone that promises to be something completely new. To Google, it doesn't matter how many software licenses you can grab. It doesn't matter how many pricey handsets you can sell in a quarter. The only thing that matters is eyeballs. More people spending more time with Google's phone will mean more money.
Google's thirst for ad dollars means its phone will be very different from offerings from Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) or Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ). While both Apple and Microsoft started with the affluent, Google will be trying to crack the smart-phone market from the bottom up, industry sources say (Google declined to comment for this story).
First, a recap: Google has been building a mobile-phone team ever since the acquisition of mobile-gadget developer Android in 2005. Andy Rubin, Android's founder, is leading the project's engineering team. He co-founded Danger, Inc., the company behind T-Mobile's popular Sidekick line of Internet-friendly smart phones. Rich Miner, in Google's Boston office, is leading the business side of the effort, sources say. Meanwhile, Google co-founder Larry Page is providing high-level support for the project.
The phone promises to fuse open-source software with Google's applications on a high-end handset. Rubin's team is building custom mobile-phone software atop the free Linux operating system that will bind the phone tightly to Google's online applications and advertising services, sources say. Software from another Google acquisition, Skia, will put a slick user interface on the package. Finally, Google will build all that software into a smart phone built by Taiwanese handset specialist HTC, according to a source familiar with the matter.
In some ways, that's not so different from Microsoft's strategy: put its operating system, and applications such as Word and Excel, onto hardware from HTC, and later on, other manufacturers. That, however, is where the similarities end. "Licensing a mobile OS is not the endgame," UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter wrote in a note to investors last week.
It is dissatisfaction with the ability of today's phones to carry targeted advertising--rather than a thirst for software-licensing revenues or desire to build cool gadgets--that is pushing Google to take on the mobile-phone market, industry sources say. "[Google] will likely focus on extending its current ad-based economic model," Schachter writes.
That means Google may find a home for its phone among consumers in developed and emerging economies, rather than the corporate or creative elite. Carriers catering to the developed world hope to make their profits by offering online services and content, such as ringtones. In emerging economies, carriers figure that subscribers bring their eyeballs rather than their wallets. That could make Google attractive in Asia and other fast-growing markets, with China Mobile (nyse: CHL - news - people ) and Orange Telecom--which has a large presence in the developing world--likely to become Google partners.
The payoff could be big: While analysts estimate that mobile-phone software generates $500 million in revenue for Microsoft, New Jersey-based market researcher Kelsey Group figures mobile-search advertising in the United States alone will grow to $1.4 billion in 2012 from $33.2 million this year.
Microsoft has spent its energy helping its partners create applications for its mobile operating system, rather than turning the mobile operating system itself into a vehicle for ads.
"We're going to put the choice in the customer's hands," says Scott Rockfeld, group marketing manager with Microsoft's mobile communications business.
Google, on the other hand, won't be interested in offering a choice between its applications and those offered by the carriers or Microsoft. As a result, Google may have to play rough. UBS's Schachter warns that Google may even have to threaten to spend billions on its own wireless spectrum to get the carriers in line. Google "may be using its potential spectrum acquisition as a hedge against carrier intransigence," Schachter writes.
Then again, unlike Apple or Microsoft, Google only wants one thing: advertising dollars. As a result, they can afford to stomp on a few toes
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I had my heart set on an iPhone. akakakakak It's my shiny object.
But now I'm not sure. alalalalal I wamt my tricorder... but which is it?
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I've got one of the new HTC Touch's (after upgrading from the Dopod 818Pro) and I really don't know what the Apple hype is about. This phone is the bomb! - and it's got the same style of finger sliding navigation as the iPhone.
Unlike the Apple, however, you can do pretty much anything you want with it. Check it out here: http://www.htctouch.com/
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One of my friends is working on the iPhone in Shanghai - so it probably won't be 'disappeared'. But LG is bringing out a newer better faster higher longer clone in November - so save your money for now.
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I admit, non-D, that I have the urge to rub the device all over my naked body.
But this is confusing me! I want to surf the net on the colour display of my phone. Where's Consumer Digest when you need them?
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The Dopod looks good and I really wanted to get one until I read this
I admit, non-D, that I have the urge to rub the device all over my naked body.
I don't want one anymore.
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I've got one of the new HTC Touch's (after upgrading from the Dopod 818Pro) and I really don't know what the Apple hype is about. This phone is the bomb! - and it's got the same style of finger sliding navigation as the iPhone.
Unlike the Apple, however, you can do pretty much anything you want with it. Check it out here: http://www.htctouch.com/
ND, are you running pleco on the touch? what's the performance like?
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Pleco's running okay on it. I'm waiting for the new release from them which should be totally problem free on WM6 - but I haven't had any problems so far - and I use it daily.
It's also running MapKing GPS software, surfs the net at Starbucks and takes a mean picture.
Con, rub away buddy! Sanitary rubber condom-like devices are available. I thought they were to protect the phone from dirt, water, etc., now I understand what they are really for. Knock yourself out (just not with mine!)
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Not a fan of the dopod. Had plenty of issues with it. Won't buy the product again.
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Teachers down the drain...
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/australian-teachers-high-and-dry-in-japan/2007/10/26/1192941340599.html (http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/australian-teachers-high-and-dry-in-japan/2007/10/26/1192941340599.html)
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OUCH!!!!
But does this mean that PRC can expect a rash/rush of Ozzie teachers arriving to fill posts in the not-too-distant future??
Hhhhmmmmmm.....!!
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Probably. Cheaper to fly here then back home. There will be Canadians and Americans also out of work!!
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In a bulletin to 1300 Australian Nova staff issued last night, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that for a limited period, Qantas would offer a reduced fare for Australian Nova employees wishing to return to Australia.
"There are limits as to how much we can become involved as it is a private employment issue under the jurisdiction of the Japanese legal system," the statement said.
This is what I thought was the interesting bit. So - beware - no real help from the Embassy if you get caught by a dodgy school.
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Copy on that Lotus. They're between a rock and a hard place. Okay, maybe a very cautious person would have put away something for the airfare home, but not many people are really like that. If Australians had a government that was concerned about Australians, (and, after November 25th that might just be the case) then they would be having discussions with the Japanese government about short visa extensions, whilst arranging emergency flights home, none of this "Qantas discount" bullshit.
I must disclose that one of my sons worked for Nova, but he quit last August.
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One of my daughters decided that after she finished her 1st degree she needed a break before she headed for the next one, and wanted MONEY so she too headed the Nova route - but that was several years ago. She enjoyed it, but also felt the classes were too structured, the rules too inflexible (NO fraternisation with the students outside class) and ended up working a 2nd job for fun. Her view was that NOVA was also not the best paying company in Japan.
What interests me about this is that if a company like Nova can go belly up, then what is happening to the ESL market in Japan - and what will be the flow on for other countries? If the other schools don't pick up the teachers, then that indicates that the students aren't flowing into those programs either.
It might be interesting to consider long term prospects here if that's what you are about.
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Facing staff shortages in Iraq, the US State Department has announced that diplomats would have no choice but to accept one-year postings in the hostile environment or face losing their jobs. The department said about 250 "prime candidates" for vacant Iraqi posts would be notified tomorrow. They would have 10 working days to respond to the demand that they go to Iraq, and only those with valid reasons not to would be exempt. Until now, Iraq postings have been voluntary.
Conscription in the Diplomatic Service??
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FOREIGN teachers stranded by the collapse of Japan's largest language school claim they are broke and being fed by their students, as media revealed a secret bedroom and opulent offices enjoyed by the firm's founder.
Nova Corp, which ran 900 language schools, filed for court protection from creditors last week, leaving thousands of mostly foreign employees unpaid and students without the lessons they paid for.
"I have a couple of thousand yen ($20) left in the bank. I am expecting an eviction notice any day," Kristen Moon, a teacher from the US, told a news conference in Tokyo, at which she appeared as a pink rabbit character that Nova used in advertising.
Australian Natasha Steele was on the verge of tears as she said her students were feeding her.
Nova teachers were employed on one-year contracts and many had not worked long enough to get unemployment benefits, union official Louis Carlet said.
Former company president Nozomu Sahashi paid himself 310 million yen ($A2.94 million) for the year to March 2006, Kyodo news agency said, compared with about 3 million yen ($A28,450) for an instructor — about a third below the average annual wage in Japan.
Mr Sahashi's lavish 300-square-metre personal office in Osaka was opened to media this week, revealing a hidden apartment complete with a bedroom, hot tub and sauna. REUTERS
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Hollywood writers go on strikeStory Highlights
NEW: Writers and studios break off talks as writers walk out on strike
Studios stockpile movie scripts as prime-time TV completes shows in hand
The studios say the demands are unreasonable
Late-night comedy shows would take immediate hit in writers' strike
Next Article in Entertainment »
Read VIDEO
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The strike by Hollywood writers is on. Writers and studios broke off talks late Sunday after 11 hours of negotiations.
A man loads picket signs into a van Sunday at the Writers Guild of America headquarters in Los Angeles, California.
1 of 2 The talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were called by a federal mediator. The producers said a deal couldn't be reached.
The writers want more money from the sale of DVDs and a share of revenue generated by the sale of TV shows and films over the Internet. The studios say the demands are unreasonable and will hamper attempts to experiment with new media.
Picketing starts in the morning in New York and Los Angeles.
The walkout will affect late-night talk shows first, then daytime talk shows and soap operas. Studios have stockpiled movie scripts and prime-time TV has completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
Hollywood writers and studio representatives held last-ditch negotiations Sunday in an effort to prevent a strike, the writers union said.
A federal mediator called the meeting between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers at an undisclosed location.
Don't Miss
Union: Members can honor picket lines if writers strike
Reality shows loom
The first picket lines are scheduled to form at New York's Rockefeller Center, followed by picket lines at various locations in Los Angeles, the guild said.
The studios say the demands are unreasonable and would hamper attempts to experiment with new media. Watch a report on the dispute »
The last time Hollywood writers went on strike was in 1988. The walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry about $500 million.
WGA board members voted unanimously Friday to begin the strike unless studios offered a more lucrative deal. The two sides have been meeting since July.
"The studios made it clear that they would rather shut down this town than reach a fair and reasonable deal," Patric Verrone, president of the western chapter of the guild, said at a news conference. Watch Verrone talk about a "bad contract" »
J. Nicholas Counter, chief negotiator for producers, called the writers' strike "precipitous and irresponsible" in a prepared statement.
Producers believe progress can be made on other issues but "it makes absolutely no sense to increase the burden of this additional compensation" involving DVDs and the Internet, he said.
The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment.
"The Tonight Show" on NBC will go into reruns starting Monday if last-ditch negotiations fail and a strike begins, according to a network official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to comment publicly.
Comedy Central has said "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" would likely go into repeats as well.
Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.
The strike would not immediately affect production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.
Talks between writers and producers will likely impact upcoming negotiations between the studios and unions representing actors and directors.
All those unions believe revenue from content offered on the Internet, cell phones and other platforms will grow tremendously in the years ahead, even though it's now minuscule compared with DVD sales.
Consumers are expected to spend $16.4 billion on DVDs this year, according to Adams Media Research.
By contrast, studios could generate about $158 million from selling movies online and about $194 million from selling TV shows over the Web.
Studios argue that it is too early to know how much money they can make from offering entertainment on the Internet and on cell phones, iPods and other devices.
Producers are also uncertain whether consumers prefer a pay-per-view model over an advertising-supported system. They say they want the economic flexibility to experiment as consumer habits change in reaction to technology.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!! aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao The soap opera writers are on strike. People might have to..gulp, shudder, tremble....read! Or go outside. Or talk to each other. Chaos, mayhem...it's Ragnarok. Soon the sun will be eaten by an enormous wolf.
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Writers have always been treated like shit on the shoes of Hollywood. Let's see how smart them actors sound now that they have to come up with their own ideas and words. bbbbbbbbbb
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Belgium... Canada. Now I get it.
In Belgium, even the Smurfs are confused
Don Murray
Nov. 6, 2007
Belgium and Canada have similar positions. Each sits on its continent, incontournable as the French say, undeniably there, but largely ignored by its larger neighbours.
Consider Belgium today. It is in the midst of a major political crisis. You haven't noticed? Neither has most of Europe.
As of Nov. 5, the country achieved an unenviable record — 148 days without a real government, 148 days since a general election produced a stalemate. The previous record was in 1988 and the cause was the same and one that will be familiar to Canadians — language.
There are not two, but three official languages in Belgium, a lot for a country of 10 million inhabitants. But only two count, French and Dutch.
The Flemish speak Dutch in the province of Flanders and they are the majority, making up somewhere between 56 and 58 per cent of the country's population. The Wallons speak French and live in the south next to France. To complicate matters, Brussels, the capital, is largely French-speaking but it lies in Flanders.
What would Tintin do?
Curiously, few outside the political class in Belgium seem to be taking this crisis too seriously. There is a reason for that. Belgium is known for … well, what is Belgium known for? Beer, of course. There seem to be almost as many of those as Belgians, and moules et frites, mussels and french fries, and chocolate, and … comics.
Yes, tiny Belgium is a world leader in the production of comics and comic book heroes, starting with the boy reporter Tintin.
The comic approach appeals to Belgians. Listen to Rik Torfs, a Flemish professor of government and religion: "We only produce useless things such as beer and chocolates. So we are an absolute centre of mediocrity.
"And that's a good reason to be in favour of the survival of Belgium. As we are a centre of mediocrity, nobody envies us, nobody hates us. And that's nice."
Torfs is famous in Flanders, not because of his intellectual prowess as a professor but because he moonlights on a TV quiz show called The Cleverest Person in the World. It has one million viewers. That's one-sixth of Flanders.
Torfs is a sort of prosecuting judge, insulting the contestants so that they like it, as he puts it. He uses the same technique on his country.
His guide to Belgian politics is pithy: "Anything serious coming from Belgium, don't trust it."
What national anthem?
It's a motto Belgium's embattled prime minister-designate seems to be taking, if not seriously, then conscientiously. Yves Leterme is a Flemish politician, leading the largest coalition of parties trying to form a government.
On Belgium's national holiday, July 21, he was asked what the day was commemorating. He didn't know. (The correct answer was the swearing in as head of state of Belgium's first king in 1830.) Then Leterme was asked whether he knew Belgium's national anthem. Of course, he said, and began singing La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France. It's perhaps not surprising he's having trouble forming a government.
There are more serious reasons for Belgium's political crisis. For one, the country no longer has any national parties.
Four decades ago, the leaders of Belgium tried to clarify the vexed language issue by drawing a line through the belly of the country.
To the north, in Flanders, every official word spoken and written — in government departments, municipal city halls, schools, universities — would be Dutch.
To the south, in Wallonia, French would be official. (In a small eastern enclave tucked up against Germany, German would be the official language of about 75,000 Belgians). Brussels, situated in Flanders, would be bilingual.
Surgery required
This led to some drastic changes. The university of Louvain was a jewel of French-language learning, founded in 1425. But after the drawing of the language line, the university found itself in the Flemish sector. And so, in the 1970s, everything and everyone — books, faculties, professors, students — all were moved south. Not far south, just 30 kilometres and just across the language line. A new university — indeed a new town, Louvain La Neuve — was built. And the old one became the University of Leuven, where everything would be in Dutch.
The drastic surgery offered only temporary remission. By the 1980s, the national parties were splitting apart. Where once there was a national Christian Democrat party, now there are two — one Flemish and one Wallon. And the Flemish Christian Democrats did a deal with a small separatist party, the NVA, with the goal of forming the largest block in the Belgian parliament. The NVA wants Flanders to declare its independence from Belgium.
The Christian Democrat-NVA block achieved its electoral goal. But, thanks to the constitutional tradition that there should be a government with an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers, this has led to surreal political negotiations. Imagine the Bloc Québécois as part of a negotiating team to form a federal coalition government.
To add spice to the constitutional stew, there is a second, much bigger separatist party, not in the poorer, smaller section of the country, Wallonia, but also in Flanders. The Vlaams Belang, which calls for independence for Flanders and is accused of being rabidly right-wing by its opponents, takes 25 per cent of the votes and seats in the Flanders provincial parliament.
The Flemish have a long and well-developed sense of grievance. For decades they and their language were considered backward by the French-speaking elite. Now that Flanders is the rich part of the country, they resent paying subsidies to struggling Wallonia. A recent opinion poll suggested support for Flanders' independence had risen to 46 per cent.
Think of it in Canadian terms: it's as if the support for separation was being driven by Ontario and the West, not by Quebec.
Asking the Big Smurf
But not to worry, says Torfs. This is Belgium.
"It's like asking questions on divorce immediately after the quarrel. The bottles are still on the floor, the wine glasses on the table. At that moment everybody wants to divorce, to separate. But a few days, weeks, months later, we are very happy to be with our old enemies again."
Maybe, but the rot is so deep it has so soaked into the comics. Along with Tintin, Belgium has given the world the Smurfs. And these tiny blue creatures, like bigger Belgians, have managed, in one of their albums, to get themselves into a linguistic tangle.
It begins when a Smurf asks another for a bottle opener, a "bottle-Smurfer" in his parlance. His neighbour insists it's called a "Smurf-opener." They can't agree; the quarrel escalates.
And here Willem de Graeve, deputy director of the Belgian Museum of Comic Art, takes up the story: "So they go to the Big Smurf and ask him who is right. The Big Smurf says, I can't say because both are right, but they're not satisfied with this answer. It goes further and further. They decide one day to split the village in two and they make a border. You can't pass the border because you have two camps of Smurfs, speaking two languages. Now it's obvious that this is a real allusion to the situation in Belgium."
If the Big Smurf can't solve that one, who can save Belgium?
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Writers always get crap.
They make up the ideas, write them out, get all the plots, characters etc fixed up, bleed for months or years over the typewriter ... and then get a pittance. Some guy with a face and no brain acts the part, gets about 100 times the writers pay for the whole of their life for 3 months work acting the role the writer invented, and gets lauded for the rest of their life and invited to conventions. Everyone else involved gets lots, too. Probably the best boy makes more than the writer who thought the whole thing up. I know that many TV stars (eg star trek, sf movies, etc) get more for a single appearance at a single convention than the writer got for creating the movie, TV series and/or episode.
At a convention the writers get together and get drunk out the back having arrived more than likely paying for themselves to get there (even famous ones usually only break even), their own accommodation and their own food and beer.
However, they are much more interesting.
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TheCBC offered this today:
COLLEEN ROSS: WORD OF MOUTH
Lost in translation
Colourful Chinglish words enter global English
November 8, 2007
I'm in China, covering the Women's World Cup of soccer for CBC Radio. It's another late night and I'm resorting to room service to quell the rumbling in my tummy. But, scanning the menu, I'm not at all sure about the offerings: "stuffed fatty meat pork" makes me squirm. "Slobbering chicken," "lion head" or "cheese melting in ham parcel" … I'm not sold. I opt for the complimentary apples on my table — at least I know what I'm getting.
English mistranslations of food dishes are rampant in China. My favourite example comes through the dietitian for the Canadian women's soccer team. For obvious reasons, the players were very careful not to be too experimental with food. Chicken is usually a safe bet, but not when the dish is translated as "the fragrance explodes the cowboy bone." That could have been too, well, explosive.
Other examples of mistranslations abound. A massage therapist advertises: "Relex your tired of bady"; a toilet for a disabled person is labelled "Deformed man toilet"; a slippery road is marked "Beware, the slippery are very crafty" (but they are!). "Drinktea" is hung on a shop door to mean it's closed (it also means "resting" in Mandarin). Yes, Chinglish is the weird and wonderful result of an English dictionary colliding with Chinese ideograms that often have multiple meanings.
These linguistic delicacies may well stay in China, but some experts say Chinglish words are zipping around the globe, even working their way into the English language.
Photo Gallery: Shanghai subway Chinglish by Anthony Germain
The Global Language Monitor tracks and analyzes trends in global English. Its president, Harvard-educated linguist Paul Payack, says the Chinglish phenomenon is helping drive the globalization of the English language, contributing up to 20 per cent of new global English words. Payack says the rate has increased in the past several years because of China's rising number of English speakers and economic boom. The surge in internet users has allowed for the free flow of Chinglish.
In its most recent annual survey, GLM selected the top Chinglish words: No noising (quiet, please!), airline pulp (food served on a plane), jumping umbrella (hang-glider) and question authority (information booth, interestingly enough). I decided to take some local words back home with me, stuffing them into my already bloated suitcase: financial supermarket (what better word for one store offering stocks, insurance and real estate services?) and super brand mall (only top-end items, please).
Payack says unless a word is on paper, the Oxford English Dictionary doesn't count it, but he insists the real language is what's spoken and what's used on the internet. "Maybe only five per cent of Chinglish words will stick around," he says, "but that's a lot." He expects the language cycle will go into high gear during next year's Beijing Olympics.
The rising influence of China is coming not only through Chinese-influenced English, but also through its more famous export: Mandarin, the most widely spoken language on the planet. And beyond China's borders, tens of millions of people are now picking up scribes and learning to ink ideograms.
"If Mandarin Chinese ever becomes the first choice of a second language to learn, as English has been, there is … less of a chance for these Chinglish expressions to survive or make significant impact," University of Victoria linguistics professor Hua Lin says. If Mandarin becomes so popular that people speak Mandarin instead of English as a second language, people will communicate less in English, giving it less chance to be influenced by Chinese, Lin explains. Meanwhile, China's biggest cities are intent on sweeping the streets clear of unintelligible Chinglish. Beijing has launched a campaign to stamp out bad English in time for its international debut at next year's Olympics.
At Shanghai's Foreign Languages Institute, a bespectacled Zhang Jiani has spearheaded a student initiative to clean up English on menus, in taxis, in shops and in banks. She's an accounting student, but says this is her civic duty: "I think most of the students here have some English skills and I think it's our responsibility to do something for the city." She says they must, if Shanghai is to market itself as a truly international city.
So, once every few weeks, she meets up with a group of students to trek through designated parts of the city. Equipped with electronic dictionaries, they studiously note any suspected mistranslations. They get the correct wording from a professor, then deliver it to the perpetrator who, they hope, makes the correction.
Drinktea may mean closed for business, but this up-and-coming generation of Chinese will work until the worst of the Chinglish is laid to rest.
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China puts traditional focus on new holidays
By Winny Wang 2007-11-10
THE Chinese government yesterday announced a major overhaul of its national holiday system.
The May Day Golden Week has been canceled but three traditional festivals have been added as national holidays.
The draft proposal worked out by a special panel after more than a year's research has been posted on the Internet for public discussion.
If accepted, the proposal could be enacted in time for the 2008 Spring Festival.
It means workers will receive one more paid day off each year if the draft amendment to statutory holiday laws is approved.
The three-day May Day holiday will be cut to one day, while the Tomb-sweeping Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival will become national vacations, according to the draft, which was released by the government's office in charge of national holidays.
That raises the number of paid holiday days to 11 from 10.
The Spring Festival break will begin on Lunar New Year's Eve instead of the first day of the Chinese New Year, and the holiday will end a day earlier, the draft said.
People can vote or voice an opinion on the draft at China's major Websites such as Sina.com, People.com and Xinhuanet.com.
China introduced the Golden Week holidays in 1999 to boost domestic consumption.
Tourism revenue soared from 14.1 billion yuan (US$1.90 billion) during the 1999 National Day holiday to 64.2 billion yuan during the recent Golden Week in October.
However, complaints about overcrowding, poor service, a scarcity of hotel rooms and damage to scenic spots, especially historic sites, during the Golden Week breaks have spurred debate over the merits of the weeklong holiday concept.
According to Xinhua news agency, an official of the special panel said the new plan takes into account five key principles:
The number of legal holidays should mirror the current phase of economic and social development;
The legal holiday arrangement should help pass on traditional customs and culture;
Negative effects on the economy and society should be minimized;
All citizens should share in social justice via the achievements of economic and social development;
People should have the right to rest and travel.
Timely move
The official said the new arrangement will be enacted along with regulations on paid vacations. It will ensure that people have enough time to travel, yet won't all be on the move at the same time.
"Making traditional festivals legal holidays will help carry forward Chinese history and culture, benefit 1.3 billion Chinese citizens, help build a harmonious society and enhance the cohesion of the Chinese nation," said Ji Baocheng, a deputy to the National People's Congress and president of Renmin University of China in Beijing.
During its research, the panel investigated the holiday arrangements of other countries, consulted experts, citizens and law makers, and conducted online and phone polls.
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The May holiday has been cut to one day?!?!? aoaoaoaoao asasasasas llllllllll
I am SO not impressed.
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Wait, how will this affect the MIDI festival? aqaqaqaqaq
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The May holiday has been cut to one day?!?!? aoaoaoaoao asasasasas llllllllll
I am SO not impressed.
They are still talking about using the weekends before and after as work days giving more time off during the holiday.
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This takes re-cycling to a whole new, level!!!
China recycling used condoms as cheap hair bands
November 13, 2007 - 3:09PM
Used condoms in southern China are being recycled into hair bands and they are selling well in local markets and beauty salons.
But they could spread sexually-transmittable diseases the condoms were originally meant to prevent, state media reported today.
Rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.
"These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said.
Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said.
"People could be infected with AIDS, warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist as saying.
A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.
China's manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.
I wonder who collects them??
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Oh my dear God!!! aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa Congratulations George, you win the prize for "Most revolting and disgusting news reported as yet". And may I add...yuck!
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I've decided that I never read it, it never happened and...
What? What's in the news today? aeaeaeaeae
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Ah, mere sewage! That'll improve the taste in my mouth...
Record amount of waste dumped in China's Yangtze River Tue Nov 13, 10:27 PM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - A record 30.5 billion tonnes of industrial, farming and human waste were dumped last year into China's Yangtze River, the country's longest, state media reported.
The quantity was twice as much as two decades ago and an increase of 900 million tonnes, or 3.1 percent, from the previous year, Xinhua news agency said late Tuesday.
The widespread dumping of industrial, agricultural and domestic waste has seriously polluted the Yangtze, a situation some ecologists warn will be worsened by the massive Three Gorges dam, which they say will create a "giant toilet bowl" of trapped sewage behind it.
The Asian Development Bank last month warned that water pollution in China, driven by rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, had reached "alarming" levels.
Xinhua, quoting a study by the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, said 2006 was the first year sewage dumping had increased by less than five percent.
A joint Swiss-Chinese report said earlier this month that Yangtze pollution was "enormous" but added the ecological damage could be reversed if the government took aggressive steps.
Numerous unique species have been driven to the brink of extinction in the river, including the white-fin dolphin and Yangtze river sturgeon.
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I...I....I...once went swimming in that river...oh the horror... aoaoaoaoao aaaaaaaaaa
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Here is an interesting article about the Three Gorges Dam. Unfortunatly, it is in german.
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/artikel/621/141316/
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Chinese Law Student Sues Censor Board
Angry that Chinese censors ordered graphic sex scenes removed from Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, a Chinese student at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing has filed a lawsuit against the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, alleging that it had infringed on his "consumer rights" and "society's public interest," the Beijing Times reported today (Wednesday). The student, Dong Yanbin, is demanding that the board apologize and pay him the equivalent of $67 for "psychological damages." Analysts believe that it is unlikely that Chinese courts will accept the case.
I got this fromt the IMDB. 67 Dollars? I really do hope they got that wrong or this is one unambitious law student.
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When I first heard about this story I could see the funny side of it. On reading it fully it seems more serious. Still, I'm posting it.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22835095-29277,00.html (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22835095-29277,00.html)
Jailed sailors may learn fate todayFrom correspondents in Los Angeles
November 28, 2007 06:27am
Article from: AAPFont size: + -
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TWO Australian Navy sailors jailed in California for a vicious fight with an American man about the merits of Aussie rules football will learn today if US prosecutors will pursue serious assault charges against them.
Philip Graeme Ferres, 26, and Kolis Barba, 24, have been locked up in San Diego's Central Jail since their arrest in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Police accuse them of hitting and kicking their alleged victim, breaking his eye socket, after an argument flared at a party about Australian rules football and America's gridiron.
The alleged victim, a 28-year-old San Diego man, was a fan of gridiron while the Australians were talking up the virtues of AFL, which led to the fight, police said.
A spokesperson for the San Diego District Attorney's office said prosecutors were mulling over the evidence today to decide what charges, if any, will be filed against the two sailors, who arrived in the southern Californian city aboard the HMAS Sydney last week.
If charges are laid, Ferres and Barba will likely appear before a San Diego judge tomorrow.
San Diego police booked the Australians on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, with the deadly weapon being their feet.
The American man was taken to hospital.
Ferres and Barba claimed they acted in self defence.
They feared for their lives because they believed their alleged victim would get a weapon, police said.
The HMAS Sydney, which was moored at the US Naval Base San Diego for five days, left San Diego on Saturday without the two men.
Bit silly to get in a fight over which code of football is the best, when it's bloody obvious that Australian Rules is best. uuuuuuuuuu
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It's a good thing Rugby Union wasn't mentioned... someone might've been killed!
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"Deadly weapon" being feet that have played Aussie Rules? I do keep telling them here that girls play soccer back home and they need to see a 'real' football game.
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They're in the military, its not surprising they're feet/fists are alleged to be deadly weapons.
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Here's some good news.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/28/2104456.htm?section=justin (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/28/2104456.htm?section=justin)
More than a billion trees planted this year: UN
Posted 1 hour 36 minutes ago
More than one billion trees have been planted around the world in 2007, with Ethiopia and Mexico leading in the drive to combat climate change, a United Nations (UN) report said.
The Nairobi-based UN Environment Program (UNEP) said the mass tree planting, inspired by Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai, will help mitigate effects of pollution and environmental deterioration.
"An initiative to catalyse the pledging and the planting of one billion trees has achieved and indeed surpassed its mark," UNEP chief Achim Steiner said in a statement.
"It is a further sign of the breathtaking momentum witnessed this year on the challenge for this generation - climate change.
"Millions if not billions of people around this world want an end to pollution and environmental deterioration and have rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty to prove the point."
UNEP said the total number of trees planted is still being collated, but developing countries top the list with more than 700 million and 217 million trees planted in Ethiopia and Mexico respectively.
Others include Turkey with 150 million, Kenya - 100 million, Cuba - 96.5 million, Rwanda - 50 million, South Korea - 43 million, Tunisia - 21 million, Morocco - 20 million, Burma - 20 million and Brazil - 16 million.
Mr Maathai's Green Belt Movement planted 4.7 million trees, double the number of trees it had initially pledged, according to UNEP.
Experts says that trees help contain carbon that accumulates the heat-trapping gases blamed for climate change.
Although the figure could not be verified, it sends a powerful message ahead of the December 3-14 meeting in Bali of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a panel charting the path for negotiating pollution cuts to be implemented after 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol pledges run out.
"We called you to action almost exactly a year ago and you responded beyond our dreams," said Mr Maathai, who won the Nobel Peace prize for her campaign to plant tens of millions of trees to counter tree-loss and desertification in Africa.
"Now we must keep the pressure on and continue the good work for the planet," Mr Maathai said in the statement.
- AFP
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OMG!!! They banned the pushup bra ads! NOOOOO!!!!! ananananan
On those cold and lonely winter nights in Dongguan, I'd sit in front of the TV, mesmerized by hot Chinese girls suddenly becoming endowed with amazing cleavage. ajajajajaj
Those ads should be considered to be a treasure of world heritage. The people who ordered them censored should be made to drink lead paint.
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I feel for you EL. Don't you get the commercials for the miracle cream? I remember them vividly. A cream with basically the same qualities as a push-up bra.
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Damn! I never saw the miracle cream commercials. asasasasas llllllllll
In the meantime, I seem to have accidentally dropped a couple of shopping bags from my car on my last trip over to Tampa:
Dude, didn't we have 60 pounds of pot?
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Highway Patrol says anyone missing two big bags of pot can call their Tampa area office. A crew picking up litter from along Interstate 4 near Tuesday morning made an unusual find: two big plastic garbage bags stuffed with freshly harvested marijuana.
FHP Trooper Larry Coggins says the 60 pounds of pot might be worth around $54,000 on the street. It probably fell off or was thrown from a car on the interstate.
The plants appeared freshly picked and some had intact roots.
Coggins says it's not the largest amount of pot ever dumped along a roadside, but it's certainly not a common find.
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Drambuie not the drop for bogans
By Erin Tennant
ninemsn
If you're "a guy who wears skirts" or maybe one of those "rich people with taste in their arse" you just might take to this refined drink, but if you're a bogan … forget it.
Drambuie has released an online video of blue-collar drinkers struggling with free samples of the whisky blend that suggests only educated consumers will enjoy the drop.
advertisement
The video follows a market researcher as he approaches patrons at downmarket pubs in Sydney and Melbourne with a glass of the liquor served with lemon wedge and straw, then records their predictably coarse responses after taking a swig.
A tattooed, singlet-wearing patron guzzles a glass in one hit, then — as the remains of the drink drip through his beard — is asked by the deadpan researcher: "Can you detect the nuances of flavour, the subtle hints of honey?"
Other drinkers offer opinions about the types of people they think would like the drink instead, such as cross-dressers or people with wealth but no taste.
The video, which has been doing the email rounds since Monday, carries the apparently patronising tag line "made for princes, not bogans" but a company spokesman insists the campaign is sincere.
"These were genuine people who honestly didn’t like the brand," Drambuie marketing manager James France said.
Only one actor was used in the production — Jason Torrens, a former star of the kids' 1990s television show Pugwall, performs in his real-life role as a drummer with a Melbourne rock band.
Mr France said the clip is an attempt to re-launch a drink that "for years has been stuck in the old-men-drinking-after-dinner-in-leather-lounges category".
He said the video was aimed at "successful urban male in the 28-35 age bracket" and insisted the ad was done at nobody's expense in particular because "there is a bogan in all of us".
Luke Nathans of The One Centre, the Sydney-based advertising agency that produced the ad, said the video is meant to be taken in jest.
The video's humour partly serves to poke fun at "how difficult it is to market Drambuie and its history to an Australian drinker", he said.
Drambuie is said to originate with an eighteenth-century Scottish prince who drank the whisky blend as an elixir.
The ad is another in a range of marketing campaigns — most notably those for Carlton Draught — which hope to raise brand awareness through entertaining viral videos.
Simon Canning, a marketing and advertising writer with The Australian, said the Drambuie video ran little risk of offending anyone.
"They know the market they're mocking would never consider buying Drambuie except as a present for their mother-in-law," he said.
"The market they're talking to is a pretty sophisticated market: as a message, the ad is effective because it reinforces people's prejudices and talks to them in their own tone of voice."
Advertising executive Natalie McLeod believes the Drambuie ad's shock value should ensure it enjoys wide email circulation, but questioned whether the video was likely to lure consumers.
"As an advertisement we have to ask if people would buy the product based on someone else hating it," she said.
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I luuurrrrve Drambuie! jjjjjjjjjj jjjjjjjjjj
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Me too. I also like scotch. I also like rusty nails. agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag
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I like Drambuie. It tastes nice and the romantic story behind only adds to the flavour. Sipping a glass and thinking about how the Young Pretender, having just seen his dreams of ruling England destroyed at Culloden, is whisked away, disguised as a woman and brought to the Isle of Skye. Wherefrom he departed in a rowboat one fog-enshrouded morning, thanking his saviours the only way he could, by presenting them with the recipe for Drambuie. Might be a load of hogwash but it's good hogwash agagagagag agagagagag
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I like Drambuie. It tastes nice
Right! End of story! It tastes nice!! Don't need all that extraneous hogwash!!
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And on to other news...the new Australian Minister of the Environment is a rock star agagagagag agagagagag That's so cool. All our minister are boring morons.
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If you're "a guy who wears skirts" or maybe one of those "rich people with taste in their arse" you just might take to this refined drink
a drink that "for years has been stuck in the old-men-drinking-after-dinner-in-leather-lounges category".
I luuurrrrve Drambuie! jjjjjjjjjj jjjjjjjjjj
Not a suprise George.
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Yep, it's all over the news. She has been sentenced to 15 days in jail and then she'll be deported. The really stupid thing is, she did not name the sodding bear, the students did, after they came to a democratic decision that the majority wanted the bear to be called Muhammed. Then some yobbo decides that it is insulting to name a stuffed bear after the Prophet. Muhammad being a perfectly ordinary name in that area, I don't think any of the parties involved were even thinking about the Prophet. I am all for respecting the believes of others and, whenever possible, follow and obey the rules and customs of foreign lands, should I venture away from my rain-soaked island but this is just plain stupid! There are crowds demonstrating in the streets, demanding that the poor woman be shot! The British government has warned the Sudan officials that, basically, if they touch a hair on her head, their diplomats will be thrown out of England and the British Commonwealth will reconsider how much aid they want to give to Sudan. So not only has some overtly sensitive religious racist (I highly doubt this would have happened had the teacher in question been a Sudan native) caused a teacher to be expelled, but has also managed to put the relief aid that many poor and hungry Sudanese people depend on at risk. I work for Muslims and they even professed that they thought the whole thing to be ridiculous. Makes you wonder íf the complaint about the naming of the bear had more of an agenda behind it. What kind of sick, twisted, loathsome little pathetic sad excuse for a parody of a human being gets all worked up about what a child calls his/ her teddy bear? Religious insult??? They are children!!!! It's a stuffed bear!!! And....they are children!!!!!!!!!! llllllllll llllllllll llllllllll
Sorry about the rant but I have been reading articles about this case all day and it has gotten me somewhat worked up. I'll go lie down.....
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Ju8st an example of the insanity of it all...
Sudan protesters: Execute teacherStory Highlights
Some demonstrators demand execution of Gillian Gibbons, 54
Gibbons found guilty of insulting religion, sentenced to 15 days in jail
Teacher arrested after her class named teddy bear "Mohammed"
KHARTOUM, Sudan (CNN) -- Hundreds of angry protesters, some waving ceremonial swords from trucks equipped with loud speakers, gathered Friday outside the presidential palace to denounce a teacher whose class named a teddy bear "Mohammed" -- some calling for her execution.
1 of 2 The protesters, which witnesses said numbered close to 1,000, swore to fight in the name of their prophet.
Gillian Gibbons, 54, was given 15 days in jail late Thursday after she was convicted of insulting religion. She was cleared of charges of inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her lawyer, Ali Ajeb, said.
Ajeb said they planned to appeal the sentence, which begins from the date she was detained, Nov. 25. Including Friday, she has 10 more days in jail.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "extremely disappointed" that the charges were not dismissed.
Meanwhile senior British lawmakers were en route to Khartoum to try to secure Gibbons' early release.
The two members of the House of Lords were set to arrive in Khartoum about 5 a.m. Saturday (9 p.m. Friday ET), Time magazine reporter Sam Dealey told CNN, citing British and Sudanese sources.
They will meet with government ministers and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, he said.
Sources close to the British government and the Republican Palace in Sudan say it is expected that a deal will be reached, and Gibbons will be released, Dealey said. Visas for the two, he said, were granted "in record time ... by Sudanese standards."
Friday's demonstrations began as worshippers spilled out of mosques in the capital after Friday prayers. They marched to the palace, which is on the same street as Unity High School, where Gibbons taught grade school students. Those who named the bear were 7 years old.
A heavy police presence was maintained outside the school, but no demonstrators were there. Watch men brandish knives, shout »
Armed with swords and sticks, the protesters shouted: "By soul, by blood, I will fight for the Prophet Mohammad. Western journalists who attempted to talk to the protesters were ushered away by men in plain clothes. Gibbons is being held in a women's prison in the Omdurman district of Khartoum, and she will be deported at the end of her prison term, British consular officials told CNN.
British Embassy staff said they were giving the teacher -- from the northern British city of Liverpool -- full consular assistance.
In leaflets distributed earlier this week by Muslim groups, the protesters promised a "popular release of anger" at Friday's protests.
The leaflets condemned Gibbons as an "infidel" and accused her of "the pollution of children's mentality" by her actions.
Omer Mohammed Ahmed Siddig, the Sudanese ambassador to Britain, was summoned for a second time to meet with the British foreign secretary late Thursday after the court's ruling.
Miliband also spoke to the Sudanese acting foreign minister for 15 minutes on the telephone during the meeting, the British Foreign Office said.
"Our priority now is to ensure Ms. Gibbons' welfare and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her," Miliband said in a statement.
The Foreign Office said there would be further talks with the Sudanese government Friday.
Gibbons was arrested Sunday after she asked her class to name the stuffed animal as part of a school project, the Foreign Office said. She had faced charges under Article 125 of Sudan's constitution, the law relating to insulting religion and inciting hatred.
She could have received a sentence of 40 lashes, a fine or jail term of up to a year, according to the Foreign Office.
British newspapers condemned Gibbons' conviction, with the Daily Telegraph calling for the recall of the British ambassador from Khartoum and sanctions against the heads of the Sudanese government. Watch a report on reactions to the verdict »
In an editorial, the tabloid newspaper, The Sun, said Gibbons' jailing was a "grotesque insult to Islam" and called Gibbons "an innocent abroad."
Don't Miss
Teacher charged in teddy bear case
Bid to stop whipping
TIME.com: The blasphemous teddy bear
Web site: Unity High School
Four vans filled with riot police were waiting outside the courthouse at Thursday's hearing, but there were no disturbances. Staff from Gibbons' school, including director Robert Boulos, were present.
Defense counsel later confirmed that the complaint against Gibbons came from Sarah Khawad, a secretary at the school.
Gibbons has been working at the school, popular with wealthy Sudanese and expatriates, since August, after leaving her position as deputy head teacher at a primary school in Liverpool this summer, Boulos said.
He said Gibbons asked the children to pick their favorite name for the new class mascot, which she was using to aid lessons about animals and their habitats. E-mail to a friend
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Yeah...the kids named the teddy bear "Mohammed" after one of their classmates!! llllllllll llllllllll
I wonder just how popular that poor kiddie-wink will be now?!?
And just how her students feel about the whole deal....?!?......Talk about a Guilt Trip!!
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Thousands of Belgian parents camped in cold, wet weather Thursday to enroll their children in French-speaking schools under a new first-come, first-served registration system. aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao
Families set up impromptu camp sites outside school gates, with police in attendance to keep the peace ahead of the start of registration for next year's school term Friday.
"I am doing this for my daughter," said Thierry Colin, a navy officer drinking soup at the end of a queue of tents and improvised shacks in front of the prestigious St. Michel secondary school in Brussels.
The new system is designed to promote transparency and social diversity but has angered many parents. Previously, schools could decide which children to take based on criteria such as academic achievement.
Colin started queuing Thursday morning and did not know whether his night in the cold would pay off.
Four women near the head of the queue had been there since Wednesday and were more upbeat on their chances of success, although they were unhappy with the new system.
"Some students are offering to spend the night here for 500 euros ($740)," said Sandrine Konen, a mother trying to register her 11 year-old child.
"In the end, there are only people here who have the means not to work or who can take days off, or pay someone. The social diversity target has not been not reached."
The Socialist-led government of Belgium's French-speaking community said the new system gave all children an equal chance to go to the best schools.
"I would rather -- and I'm not saying I'm happy about it -- have queues for everyone than a system which is not transparent at all," Marie Arena, president of the French-speaking community, told Belgian radio.
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Dalai Lama may forgo death before reincarnation (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22838048-25837,00.html)
Jeremy Page, Amritsar, India | November 29, 2007
FACED with Chinese plans to seize control of his reincarnation, the Dalai Lama has come up with two revolutionary proposals - either to forgo rebirth, or to be reborn while still alive.
The exiled Tan Buddhist leader has proposed to hold a referendum among his 13-14 million followers around the world - before his death - on whether he should be reincarnated.
If the majority vote against it he said he would simply not be reborn, ending a lineage that tradition dictates dates back to the late 14th century, when a Lyoung shepherd was appointed the first Dalai Lama. If the vote was in favour he said he might appoint a reincarnation while he was still alive, breaking the 600-year-old tradition of being reborn as a small boy after his death.
His proposals not only raise some mind-bending metaphysical questions: they put China's atheist communist leaders in the unusual position of claiming to be the protectors of Tan Buddhist tradition.
The 1989 Nobel peace laureate, 72, said he was in good physical condition, that detailed discussions on his succession had yet to begin, and that several options were being considered. But he admitted his proposals were designed to thwart China's plans to select the next Dalai Lama and thus tighten its grip on the Himalayan region it has controlled since 1950.
"Yes, a referendum. Yes, it's possible," the Dalai Lama said at an interfaith conference in the north Indian city of Amritsar. "When my physical (condition) becomes weak and serious preparation for death (has started), then that should happen. According to my regular medical check-up it seems another few decades, I think, are there, so no hurry."
The Dalai Lama has traditionally been chosen by senior monks who interpret signals from the last reincarnation, scour the region for promising young candidates and set a number of tests.
The current Dalai Lama, the 14th, was born into a farming family and identified at the age of two after passing tests, including spotting his predecessor's rosary from among several others. He fled T in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and has lived in India ever since, heading a 200,000-strong Tan exile community from the northern town of Dharamsala.
He campaigns for greater autonomy within China, but Chinese leaders accuse him of still seeking independence for T, which they see as an integral part of their territory. They have tried to cultivate friendly lamas, but the 10th Panchen Lama, the second-most senior Tan Buddhist figure, turned on them in a speech in 1989, soon after which he died.
The young Karmapa Lama, the third-highest ranking, escaped to India in 1999.
In August, China's Government claimed exclusive rights to approve all Tan lamas' reincarnations in one of its strongest moves to control the region's clergy.
Yesterday it condemned the Dalai Lama's proposals.
"The reincarnation of the living Buddha is a unique way of succession of Tan Buddhism and follows relatively complete religious rituals and historical conventions," the Foreign Ministry statement said. "The Dalai Lama's statement is in blatant violation of religious practice and historical procedure."
The Dalai Lama said there was a historical precedent for a lama being reincarnated while still alive, giving the example of one of his teachers who died last year.
He did not explain how the referendum would be conducted, but said it should include all those who have traditionally followed Tan Buddhism.
The Times
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Just goes to show being pretty isn't every thing...
Are you dumber than an American Idol contestant?
It appears that Miss Teen South Carolina's crown for being America's biggest ditz has been stolen by an American Idol contestant whose ill-fated quiz show appearance is sweeping the internet.
Kellie Pickler, who made the final six of the 2005 Idol series, had the audience of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader in a state of disbelief and hilarity when she declared that Europe is a country where people speak French.
Three months after Miss South Carolina famously butchered a question regarding geography in the Miss Teen pageant, Pickler was asked: Budapest is the capital of what European country?
The 21-year-old immediately threw her hands in the air as she stared blankly at the board.
"This might be a stupid question … but I thought Europe was a country," she said to host Jeff Foxworthy.
As the studio audience started to giggle, her fifth-grade partner Nathan laughed in disbelief and rolled his eyes.
"I know they speak French there, don't they?" a mystified Pickler continued.
"Is France a country?
"I don't know what I'm doing."
The blonde country singer, who also hails from South Carolina, wisely chose to copy her schoolboy partner's answer instead of entering her own.
"I don't think France is a country, but I would have said that," she told a bemused Foxworthy.
When told the answer was Hungary, a look of disbelief came over Pickler's face.
"Hungry?" the puzzled singer asked.
"That's a country?
"I've heard of Turkey, but Hungry?
"I've never heard of it."
It would not surprise many that Pickler was once dubbed 'The next Jessica Simpson', after the pop starlet who was once stumped by a slogan stating 'tuna is the chicken of the sea'.
In August, Miss South Carolina became a worldwide celebrity when footage of her answering a pageant question swept the internet.
When asked 'why can’t so many Americans identify the United States on a map?', she responded with nonsensical ramblings about Iraq, South Africa and the bizarre observation that "some people in our nation don't have maps".
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Does this imply that Buddhists can have more than one identity? Born again before you're actually reincarnated sounds like a very busy schedule and one that in some parts of the world may have the born again force fed anti-pychotic medication. But then we're all one, right? And if we're all one ....
... then there's only one of us. And I'm talking to myself. myselves. I think it's easier to be Catholic in 1970's Belfast.
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"The reincarnation of the living Buddha is a unique way of succession of Tan Buddhism and follows relatively complete religious rituals and historical conventions," the Foreign Ministry statement said. "The Dalai Lama's statement is in blatant violation of religious practice and historical procedure."
Superchina, to the defense of religion! bjbjbjbjbj
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Wrap that rascal, kids! bhbhbhbhbh cheexyblonde kkkkkkkkkk
Up to 50 million Chinese at risk from AIDS: UN
Fri Nov 30, 6:00 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - Up to 50 million Chinese people are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, United Nations officials warned Friday, a day after the government said the spread of the disease has slowed.
Chinese health minister Chen Zhu said Thursday there were an estimated 50,000 new HIV infections in 2007 and China has about 700,000 HIV/AIDS cases.
This compares with the estimated figure of 650,000 announced nearly two years ago based on work carried out by the Chinese government, the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.
But a day ahead of the World AIDS day, UN officials warned against complacency and cautioned that between 30 and 50 million people in China remained at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
"Thirty to 50 million are exposed to substantial risk of HIV infection today. It shows you the potential and magnitude of the issue for the future," said Bernhard Schwartlander, China coordinator of UNAIDS.
The fact that heterosexual contact was the top cause of new infections in 2007, accounting for 44.7 percent, should also raise an alarm.
"It is remarkable and important to recognise that, because that shows the potential of that spread is quite significant," he said.
Schwartlander said although the current overall number of HIV/AIDS cases seemed relatively low for China's 1.3 billion population, infections were rising in more and more areas.
The rapid increase in male homosexual activities, expanding sex industry and more widespread drug use in China in recent years have also contributed to the potential for further spread of the disease.
"We may be seeing fewer infections than we have seen in earlier years, but that can change rapidly again," he warned.
Independent AIDS activists have long warned that the official estimates underestimated the rampant spread of the disease and the real number of people suffering from the disease could be 10 times higher.
But Khalid Malik, UN resident coordinator disagreed.
"The (official) numbers are estimates first of all, they (the real figures) could be a little lower, a little higher, but definitely not in the multiples."
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Expanding sex industry? It's already huge. Except for Amsterdam and Bangkok, I had never seen so many brothels til I came to China...
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A man in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu has died of the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the official Xinhua news agency said, in the first case in the country since June.
China has now recorded 26 human cases of bird flu and 17 deaths.
The man, surnamed Lu, was hospitalised on November 27 with a fever and died on Sunday, Xinhua added.
The man had had no contact with dead poultry and there had been no reported poultry outbreak in the province, it said.
"The local government has adopted relative prevention and control measures. All of the 69 people who had close contact with Lu have been put under strict medical observation. So far, they have shown no signs of symptoms," the report added.
With the world's biggest poultry population and millions of backyard birds roaming free, China is at the centre of the fight against bird flu.
Scientists fear the bird flu virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from person to person, sparking a global pandemic.
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A Symbolic gesture or a step in the right direction??
Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in his first act after being sworn in on Monday morning.
The ratification will come into force in 90 days.
"This is the first official act of the new Australian government, demonstrating my government's commitment to tackling climate change," Mr Rudd said in a statement.
Mr Rudd said the ratification was considered and approved by the first executive council meeting of the government on Monday morning.
"The governor-general has granted his approval for Australia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol at my request," he said.
Under United Nations guidelines, ratification comes into force 90 days after the instrument of ratification is received by the UN, making Australia a full member of the Kyoto Protocol by the end of March 2008.
"Australia's official declaration today that we will become a member of the Kyoto Protocol is a significant step forward in our country's efforts to fight climate change domestically - and with the international community," Mr Rudd said.
He said the federal government would do everything in its power to help Australia meet its Kyoto obligations, including setting a target to reduce emissions by 60 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050.
It also would establish a national emissions trading scheme by 2010 and set a 20 per cent target for renewable energy by 2020.
"I will also lead the Australian delegation at the opening of the high level segment of the United Nations conference on climate change in Bali next week," Mr Rudd said.
The Bali conference, which opened on Monday, will set out a road map for the next round of action against climate change, starting when the current Kyoto targets expire in 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol was crafted in December 1997 and has been ratified by 175 countries.
Australia initially agreed to the protocol but later refused to ratify it, despite being on track to meet its target of limiting growth in emissions.
The new Labor government has now completed the first four of six steps necessary for ratification.
Mr Rudd signed an executive council minute recommending that Governor-General Michael Jeffery approve ratification on Monday.
The executive council - Mr Rudd, Major-General Jeffery and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard - then met to consider the minute and its associated explanatory memorandum.
Maj-Gen Jeffery approved the ratification and Mr Rudd signed the instrument of ratification.
The remaining two steps are lodging the instrument with the UN and waiting 90 days for the ratification to enter into force.
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Now if only the Canadian PM would do the same asasasasas
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It is the beginning of us becoming nice people again. Symbols can be powerful.
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KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan's president on Monday agreed to pardon a British teacher jailed after letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad, and officials said she would be released and would fly back to England later in the day.
Sudan's ambassador in London, Khalid al-Mubarak, said he was "overjoyed" by the news.
"She is a teacher who went to teach our children English and she has helped a great deal and I am very grateful," al-Mubarak said. "What has happened was a cultural misunderstanding, a minor one, and I hope she, her family and the British people won't be affected by what has happened."
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Miss World sets the tone as new China follows the line of beauty
They were forbidden for 54 years – frowned upon for their bourgeois decadence. But three years after Beijing lifted a ban on beauty pageants, China is celebrating the capture of the Miss World crown for the first time.
The coronation – on home soil – of Zhang Zilin, a 23-year-old secretary who is 6ft tall and has a degree in business administration, was greeted with widespread public delight in a country whose people have taken to such competitions with abandon. Miss Zhang’s blog received well over a million hits yesterday as congratulations poured in from cyberspace.
The response was more muted from the Communist Party media. The triumph of Miss Zhang, her face wreathed in smiles and her slim form clad in a figure-hugging, ruffled evening dress, failed to push a meeting of senior politicians in grey suits from the front pages of most official websites and newspapers.
The result, though, will reinforce the importance of beauty as a powerful currency in modern China. One Chinese airline, China Southern, ran its annual recruitment drive over six months on a reality television show that required applicants to be aged 24 or under, be above average height and to have slender legs. Thousands lined up for 180 vacancies.
Beauty contests have rapidly gained popularity in China. There was the Miss Artificial Beauty contest, won by 22-year-old Feng Qian, who was able to produce four certificates confirming her plastic surgery, designed to create a more heartshaped face and double eyelids. Then there has been the “Grey Headed Group” – a pageant open only to those aged over 55.
Such is the rivalry over looks that internet portals regularly host contests where young beauties are invited to submit their photographs for votes. Websites provide prizes such as holidays to Italy or the US for winners.
One admirer’s message on Miss Zhang’s blog stated: “You’ve brought honour to our country. We’re all happy for you! We’re proud for China.”
The 57th Miss World pageant was held at Sanya, a seaside resort on the southern tropical island of Hainan, the third consecutive Miss World to be hosted by China.
Miss Zhang hails from Shijiazhaung, a gritty industrial city in the northern Hebei province, and says that her favourite foods are chocolate and ice cream. She is now certain to become a role model for a generation of Chinese women.
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ASTROLOGY may usually be dismissed as harmless superstition, but scientists are discovering that the date we are born can affect our later lives.
Research has revealed the time of year a person is born can influence his or her personality, health and even whether they are male or female. But rather than being written in the stars, studies are showing that it is the season of birth that predisposes individuals to different traits.
In the northern hemisphere, women born in May will display more impulsive behaviour while those whose birthday falls in November will be more reflective. Men born in the spring will show greater persistence than those born in winter.
Other research has shown that people born in the autumn will tend to be physically active and excel in football while those born in the spring will be more cerebral and may be better suited to chess.
Those born between September and December are more prone to panic attacks while there is growing evidence that schizophrenia is higher among those born in the late winter and early spring.
"It is exactly what you would expect if it were temperature related," said Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, who has examined the link between luck and the season of birth. "Many of the effects reverse in the two hemispheres."
Professor John Eagle, a psychiatrist at Aberdeen University who has studied the relationships between season of birth and mental health, added: "The two main culprits are diet and the seasonal fluctuations in nutrition, and the increase in infections during the winter."
Astrologers have seized on the findings as evidence that the stars influence personality. But scientists insist there are biological reasons behind the effects.
Telegraph, London
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Dried noodles kill four Chinese schoolchildren
Four Chinese children died after eating a dried-noodle snack in the poor southern province of Yunnan, the latest in a string of food-poisoning accidents across the country.
The children bought the noodles on the way to school on Monday, the Beijing News said.
"The children began frothing at the mouth, were lapsing in and out of consciousness and clasped their hands together in distress," teacher Yang Tingzhou was quoted as saying.
The children were rushed to hospital where they died in the emergency room. Local officials were investigating all stores selling non-staple foods in the area, the newspaper said. There was no suggestion the poisoning was deliberate, it added.
It said families of the children would be given 6,000 yuan ($800) in compensation.
Food poisoning is a frequent problem at Chinese schools, especially in rural areas, where lax official supervision encourages canteen contractors to cut costs at the expense of proper hygiene and food safety.
China has also come under fire for a string of quality scandals involving products including food, toothpaste, drugs and toys.
Public fears about food safety grew in 2004, when at least 13 babies died of malnutrition in Anhui province, in eastern China, after they were fed fake milk powder with no nutritional value.
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See what happens when Santa drops his standards
Police hunt for Santa's filthiest elf
The post office and police in Canada are searching for a "rogue elf" believed responsible for mailing filthy letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus.
A handful of reply letters to children who wrote to jolly Saint Nick contained comments such as, "This letter is too long, you dumb s***".
Canada Post spokeswoman Cindy Daoust said: "We firmly believe there is just one rogue elf out there responsible for the letters. In our history, we've never had a problem of this nature."
She explained that the letters were part of a Santa letter-writing program in which postal workers across Canada reply to letters from children around the world posted to Santa Claus, the North Pole, Canada, postal code H0H0H0.
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Every reply letter is identical, except for a hand-written personalised postscript added by one of 11,000 volunteers.
Last year, Canada Post replied to 1.06 million letters on behalf of Santa, and 15 million letters have been posted since the program began in 1981.
Canada Post president Moya Greene said in a statement, "We are shocked and heart-broken that this much-loved quarter-of-a-century old program has experienced an incident of this kind."
"We deeply apologise to any families affected by this," she added, noting that police were asked to help identify the culprit.
Canada Post briefly shut down the program in Ottawa, after parents complained. A dozen inappropriate letters had been dropped in mailboxes throughout the capital city, but there could be more, officials warned.
Previously, Canada Post had received only one complaint about the program. In 1999, a seven-year-old in Oshawa, Ontario, received a Santa message from Canada Post that called him "one greedy little boy!"
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Canada's not the only place with a problem...
http://news.theage.com.au/child-rapist-exmp-darcy-out-of-jail/20071215-1h9g.html
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Santa's new sleigh gets safety clearance
Christmas is on Track :)
Children can breathe a sigh of relief - Santa's new sleigh has passed safety tests and is ready for his big Christmas flight, authorities say.
The sleigh, equipped with flight technology, passed safety tests conducted around the North Pole and is now ready to fly on Christmas Eve, Airservices Australia has confirmed.
"Airservices Australia worked with the North Pole to upgrade the safety features on the sleigh," Airservices spokesman Terry O'Connor said.
"Australia's aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, has now checked the sleigh and issued an international clearance."
Santa has agreed to release photos of the test flights as well as more information about his new sleigh and flight plans later in the week.
Children can also use his sleigh flight simulator by visiting www.airservicesaustralia.com/santa07, which Santa uses to practice in the lead up to Christmas.
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Deary deary me.
I think I liked the good old days when Santa was just like this guy, you know, who did stuff. None of this attendant crap, like bullshit flight checks and official santa letters.
But then, I found out who Santa really was just after my fourth birthday. Too observant for my own good.
Grandparents were very disappointed. I spent most of the Christmases for most of the next decade getting lectures from my Dad about why I shouldn't go around telling kids my own age the truth about Santa. Apparently the other kids parents were not impressed.
Dunno why. I never said nuffin about the Easter Bunny....
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My daughters still believe in Santa - they operate on the "No believe no receive' principle and so convincingly tell me every year that they still believe.
Although Santa is now into the 'socks and jocks' phase of present giving. afafafafaf
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My daughters still believe in Santa
So does my son. When he was about 7 or 8, he said that some kids had told him that Santa is just your parents. I pointed out that if that WAS the case, then there was no longer any need for putting up a stocking, was there? gggggggggg
He still believes.....and so does my DiL and Hubby. bfbfbfbfbf
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Cash-happy ATM lands Chinese man life in prison
A man in China's southern city of Guangzhou has been jailed for life for taking funds from a malfunctioning ATM, according to local media reports.
In April last year, Xu Ting let his friend in on his secret that the ATM deducted only 1 yuan (15c) from his account for every 1,000 yuan ($150) withdrawn.
"Xu subsequently withdrew 175,000 yuan ($26,250) in 171 transactions while Guo withdrew 18,000 yuan," the Beijing News reported.
Guo was jailed for a year after turning himself in while Xu remained on the run for a year before being apprehended and sentenced to life for theft.
The sentence has sparked an outcry from local media.
"Sentenced to life for unexpectedly discovering an ATM's malfunction and enticed into committing a crime is too harsh," the Beijing News said in an editorial.
Xu's lawyer said the ATM was the responsibility of the bank and it had had ample time to recover the lost funds.
Xu's actions should come under the lesser charge of embezzlement, it added.
Xu has appealed against his sentence.
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"Don't tase me, bro" tops 07 memorable quotes list
By Arthur Spiegelman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Don't Tase Me, Bro," a phrase that swept the nation after a U.S. college student used it seeking to stop campus police from throwing him out of a speech by Sen. John Kerry, was named Wednesday as the most memorable quote of 2007.
Fred R. Shapiro, the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations, said the plea made by University of Florida student Andrew Meyer on September 17, accompanied by Meyer's screams as he was tased, beat out the racial slur that cost shock jock Don Imus his job and the Iranian president's declaration that his country does not have homosexuals.
Shapiro said Meyer's quote was a symbol of pop culture success. Within two days it was one of the most popular phrases on Google and one of the most viewed videos. It also showed up on ringtones and T-shirts.
Second on Shapiro's list was this tortuous answer by Lauren Upton, the South Carolina contestant in the Miss Teen America contest in August:
"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us." Upton had been asked why one-fifth of Americans are unable to locate the United States on a map and later apologized for her answer not making a lot of sense.
Third was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's October comment at Columbia University in New York, "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."
Shock jock Don Imus comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team: "That's some nappy-headed hos there," was fourth.
Imus created a national outcry and lost his job at CBS radio in April, but returned to the airwaves in December with Citadel Broadcasting.
Other phrases on the list:
5. "I don't recall." -- Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' repeated response to questioning at a congressional hearing about the firing of U.S. attorneys.
6. "There's only three things he (Republican presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani) mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11." -- Sen. Joseph Biden, speaking at a Democratic presidential debate.
7. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody (Vice President Dick Cheney) who has a 9 percent approval rating." -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat.
8. "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom." -- Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig's explanation of why his foot touched that of an undercover policeman in a men's room.
9. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." -- Biden describing rival Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
10. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history." -- Former President Jimmy Carter in an interview in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper.
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How, in the name of logic, can Time Magazine declare Vladimir Putin to be "Man of the year"????
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lack of alternatives??
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What's next? Kim Jong-Il as "Humanitarian of the Year"?
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How, in the name of logic, can Time Magazine declare Vladimir Putin to be "Man of the year"????
Really!? The man is pure evil!
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Their stated rationale is that Cousin Vlad (not The Impaler) brought his nation "from chaos to stability".
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So they just decided to ignore the fact that Comerade Stasi (which was Putin's nickname in his KGB days) is a Cold War relic who uses KGB stron-arm tactics and will resort to murder to silence any and all opposition?
Oh well, guess I should not be surprised...If Arafat could get the Nobel Peace Prize, Putin can be Man of the Year.
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What's so stable about Russia these days? It was a disaster in '93 when I left and I've only heard it's gotten worse.
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Hey!!! Don't shoot the messenger!!! I merely reported that it was THEIR stated rationale......I didn't express my opinion, one way or the other!!
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I think "Man of the Year" doesn't mean 'good man', it means historically the most influential, doesn't it?
Not that I still agree with Putin as a choice, but being nice makes less history than being nasty, any day of the millennium.
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Beijing lifts air quality goal for Games
Friday Dec 28 22:21 AEDT
Beijing is aiming for more "good air days" in 2008 as it prepares to host the Olympics in August, with the city's notorious pollution a major concern for athletes and organisers.
Beijing recorded 244 "blue sky days" by December 28 this year, a day short of its 245 day target. The standard of a "blue sky day" has not been widely recognised by international scientists.
"I predict that we will be able to meet this year's target in the last three days," said Jiang Xiaoyu, spokesman and executive vice-president of Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
"The target number of good air quality days in 2008 will be higher than this year," Jiang told a news conference.
Pollution in Beijing, known for its noxious smog, is a major concern for athletes and officials planning for next August and Olympic chief Jacques Rogge has said some events may have to be rescheduled if the air quality is not good enough.
The host city has already spent 120 billion yuan ($A18.74 billion)) in environmental programs to combat pollution and Jiang said there were more efforts to come.
"A new coordination plan to ensure a good environment during the Games by central government, Beijing government and neighbouring provinces is going to be issued soon," he said.
Venues for the Games were all finished for the end of 2007 as scheduled except for the National Stadium, dubbed the "Bird's Nest" for its interlaced steel shell, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held. That stadium is likely to be completed by March.
But another showpiece venue, the "Water Cube" aquatics centre was finished and the pool had already been filled, Jiang said.
"The Water Cube is preparing for its first test event in January," he said.
Jiang said he expected more heads of state at the Games in Beijing than there were in Athens, and said they would include US President George W Bush, who has already agreed to visit the city during the Olympics.
"Security is included in our hospitality to all guests including those VIPs ... We will definitely do our job well to ensure their safety," he said.
Organisers must prepare for all kinds contingencies, crisis and risks in the final months, said Jiang.
"I am aware of the future difficulties and challenges," Jiang said. "But with the support of 1.3 billion Chinese people, I'm confident that we will be able to overcome them."
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Beijing hints at HK democracy in 2017
Saturday Dec 29 20:12 AEDT
China has ruled out full democracy for Hong Kong in 2012, ignoring the majority opinion in the former British colony, but said it may pick its leader by universal suffrage at the following opportunity, in 2017.
Full democracy for forming Hong Kong's legislature would follow in 2020, the Standing Committee of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), said.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang welcomed the ruling, saying it offered an opportunity and that Hong Kongers should shelve their differences and work together to hammer out the details.
But the city's vocal pro-democracy camp, a key voting block in the legislative council, was disappointed at what it saw as yet another delay. It organised a protest that drew a few hundred people to grounds outside the historic legislative building and they then marched in downtown Hong Kong.
"We must treasure this hard-earned opportunity," Tsang told reporters. "I sincerely urge everybody to lay down all disagreements and start moving toward conciliation and consensus."
The decision to rule out 2012 was effectively the NPC's second veto of a possible date for universal suffrage after a 2004 ruling that quashed hopes for full elections in 2007.
However, the NPC's statement that Hong Kong "may" have universal suffrage in 2017 - the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return from British to Chinese rule - marked Beijing's clearest indication yet as to when full democracy might finally germinate.
Democratic politicians have been calling for a timetable for democracy, but Civic Party politician Audrey Eu said the pledge to consider full democracy in 2017 was not a promise to allow it.
"It's an expectedly disappointing decision," she said.
"A lot of people concentrate on the reference to 2017 and think there's hope, but to say you may have universal suffrage in that year doesn't mean it's going to happen ... there's no guarantee that it won't be vetoed again."
Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, promises universal suffrage as the "ultimate aim" but is vague on a date, giving Beijing scope to dictate a glacial pace of progress.
The chief executive is currently picked by an 800 seat election committee stacked in Beijing's favour, and only half of the city's 60 seat legislature are directly elected with the others picked by various business and interest groups.
At the demonstration, protesters hoisted banners that read "Democracy delayed is democracy denied" and "No compromise at all".
"We've been cheated out of democracy for another 10 years ... I don't trust the Communist Party at all," said Yeung Lai-kwong, 50, a protester in the printing business.
But political analyst Michael DeGolyer of Hong Kong Baptist University said unless the democratic camp accepted the NPC's decision, it risked being tarred as obstructionist and losing seats in the 2008 Legislative Council election.
"The likelihood is that the democratic movement will split," he said. "The phrase 'better late than never' is going to be a crucial notion."
The ruling came in response to a report by Tsang which said Hong Kong's majority wanted direct elections by 2012, though a delay until 2017 stood a "better chance of being accepted".
While most Hong Kongers want universal suffrage by 2012, a public opinion poll by the Chinese University found 60 per cent of citizens would accept 2017, if 2012 were ruled out.
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Interestingly enough, I recall that in the matter of "the Irish Question", it was case of
"Too Little, Too Late". Makes me wonder........??........
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Just read in China Daily that France has banned smoking ararararar . In other news, Hell has frozen over, pigs have grown wings and cats and dogs are living together in holy matrimony.
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Beijing will block "Youtube, Stage6 and Metacafe" video platforms from January 13st. Because "they do not serve the people and socialism." llllllllll
http://magazine.web.de/de/themen/digitale-welt/internet/aktuell/5178618-Peking-sperrt-Internet-Videoseiten,articleset=4155856,cc=000007159700051786181VUn2e.html
Sorry, it is in german
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asasasasas Bastards.
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Just read in China Daily that France has banned smoking ararararar . In other news, Hell has frozen over, pigs have grown wings and cats and dogs are living together in holy matrimony.
Next thing you know, they'll introduce common courtesy, deoderant and accept that there are other languages than French. Turkey also introduced a non-smoking law, as did Israel.
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Wisconsin man convicted of sexually assaulting dead deer gets more jail time
From CBC's website. And no, I wouldn't bother going to read the article.
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Great minds:
China bins bags to cut pollution
Rowan Callick, China correspondent | January 10, 2008
THE Chinese Government has announced a nationwide ban on stores distributing free plastic bags from June 1.
As it inexorably overtakes the US as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China is fighting environmental battles on myriad fronts, the flipside of its soaring economic growth.
The Government will ban the production of ultra-thin bags less than 0.025mm thick, and require supermarkets to start charging for any plastic bags they provide.
It said in its announcement: "Our country consumes huge amounts of plastic bags every year. While providing convenience to consumers, they have also caused serious pollution, and waste of energy and resources because of excessive use and inadequate recycling.
"We should encourage people to return to using cloth bags, using baskets for their vegetables."
Much of China's countryside is shrouded in wind-blown plastic bags, which take 1000 years to biodegrade. Nationally, the 1.3billion population uses about 3 billion bags a day, and Beijing alone discards about 2.3 billion bags a year.
The production of the bags consumes annually about 5 million tonnes (37 million barrels) of costly imported oil.
The bustling new city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, was China's bag-banning pioneer, introducing a similar ban on free bags last November, with fines of up to $8000 for stores that continued to dole them out free.
The city of Panyu, not far from Shenzhen, derives much of its income from recycling plastic bags.
Many of them then find their way on to China's formidable export conveyor belt. The country's 500 specialist producers export about $65 million worth of plastic bags every month, with sales surging by 31.4 per cent in the first 10 months of last year, against the same period in 2006.
Poorer Asian neighbours Bhutan and Bangladesh took a similar step earlier, and Taiwan banned free bags five years ago.
Garrett serious about binning the bag
January 10, 2008
FEDERAL Environment Minister Peter Garrett says he is "confident" the phasing out of plastic bags will not disadvantage consumers.
Mr Garrett is working with the state governments to formulate a strategy for weaning Australia off its dependence on plastic bags.
The nation produces four billion plastic bags annually, and Mr Garrett said they were having serious impacts on coastal and marine environments.
"State ministers have already been meeting ... and they have agreed right across Australia that phasing out these bags is absolutely critical because of the impact that they are having on wildlife, on our litter stream, on our marine environment," Mr Garrett told Macquarie Radio.
"It clearly is something which we've got to address and there is strong consensus from the states to address it."
Banning the bags outright or imposing a levy on their use were among proposals being considered by the government, but Mr Garrett said he was conscious of passing the cost on to the public.
"We certainly don't want to disadvantage the consumer, and I don't believe in any way that any measure that will be brought forward will do that," he said.
Australia was lagging behind a number of other countries on the issue, he said.
Mr Garrett said biodegradable plastic bags were not the answer, with some taking as long as 1,000 years to completely break down.
He acknowledged composting and other environmentally-friendly waste options were not viable in every home, particularly densely-populated urban areas.
But the former rock star said he was confident Australians would embrace the idea.
"People use lots of different solutions," he said.
"It's the same ... as the great efforts that Aussies have made in saving water.
"If you would have said to me three or four years ago there would be a lot of people out in Sydney today who may have a bucket under a laundry tap, or they may be jumping into the shower (and) ... before the hot water comes on they've actually got the bucket there ... there are plenty of opportunities for all of us."
The state and federal environment ministers will meet to discuss the issue in April.
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It's almost English when dictionary does Australish
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Contemplating a New Year tattoo in that fashionable area above the buttocks? To help you along, Australians have given them a not-so-fashionable name: "arse antlers." Want a suntan as well? You could have "tanorexia."
These are just some of the words the country's biggest online dictionary is asking people to vote for as word of the year for its latest annual update.
A "butt bra" raises the profile of the buttocks to go with your arse antlers, while "manscaping" refers to removal of body hair for men, sometimes tied to the female preoccupation with the "lady garden," or pubic zone.
"Tanorexia" refers to an obsession with a suntan, while a "salad dodger" is an obese person.
Other nominations for the Macquarie Dictionary Online include "infomania," for those who constantly put aside the job at hand to concentrate on incoming email and text messages. "Password fatigue" is frustration from having too many passwords to recall.
Casting aside the personal, someone who spreads their clothes around the house, clean or otherwise, is said to be treating the room as a "floordrobe."
Or if the global credit crunch is hitting home, you may be tempted into becoming a "credit card tart," or someone who shifts loans around from one credit card to pay for another.
In business, the "glass cliff" refers to people placed in jobs with high risk of failure because they belong to a group not well represented in leadership positions, such as women.
Even geopolitics gets a mention, with "Chindia" joining China and India, at least in Australish English, in terms of their fast growing strategic and economic clout in the world.
The "Great Firewall of China" noun refers to the block preventing Chinese internet users from accessing online sites deemed undesirable by the Chinese government. To get around it may take a "cyberathlete," or professional computer game player.
Susan Butler, the dictionary's publisher, said environmental themes were hot this year in a time of global warming, with "climate canary" referring to a geographical feature, plant or animal species pointing to climate change.
"Toad juice" refers to a liquid fertilizer produced in Australia from pulverized cane toads, an introduced environmental pest marching its way across the continent.
To vote for their favorite word, Butler said people should visit macquariedictionary.com.au. Voting closes on January 31.
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bkbkbkbkbk ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah arse antlers? Salad dodger? Floordrope??? Them Aussies crack me up ahahahahah ahahahahah
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I personally love ass antlers. Hope this doesn't discourage the trend.
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Also known as 'tramp stamps' lol
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I don't think I like tramp stamp very much. That spot happens to be a pretty good spot to get a tattoo, since one of the things you should consider is the 'sag' factor that comes with aging. A lady I know who is in her fifties now told me that the butterfly that once fluttered near her breast has suffered a marked change in appearance.
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Facebook lost for words over Scrabulous
Social networkers may have to search for another way to waste their time, as Facebook faces legal action from toy company Hasbro.
Scrabulous, based on the popular board game Scrabble, has attracted a huge following on Facebook in the past month, with more than 500,000 users playing it each day.
However, Scrabble's owner, Hasbro, is claiming a breach of copyright.
The Scrabulous game, which was developed by Indian brothers Rajat Agarwalla and Jayant Agarwalla, has become a big money earner for the pair.
It has been claimed that the brothers are receiving $US25,000 ($A27,853) per month in advertising revenue from Facebook.
According to Fortune magazine, Hasbro sent a cease-and-desist notice to Facebook asking them to remove the application.
"They sent a notice to Facebook about two weeks ago," Mr Agarwalla told Fortune.
"The lawyers are working on it."
In August last year, Hasbro signed an agreement with software company Electronic Arts to create electronic and online versions of its board games, including Scrabble and Monopoly.
In 2005, Hasbro shut down a similar unofficial online game called e-Scrabble.
Hasbro Australia has been contacted for comment.
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asasasasas asasasasas penny pinching sons of malodorous pachyderms! But the people of Facebook should perhaps be a bit more vigilant when it comes to managing their creation.
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They could take Scrabulous away? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Just when I thought you were going to reappear and improve my stats. I haven't had trouble all week. Maybe it's the beer keg. ahahahahah
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Moving upstream is a good idea. aoaoaoaoao
China Warns of Faulty Dams Danger, Plans Repairs
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BEIJING - Just under half of China's nearly 90,000 dams are dangerously unstable and need urgent repair, the government said on Tuesday, unveiling a three-year plan to do just that costing 27 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion).
"Over the last several years, dams have had a very important effect on socio-economic development," Deputy Water Resources Minister Jiao Yong told a meeting carried live on central government Web site www.gov.cn.
"But many of these dams were built between the 1950s and 1970s, under conditions at the time which restricted objectivity," he added.
"The design and construction quality of many of these dams contain congenital deficiencies, and they are now old and in serious need of repairs. A large number have hidden dangers."
Chairman Mao Zedong, who died in 1976, ordered the country to develop at any cost, putting special emphasis on large-scale projects such as steelworks and dams.
Mao declared "man must conquer nature", and during his time in power engineers were feted for ambitious projects that sought to remould the landscape in pursuit of economic progress.
But many projects were hastily and poorly built, with little regard for the environment. In 1975, tens of thousands of residents of Henan province in central China died after two dams collapsed. That disaster was revealed to the public only in recent years.
Jiao said that of the roughly 87,000 dams in China, more than 37,000 were in a dangerous state.
"As the global climate heats up, weather extremes like torrential rain increases and as society and the economy develops downstream of dams, the potential danger gets greater and greater," he said.
"The huge number of dangerous dams has already become a weak link and unstable factor in flood prevention," Jiao said.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu added that over the next three years the government would spend an annual average of more than 9 billion yuan to fix the problem.
"The task is very arduous, and work highly strenuous," Hui said.
Story Date: 16/1/2008
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So Scrabulous is getting Hasbro'd, huh? alalalalal Frankly, I'm amazed it went on this long.
What pisses me off is that Hasbro never developed Scrabble- Selchow and righter did. Corporations- ooh- big greedy- oooh- leave my candy alonne- pppppph!!!!!
Ya know.
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Married couple's blind dates a familiar story
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-30 09:16
A couple in Chongqing municipality married six months ago but agreed to respect each other's privacy when it came to having "outside interests".
As a result Lu Yi, 27, and Huang Linqian, 26, went out on Friday for blind dates and discovered they would be dating each other.
Professor Wang Chengrong at Chongqing Industry and Commercial University said the pair did not understand the true meaning of marriage.
(Chongqing Evening News)
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Professor Wang Chengrong at Chongqing Industry and Commercial University said the pair did not understand the true meaning of marriage.
I can't stop reading this. ahahahahah Which particular stream of Industry and/or Commerce has successfully defined marriage?
I'll guess "Accounts receivable". Why? Why not?
Any other theories?
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Married couple's blind dates a familiar story
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-30 09:16
A couple in Chongqing municipality married six months ago but agreed to respect each other's privacy when it came to having "outside interests".
As a result Lu Yi, 27, and Huang Linqian, 26, went out on Friday for blind dates and discovered they would be dating each other.
Professor Wang Chengrong at Chongqing Industry and Commercial University said the pair did not understand the true meaning of marriage.
(Chongqing Evening News)
Am I the only one who finds this story romantic? They are going to see other people and they end up with each other....it's such a sweet story..
They had to ask some professor. It looks bad in an article to list your source as "random married man we met in a bar".
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"I like pinana coladas and getting caught in the rain......"
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Hey, that's right! I totally forgot about that song. Life imitates art.
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Lu Kewen's Biography in Chinese.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23146978-601,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23146978-601,00.html)
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It's old news...18th July 2007, but I hadn't seen these vids before...
Check out "related vids" too. Jinan is such an interesting place!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w49WpOysvOI&NR=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w49WpOysvOI&NR=1)
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Why is my country so effing stupid?
Three guys were arrested for planning to assassinate one of the Muhammed cartoonists. Now, in sympathy and to defend freedom of speech, all the major newspapers have printed one of the really insulting cartoons! Didn't they learn something last time around? Freedom of speech does not mean you can insult people just because you want to.
I'm all in favour of freedom of speech. I am also clever enough not to use said freedom, walk up to a biker and tell him that I really did enjoy his mother last night and could he please make her stop calling, as she is a bit clingy.
The one newspaper headling you won't find today and which really should be there is:
Denmark screws up royally!
My country is so stupid, stupid, stupid llllllllll llllllllll llllllllll llllllllll
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Hey! I'll have you know your country married a Tasmanian... oh right. Sorry.
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Ok, got this in an e-mail today. What think ye of this. True and scary or a urban myth. However, I do remember hearing something about it a few months ago, so it might be partly true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBo4E77ZXo
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Dunno, but there are a lot of related vids on YouTube.
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http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKL1568814620080215?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
This is just too hilarious for words. It sort of puts the whole debate about the negative influence of popular entertainment on kids in a new perspective.
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Bjork caused a minor stir during her visit to these fair shores. I dunno, seems kind of selfish and pointless (on her part).
http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/china-sees-red-over-bjorks-politics/2008/03/04/1204402441712.html
China sees red over ice queen's politics
March 4, 2008 - 5:25PM
Icelandic singer Bjork has ignited criticism from Chinese fans after she declared "T! T!" to end a passionate performance of her song Declare Independence during a concert in Shanghai.
The outburst at the finale of Bjork's Sunday night concert drew rare public attention inside China to Beijing's often harsh rule over the at times independent Himalayan region of T.
Bjork's statement was not reported in the state-controlled media, but online sites were aflame with angry comment after word leaked out.
"If she really did this, then this woman really makes people throw up," one comment on popular Chinese web site Sina.com said.
Some at the Shanghai concert said the politically tinged finale made audience members uneasy,
"The atmosphere was very strange, uncomfortable compared to the rest of the concert," said audience member Stephen Gow, a British teacher who lives in Shanghai. People didn't boo, Gow said, but they left the Shanghai International Gymnastic Centre hurriedly.
Officials at the China-based company promoting the concert, Emma Ticketmaster, said they had no comment.
Bjork has used Declare Independence - the lyrics include the entreaty "Raise your flag!" - to declare political support for various causes.
She dedicated the song to Kosovo while performing last month in Japan. Her video for the song shows her in a jumpsuit bearing the flags of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, far-flung territories controlled by Denmark.
China's 58-year rule over the formerly independent mountain nation of T has drawn frequent condemnation from foreign governments and activists, often inciting a prickly nationalism among the Chinese government and ordinary people. Many Tans consider the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as their rightful leader.
In a sign of Bjork's reputation for unpredictable behaviour, Shanghai's English-language newspaper, Shanghai Daily, last month heralded her concert date with the headline "Bjork's Shanghai Surprise."
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I love it when singers/actors are politically active. The only thing she can hope to get out of this is publicity and possibly join David Thewlis in the We Are Famous and Not Allowed To Go To China Anymore group.
What a silly, silly thing to do.
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Doesn't help anyone, makes it harder for those living in T (ie Tans as well as foreigners). The last time anyone did anything 'helpful' like that the Gov't decided all travellers had to use guides. No more travelling independently. It's difficult enough already for the Tans. Even in Gansu where I went for Monlam festival, the military were out in force during the festival to make certain there was no 'trouble'.
Bloody hell - why don't people ever consider the consequences of their actions?
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It does show the difference between East and West. If a Chinese group visiting the UK were to utter the words "Scotland! Scotland!" they wouldn't receive anything more than a few rolled eyes...
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What did David Thewlis do??
I saw the Bjork sttory today. silly---some in the crowd thought she was yelling "to bed" since it was her last song. Screaming T makes no sense to anyone. Does she even know anything about T? Maybe but I somehow doubt it---just being trendy.
Reminds me of the Dixie Chicks doc title---SHUT UP AND SING. (Althought Chicks was another matter altogether.)
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By the time many of you see this, U.S. national good grammar day will have come and gone.....
http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2008/03/04/Features/Good-Grammar.Gets.Its.Day-3249247.shtml (http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2008/03/04/Features/Good-Grammar.Gets.Its.Day-3249247.shtml)
Good grammar gets its day
By: Andrew Dunn, Features Editor
Posted: 3/4/08
When sophomore Ben Thompson is listening to a story, he won't hesitate to interrupt it in the name of grammar.
"If they say, 'Sally and me went to the movies,' I'll stop them and say, 'Sally and I.' It can be at the most crucial part of the story, but I will stop it and fix it," he said.
"Dude, I hate when people misuse grammar."
Today, magicians of the modifiers and geniuses of the gerunds can take heart, for it is National Grammar Day.
Sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar and the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, the day is intended to honor the English language and to emphasize the importance of proper syntax.
"If we don't respect and honor the rules of English, we lose our ability to communicate clearly and well," the day's official Web site states.
"In short, we invite mayhem, misery, madness and inevitably even more bad things that start with letters other than M."
How to celebrate? The grammar society recommends spreading the gospel of grammar.
"If you see a sign with a catastrophic apostrophe, send a kind note to the storekeeper," the Web site states. "If your local newscaster says, 'Between you and I,' set him straight with a friendly e-mail."
Also suggested are grammar potluck dinners, serving high-fiber foods.
They're good for the colon.
But some students at UNC take their grammar a bit more seriously.
Sophomore Stephanie Smith said she became dedicated to proper English during her junior year of high school.
She is particularly bothered by errors with "lie" and "lay" but enjoys parsing the differences between "who" and "whom."
Now, Smith said, she has trained herself to pay attention to grammatical errors in her friends' speech and corrects them when necessary.
"I don't say it to be superior or anything; I say it to help them," Smith said.
"At this age there is so much opportunity. We need to know how to speak intelligently."
She said she has converted her best friend and housemate, sophomore Elena Beidler, into a grammar aficionado.
"We talk about grammar all the time now," Smith said.
She added that grammar errors are not hard to fix, if people would just start learning basic grammar principles and noticing the errors in their speech.
"It's so effortless once you learn the fundamentals," she said. "It becomes a habit."
But UNC English professor Connie Elbe was not quite so extreme.
"I am not certain that formal training in grammar is necessary, or even important," Elbe wrote in an e-mail.
"I do think that the precise, clear and careful use of language is important. Insofar as the effective use of the language requires attention to grammatical structure, to that extent grammar is important."
Contact the Features Editor
at features@unc.edu.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright 2008 Daily Tar Heel
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Hullo! What's going on here???
"Ten Australians have been taken hostage by a Chinese national in China today, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says.
The Australians were all later released unharmed after being taken hostage on a tourist bus in the city of Xian, in central China, a DFAT spokesperson said.
Nine of the Australians were released and transported to safety early in the crisis.
But a 48-year-old woman from NSW was not released with the rest of the group.
"Chinese police authorities intervened and secured the release of the woman," the spokesperson said.
Australia's Consulate-General would meet the group on arrival in Shanghai and provide assistance, the spokesperson said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said he was pleased the situation was resolved so quickly and the hostages were safe.
"Our Embassy in Beijing and our Consulate-General in Shanghai are providing consular assistance to the Australians affected by this incident," Mr Smith said."
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"If they say, 'Sally and me went to the movies,' I'll stop them and say, 'Sally and I.' It can be at the most crucial part of the story, but I will stop it and fix it," he said.
"Dude, I hate when people misuse grammar."
Sophomore Stephanie Smith said she became dedicated to proper English during her junior year of high school.
She is particularly bothered by errors with "lie" and "lay" but enjoys parsing the differences between "who" and "whom."
Now, Smith said, she has trained herself to pay attention to grammatical errors in her friends' speech and corrects them when necessary.
"I don't say it to be superior or anything; I say it to help them," Smith said.
"At this age there is so much opportunity. We need to know how to speak intelligently."
Look, shoddy grammar irritates me too, but these two are going to star at an impromptu event involving duct tape and involuntary nudity if they keep this up.
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I'm pretty shit-hot when it comes to grammar, but I can't remember the last time I used the word 'whom', I have to confess!
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"enjoys parsing the difference between 'who' and 'whom'" llllllllll llllllllll
Not only are these guys going to, invariably, get punched in the face after they tell some guy that, "aint is really not proper English, you know?" but they also just earned the Most Boring Entity in the Universe Award.
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Hullo! What's going on here???
"Ten Australians have been taken hostage by a Chinese national in China today, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says.
The Australians were all later released unharmed after being taken hostage on a tourist bus in the city of Xian, in central China, a DFAT spokesperson said.
Nine of the Australians were released and transported to safety early in the crisis.
But a 48-year-old woman from NSW was not released with the rest of the group.
"Chinese police authorities intervened and secured the release of the woman," the spokesperson said.
Australia's Consulate-General would meet the group on arrival in Shanghai and provide assistance, the spokesperson said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said he was pleased the situation was resolved so quickly and the hostages were safe.
"Our Embassy in Beijing and our Consulate-General in Shanghai are providing consular assistance to the Australians affected by this incident," Mr Smith said."
I promise it wasn't me!!
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Ned Kelly's remains found in Victoria
Ned Kelly's resting place has been found among bones dug up at the former Pentridge Prison site.
The breakthrough solves an 80-year-old mystery, News Limited newspapers report.
The grave site of Australia's most notorious bushranger was unearthed after historians and archaeologists found a Department of Justice document that contained a vital clue.
Bone hunters last week found an unknown mass grave where the remains of Kelly and other executed prisoners, removed from the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1929, were interred at Pentridge.
"We have still some testing to do, but it's pretty clear we have found them," Heritage Victoria senior archaeologist Jeremy Smith said.
The bones are believed to belong to five prisoners and have been sent to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine at Southbank in Melbourne.
Planning Minister Justin Madden confirmed the find almost certainly included Ned Kelly's grave.
"Heritage Victoria has co-ordinated extensive archaeological and historical investigations, which began in December 2006 after the possibility of multiple burial areas at the former prison site came to light," Mr Madden said.
Mr Smith said identifying the individuals might prove difficult because of advanced decomposition and the mingling of remains.
"Ned Kelly's remains were . . . not handled with a great degree of care," Mr Smith said.
The mass grave was found near the former F Division of Pentridge.
Kelly was hanged at Melbourne Gaol on November 11, 1880. His notorious crimes included murder.
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Exactly how evil was this guy? I've heard of him before, and get the impression he was a sort of anti-hero, the Jesse James of Australia.
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You gotta love this. agagagagag
Bars in Minnesota have found a dramatic way to get around the US state's recently introduced smoking ban.
The law grants an exception from the ban to performers in theatrical productions. So the bars have become theatres, and their customers, actors.
Now some bars print bills listing the "cast" of bartenders, and ashtrays become "props". Drinkers don costumes and attempt strange accents.
But a health official said it was time for the curtain to fall on the ploy.
'Before the Ban'
At the Rock, a heavy-metal bar in Maplewood, owner Brian Bauman explained why his clientele were doing little more than sitting around, smoking and drinking to a soundtrack of deafening music.
They're playing themselves before 1 October - you know, before there was a smoking ban," he said, according to the Associated Press.
"We call the production, Before the Ban!"
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Exactly how evil was this guy? I've heard of him before, and get the impression he was a sort of anti-hero, the Jesse James of Australia.
From what I gather, Ned Kelly behaved in much the same manner as other legendary outlaws did in the US. Now you mention Jesse James, The Robin Hood of Missouri. Jesse James derailed trains, causing lots of civilians to die. He was not a nice man. Billy the Kid was not a nice man. His sole achievements rest on his ability to get out of jail and shoot people.
I read a critical biography on Ned Kelly, which painted a different picture of the man than the legend. He was a cold-blooded killer, he did not seem to have any scruples killing police officers. He probably was not evil but, in all honesty, if it had not been for the famous armour, I doubt he would have been more than a foot-note in Australian history.
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I have to confess I now feel like a total ignoramus - I had thought Ned Kelly was American!
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I have to confess I now feel like a total ignoramus - I had thought Ned Kelly was American!
bibibibibi llllllllll bibibibibi
There are mixed feelings about Ned Kelly. In the North-East of Victoria, there are many people who will not tolerate a bad word against him. He robbed banks, robbed graziers, stole horses, etc. Apparently didn't kill anyone till the police ambushed him at Stringybark Creek. Then he was definitely way outside the law. He made the big mistake of holing up in the Glenrowan Hotel. He had , I think, damaged the rail line, hoping that the train full of coppers from Melbourne would be de-railed. The stationmaster ran down the tracks to warn the train, and they all had a big shoot-out at the Hotel. Ned was captured and subsequently hanged.
There were many other famous outlaws around at that time, but he captured the imagination.
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Just in on Yahoo.
BEIJING - Police captured and killed alleged terrorists plotting attacks targeting this year's Beijing Olympics, a Chinese official said Sunday.
Wang Lequan, the top Communist Party official in the western region of Xinjiang, said materials seized in a Jan. 27 raid in the regional capital, Urumqi, had stated the plot's purpose as "specifically to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics."
"Their goal was very clear," Wang told reporters in Beijing.
Wang mentioned the raid during a meeting on the sidelines of the parliament's annual session but provided few specifics.
China has been fighting a simmering insurgency amongst Muslim separatists from the Xinjiang region's Uighur population.
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sounds like a good excuse to me.
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Any bets on whether there will be terrorist activity in Xizang as well??
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The Irish may tell you that Ned Kelly was a wonderful son and freedom fighter. But ... outlaws is outlaws - no matter how romantic they come across. Of course, he did create Australia's first suit of armour.
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Armour? What, as a gimmick, or to stop bullets?
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To stop the bullets.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/Deborann/NolanNedKelly013d.jpg)
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Is this the start of something??
China foils attempted terror attack on flight
Beijing
March 10, 2008
CHINA has foiled an attempt to crash a passenger jet en route to Beijing and the aircraft made a safe emergency landing, a senior official said yesterday in what state media called an attempted terrorist attack.
The China Southern flight originated in Urumqi, capital of the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where militant Uighurs have agitated for an independent "East Turkestan".
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/china-foils-attempted-terror-attack-on-flight/2008/03/09/1204998289521.html (http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/china-foils-attempted-terror-attack-on-flight/2008/03/09/1204998289521.html)
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Oh, My. This doesn't sound good for the sporting event planned for this summer.
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Interesting times...
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Is this the start of something??
China foils attempted terror attack on flight
Beijing
March 10, 2008
CHINA has foiled an attempt to crash a passenger jet en route to Beijing and the aircraft made a safe emergency landing, a senior official said yesterday in what state media called an attempted terrorist attack.
The China Southern flight originated in Urumqi, capital of the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where militant Uighurs have agitated for an independent "East Turkestan".
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/china-foils-attempted-terror-attack-on-flight/2008/03/09/1204998289521.html (http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/china-foils-attempted-terror-attack-on-flight/2008/03/09/1204998289521.html)
Something more about this
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=351614&type=National
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Foreigners on the plane and it gives them a great, public excuse to clamp down on the Uighurs. Same with the 'terrorist' attack the week before. Any money on how soon there will be an incident with the Tans that gives reasons for beefing up the police/military presence in Tan areas?? Even over Monlam festival in my favourite tiny town there were military stationed there - NEVER seen them there before.
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Hard to see how they could beef things up any more than they have: accounts I've heard have so many undercover folks that they almost outnumber the locals.
But I agree: you can't suspend civil rights without some terrorism to point to.
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Reason for fleeing to Blighty...aside from all the libraries, smoke-free pubs, London...
Danish tax level the worlds highest
Following the gradual lowering of the Swedish tax level, Denmark now stands alone with the world record in tax levels imposed on citizens and businesses. It is more than likely that the gap between Dan-ish and Swedish taxes will continue to widen. This weekend, the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt promised at his party’s national assembly to propose new tax cuts on labour totalling DKK10bn this autumn. Minister of Tax Kristian Jensen (V) acknowledges that the Swedish devel-opment will put pressure on the fixation of Danish tax levels. “The Swedish proclama-tion concerning the lowering of taxes on labour clearly puts pressure on us here in Denmark getting the most out of the work of the tax commission. I have a clear vision that we will have lower tax in 2011 than we have today. If we don’t, then I have not been doing my job properly or else we have another Minister of Tax,” says Kris-tian Jensen to the paper.
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Wow, the power Bjork has is incredible bfbfbfbfbf
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Actually i was just watching this on the news, i was quite shocked the Hong Kong news channel was allowed to even mention it.
Seems it's going to be a busy year for the bababababa bababababa bababababa
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PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MENTIONING THE NAMES IN THE NEWS.... WE WERE ALMOST BLOCKED AND I CAN"T AFFORD TO HAVE THE SERVER BLOCKED IN CHINA.
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We already know that meat has a huge carbon footprint, but the United States Olympic Committee is making it worse by shipping 25,000 pounds of Tyson Foods meat to Beijing for the athletes to eat, suggesting that Chinese standards applied to meat are lower than in the USA. A caterer describes Chinese chicken: “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”
So instead they will eat American meat, which is chock full of antibiotics, hormones and pesticides, is barely inspected by a dysfunctional USDA. We are certain that it is so much better.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/flying-meat-to-china.php
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Some wonderful news about my former governor--his former driver claims to have had a threesome with the gov and his wife (back in the days when the gov claimed he was straight). The gov says it's true, the wife denies it. Supposedly, she claims that the whole marriage was a sham and she's seeking tons of money in divorce. This is certainly hurting her case.
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We already know that meat has a huge carbon footprint, but the United States Olympic Committee is making it worse by shipping 25,000 pounds of Tyson Foods meat to Beijing for the athletes to eat, suggesting that Chinese standards applied to meat are lower than in the USA. A caterer describes Chinese chicken: “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”
So instead they will eat American meat, which is chock full of antibiotics, hormones and pesticides, is barely inspected by a dysfunctional USDA. We are certain that it is so much better.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/flying-meat-to-china.php
I thought that the athletes had been told they all had to eat chinese food.
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I thought that the athletes had been told they all had to eat chinese food
It might make them run faster bqbqbqbqbq
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Just watched a very interesting BBC Documentary about democracy in the Chinese style.
A class at a Wuhan Primary school (Evergreen, I think is the name) held democratic elections for position of Class Monitor - Class 1, Grade 3.
There were 3 candidates (Luo Liu, Cheng Cheng and Xijiaou). Each one was permitted two assistants to help with their campaigning. LL's parents are both police officers. CC's parents were "regular" middle class, a TV producer and an engineer. XJ's mother (a school administrator) is a single parent.
The campaigning was hard fought, and all three wanted to quit the election, at one point. In the end, LL (who had already been Monitor two years in a row) won.....with some judicious bribery gifts being arranged by his parents....nevermind that he was the least poular of the three, and has a reputation for being a pint-sized bully.
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US Olympic tourists warned about monitoring in hotels
Americans traveling to China for the Olympic Games in August can expect their hotel rooms there to be monitored, the State Department warned on its website.
"All visitors should be aware that they have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public or private locations," according to the State Department site.
"All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to on-site or remote technical monitoring at all times. Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant's consent or knowledge," it said.
It added that many hotels and apartment buildings may be poorly built, lack emergency exits, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide monitors and basic security like locks, alarms, and personnel.
It also said that the threat of terrorism appeared to be minimal, but urged caution nonetheless.
"The threat level for terrorism against Americans in China remains low. However, any large-scale public event like the upcoming Olympic Games could become the focus of terrorist acts or other forms of violence," it said.
"There is no reason to believe that US citizens are being targeted at this time," it said.
It also said crime rates were relatively low, with major metropolitan areas safer than similar sized cities in other developing countries.
But "while the overall crime threat is low, the number of criminal incidents, including those directed against Americans, continues to rise," it added.
The Olympic Summer Games will take place from August 8-24, followed by the Beijing Paralympic Summer Games 2008 from September 6-17.
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Wow !! Skygod, wonder who has the video rights to the hotel rooms being monitored?. uuuuuuuuuu
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Why didn't you submit them Missy? I can just picture Byron as the mascot aoaoaoaoao
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She's reprinting what that Brian Carefoot person wrote.
BTW, what does 'priaprismic' mean?
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Not certain you really want to know. afafafafaf afafafafaf
Having a persistently erect penis.
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Why am I not surprised??
Supplier Under Scrutiny on Aging Arms for Afghans
By C. J. CHIVERS
Published: March 27, 2008
This article was reported by C. J. Chivers, Eric Schmitt and Nicholas Wood and written by Mr. Chivers.
Ammunition supplied by an American contractor to Afghan forces. Some of it was in such poor shape that it was not used.
Problems with old munitions were exposed recently by explosions at an Albanian depot.
Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur.
With the award last January of a federal contract worth as much as nearly $300 million, the company, AEY Inc., which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach, became the main supplier of munitions to Afghanistan’s army and police forces.
Since then, the company has provided ammunition that is more than 40 years old and in decomposing packaging, according to an examination of the munitions by The New York Times and interviews with American and Afghan officials. Much of the ammunition comes from the aging stockpiles of the old Communist bloc, including stockpiles that the State Department and NATO have determined to be unreliable and obsolete, and have spent millions of dollars to have destroyed.
In purchasing munitions, the contractor has also worked with middlemen and a shell company on a federal list of entities suspected of illegal arms trafficking.
Moreover, tens of millions of the rifle and machine-gun cartridges were manufactured in China, making their procurement a possible violation of American law. The company’s president, Efraim E. Diveroli, was also secretly recorded in a conversation that suggested corruption in his company’s purchase of more than 100 million aging rounds in Albania, according to audio files of the conversation.
This week, after repeated inquiries about AEY’s performance by The Times, the Army suspended the company from any future federal contracting, citing shipments of Chinese ammunition and claiming that Mr. Diveroli misled the Army by saying the munitions were Hungarian.
Mr. Diveroli, reached by telephone, said he was unaware of the action. The Army planned to notify his company by certified mail on Thursday, according to internal correspondence provided by a military official.
But problems with the ammunition were evident last fall in places like Nawa, Afghanistan, an outpost near the Pakistani border, where an Afghan lieutenant colonel surveyed the rifle cartridges on his police station’s dirty floor. Soon after arriving there, the cardboard boxes had split open and their contents spilled out, revealing ammunition manufactured in China in 1966.
“This is what they give us for the fighting,” said the colonel, Amanuddin, who like many Afghans has only one name. “It makes us worried, because too much of it is junk.” Ammunition as it ages over decades often becomes less powerful, reliable and accurate.
AEY is one of many previously unknown defense companies to have thrived since 2003, when the Pentagon began dispensing billions of dollars to train and equip indigenous forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its rise from obscurity once seemed to make it a successful example of the Bush administration’s promotion of private contractors as integral elements of war-fighting strategy.
But an examination of AEY’s background, through interviews in several countries, reviews of confidential government documents and the examination of some of the ammunition, suggests that Army contracting officials, under pressure to arm Afghan troops, allowed an immature company to enter the murky world of international arms dealing on the Pentagon’s behalf — and did so with minimal vetting and through a vaguely written contract with few restrictions.
In addition to this week’s suspension, AEY is under investigation by the Department of Defense’s inspector general and by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prompted by complaints about the quality and origins of ammunition it provided, and allegations of corruption.
Mr. Diveroli, in a brief telephone interview late last year, denied any wrongdoing. “I know that my company does everything 100 percent on the up and up, and that’s all I’m concerned about,” he said.
He also suggested that his activities should be shielded from public view. “AEY is working on a moderately classified Department of Defense project,” he said. “I really don’t want to talk about the details.”
He referred questions to a lawyer, Hy Shapiro, who offered a single statement by e-mail. “While AEY continues to work very hard to fulfill its obligations under its contract with the U.S. Army, its representatives are not prepared at this time to sit and discuss the details,” he wrote.
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NZ man sentenced after claiming to have been raped by a wombat
A New Zealand man who claimed to have been left speaking Australian after being raped by a wombat has been sentenced to 75 hours community service.
Arthur Ross Cradock, a 48-year-old orchard worker, admitted in the Nelson District Court yesterday to the charge of using a phone for a fictitious purpose, after calling police with the message, "I've been raped by a wombat".
Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Stringer told the court that on the afternoon of February 11 Cradock called the police communications centre, threatening to "smash the filth" if they arrived at his home that night.
When asked if he had an emergency, he replied "yes", Mr Stringer said.
On a second subsequent call to the communications centre, Cradock told police he was being raped by a wombat at his Motueka address, and sought their immediate help.
He called police again soon after, and gave his full name, saying he wanted to withdraw the complaint.
"I'll retract the rape complaint from the wombat, because he's pulled out," Cradock told the operator at the communications centre, who had no idea what he was talking about, Mr Stringer said.
"Apart from speaking Australian now, I'm pretty all right you know, I didn't hurt my bum at all," Cradock then told the operator.
Mr Stringer said alcohol had played a big part in Cradock's life. However, defence lawyer Michael Vesty said alcohol was not a problem that day.
Judge Richard Russell said he was not quite sure what motivated Cradock to make those statements to the police.
In sentencing, he warned Cradock not to do it again.
stuff.co.nz
http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/nz-man-jailed-for-wombat-rape-claim/2008/03/28/1206207344849.html (http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/nz-man-jailed-for-wombat-rape-claim/2008/03/28/1206207344849.html)
Quote:
"Apart from speaking Australian now, I'm pretty all right you know, I didn't hurt my bum at all," afafafafaf afafafafaf
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I thought the bum hurting phenomenon was restricted solely to listening to Australian politicians speak.
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Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha I'm posting that as a note on facebook
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Having trouble getting into the "Notes" facility on FB. Could that be being blocked (as its sort of like a blog)?
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Still can't get to FB :(
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I'm pleased I'm not trying to live on 650Y a month - or working 73 hours a week to make a decent wage.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23455711-25837,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23455711-25837,00.html)
Fair play impossible, says Adidas workers
Claire Newell and Michael Sheridan, Fuzhou | March 31, 2008
THE German sportswear giant Adidas has paid a reported $108 million to sponsor this year's Beijing Olympics with the slogan "Impossible is nothing".
But for the thousands of Chinese workers who earn a basic $25 a week making Adidas's expensive trainer shoes at factories in the industrial city of Fuzhou, one thing does seem impossible: to get a fair deal.
An investigation by The Sunday Times of into the workers' pay and conditions has found apparent violations of China's labour laws and Adidas's code of workplace standards.
Workers at the factories in Fuzhou accuse the management of cheating on pay, discriminating against young men and stifling an attempt to set up a trade union.
They have provided documents appearing to prove that they have to work for more than 70 hours a week to earn a living wage, even though Chinese law limits the average working week, including overtime, to 49 hours.
Adidas has defended its record. The company denies discrimination but has conceded that many of its Chinese workers earn the minimum legal salary.
Life for workers in the Adidas factories, which are surrounded by a warren of narrow tenement streets, is a world apart from the celebrity-studded image projected by David Beckham, the soccer player, and the singer Missy Elliott, who designs some of the company's sportswear.
The Sunday Times found a history of industrial disputes at three of what Adidas calls "long-established partner factories" in Fuzhou, owned and operated by a Taiwan-based company.
In dozens of interviews, workers, administration staff and security guards described a hostile atmosphere of class and cultural conflict between the Chinese workforce, the Taiwanese managers and Adidas's German-led management team.
They say there have been at least five unreported strikes in the past 12 months over allegations of management cheating and abuse. The workers' complaints include claims that staff are sometimes forced to work overtime for no pay. Most cannot understand their complex wage slips.
"Life is very hard," said a worker with two small children. "We work morning to night, but have no money left."
One pair of Adidas trainers in Britain costs from £60 ($130) to £120 for the latest women's sports shoes, which are designed by Stella McCartney.
But factory payslips show the basic wage for an Adidas worker last year was just 570 yuan (about $90) a month.
Adidas confirmed the figure and said the pay was raised to 650 yuan a month, in line with a rise in the provincial legal minimum wage last August.
"The problem is that the minimum wage is not a living wage," said Geoffrey Crothall, editor of the China Labour Bulletin in Hong Kong.
Records reviewed by Bulletin experts showed that to earn a living wage, estimated by workers at $175 a month, employees would have to work excessive overtime. One wage slip indicated the employee had worked 73 hours that week.
In 2002, workers thought their conditions would improve when the management, under pressure from foreign customers, allowed a free election for union representatives. But by last year, when the union officers' five-year term was up, most workers had become disillusioned with the union and its leader, Tang Ximou.
Strikes were breaking out, real wages were falling, Mr Tang was accused of doing nothing and an atmosphere of conflict prevailed. On October 14, the management allowed an election - but only for part-time union posts. Mr Tang and his two deputies were reappointed without a poll.
After a strike in 2006 led by young male workers, the Taiwanese management took action against those involved. "They were all kicked out," said a clerk.
A sign outside the factory says all male workers must produce a certificate from their home town to prove they do not have a criminal record. No such rule applies to women.
"The boss thinks the men are troublemakers," a company security guard said. "We give them special searches and keep an eye on them."
The Sunday Times
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And Adidas corporate will deny knowing about the abhorrent working conditions and promise to look into it and nothing will change.
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Some cockwit rightwing american on another forum I go on tried to justify the low salaries paid in these places by saying that if the jobs didn't exist, the people wouldn't have jobs at all. asasasasas
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1800s Industrial Revolution:Revisitation.
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Benefits of globalisation.
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Remember, economic forces are natural forces. Children working themselves to death in a shoe factory are all part of the miraculous Cycle of Life.
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BBC's World News reports that Robert Mugabe is going down....28 years of
power corruption controlling Zimbabwe may be/are over. The only question is whether or not he will actually go llllllllll
His political Party now holds 93 Seats compared to 105 for Opposition candidates. The results from the Presidential election are still not yet in and finalised (after 4 days!!), but indications are that he only held 43% of the vote, compared to his challenger who has 51%.
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Charlton Heston is dead.
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aoaoaoaoao
One of my favourite lines ever:
"IT'S A MADHOUSE! A MADHOUSE!"
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Fair play impossible, says Adidas workers
Claire Newell and Michael Sheridan, Fuzhou | March 31, 2008
THE German sportswear giant Adidas ...
But for the thousands of Chinese workers who earn a basic $25 a week making Adidas's expensive trainer shoes at factories in the industrial city of Fuzhou, ...
The Sunday Times found a history of industrial disputes at three of what Adidas calls "long-established partner factories" in Fuzhou, owned and operated by a Taiwan-based company.
I lived in Fuzhou and knowa little about those factories. Pay is low, but I knew waitresses in Fuzhou making 450 for really long hours.
The Taiwan company does not just manufacture for Adidas; they also do Reebok and a Japanese brand I don't recall. Nike are down the road and conitions there are no better.
The Chinese friend I had who worked there was doing alright, She was a healh and safety manager making 4000 or so. From what she said, management did at least take that seriously. She was sent to Vietnam to help set up a factory there.
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One of our teaching assistant's was just brought up to minimum wage, because the gate caretaker found out she was only making 400Y a month. New TAs must work this ridiculously low wage for a significant period of time; she's been a TA well over a year. asasasasas asasasasas Hopefully a precedent has been set and the entry salary will now be minimum wage.
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Kcanuck, that's utterly disgusting. She should get retroactive pay, but we all know she won't.
"SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!"
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7334233.stm
\
NZ man 'used hedgehog as weapon'
A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon, the New Zealand Herald has reported.
Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy.
"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.
It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence.
The police spokesman said the suspect was arrested "for assault with a weapon, namely the hedgehog."
Mr Singalargh is due to appear in court on 17 April. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
What with wombats and now hedgehogs, you lot have been coming up with some wacky stories of late!
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It's those dodgy Kiwis!
A little outpost in the middle of the ocean - cabin fever strikes regularly.
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Gotta say, sounds like their legal system is still much tougher than ours. He probably wouldn't get any time in prison for throwing a hedgehog in the UK.
It's like China's at one, ridiculous extreme, and the UK is at the other. asasasasas
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According to a recent article, massage girls in the east-Java province of Indonesia are now being forced to wear chastity belts so they stick to just massages and no naughty stuff. Forced chastity belts...wonder if that would work in China.
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I reckon a lot of Chinese guys would jump at the chance to buy them... for their wives.
Can't see it happening any other way.
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And so it continues
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSHKG8120420080410
China says foils "terrorist" plot to kidnap Olympians
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Fusses in France, bothers in Britain and fancy side-stepping in 'Frisco.....what's next?
Sarkozy will miss The Opening gala. GeeDubYah is considering a similar move.
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Fusses in France, bothers in Britain and fancy side-stepping in 'Frisco.....what's next?
Sarkozy will miss The Opening gala. GeeDubYah is considering a similar move.
Fugu has announced, that due to scheduling conflicts, he will be unable to attend any Olympic event or partake in any flag waving.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/11/olympicgames2008.china (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/11/olympicgames2008.china)
Quote from the Guardian:
"The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, will not be attending August's opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Although the reason for his absence was cited as "scheduling issues"."
and
" The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, have both announced they will not be attending the opening ceremony."
Finally
"Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd had already said that Australia, not China, would be responsible for security of the flame." bfbfbfbfbf
Everytime I see those 'guardians of the sacred flame' on CCTV9, it reminds me of Homer opening his door for 'hired goons' and copping a hiding for it.
Go Kev! liked what he said at Beida, shame the locals won't hear about it.
Edit: I can't see any 'key words' that would cause problems with your server. I'm also under the impression that the lads in Beijing are easing up a tad on net access. If there are problems, feel free to delete the post.
agagagagag
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Canada's PM also not attending (for personal reasons) though he is sending a delegation
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Looks like Raoul will need to take those fake plates off his bike.
Rash of fake military vehicles on Chinese roads: report
Fri Apr 11, 12:11 PM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - On-road privileges for China's legendary People's Liberation Army are leading to a rash of fake military vehicles and bogus number plates, state press said Friday.
Since launching a campaign to rid the roads of fake military vehicles in July 2006, police have uncovered more than 4,100 bogus vehicles and nearly 6,400 fake military number plates, Xinhua news agency said.
More than 5,000 people have been apprehended in the crackdown, it said.
In China, cars with military plates, which are a different colour from ordinary number plates, are legally entitled to privileges including exemption from road tolls and parking fees, Xinhua said.
Traffic police are also reluctant to pull over drivers of military vehicles even if they are breaking laws, it added.
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They periodically have crack-downs on fake plates. It's not new. A lot of cars also have the military sirens, and use them to blast their way through traffic.
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If you can do it (and get away with it) it's a great way to go!
The military plates entitle the driver to absolute sovereignty on the road. The Police cannot do anything about them or to them - even if they suspect they are fake. The military police are the only ones with any authority.
I want some!
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Boy, there's the perfect case study for China's biggest problem: enforcing the law. They have laws against all the things the West does, but try to give them teeth among 1.3 billion souls! The solution will be mammoth:
1. Train enforcement officials to crack down on people without mercy;
2. pay them enough to resist taking red envelopes;
3. send them to jurisdictions far from home so their friends and families don't pressure them to make exceptions;
4. set up counter-intelligence so noone gets any notice of their presence;
5. conduct followup inspections so people don't just bribe locals to declare them "clean again";
6. randomize the crackdowns so that crystal balls won't predict their arrival.
eeeeeeeeee
Wow, glad it's not my department.
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Fine not only the offenders, but the officials who helped issue them and the manufacturers. Remove drivers license - permanently for the 3rd offence for all involved.
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The Onion
BEIJING—Known among schoolmates for his spirited antics and ability to make light of almost any situation, classroom jokester Wei Xiang, 11, was put to death by the Chinese government for drawing a mustache on an image of Education Minister Zhou Ji in one of his textbooks, sources reported Monday. "An enemy of the state has been dealt with accordingly," government spokesman Xu Qi said following Wei's execution by firing squad. "Let this be a lesson to other children considering wising off or otherwise wasting valuable class time." The fifth-grader previously served a six-month term in solitary confinement at Qincheng Prison after referring to the Tang Dynasty as "the Stank Dynasty" during a history lesson in 2007.
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Words fail me.
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There are times when 'satire' doesn't work.
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Glebe Morgue buys forklift to move obese
Sydney's Glebe Morgue has been forced to buy a forklift truck to cope with obese corpses.
The proportion of obese patients requiring coronial autopsies has doubled from 15 per cent in 1986 to 30 per cent, according to a study by forensic pathologist Professor Roger Byard.
The proportion of morbidly obese corpses has increased from one to five per cent.
Glebe Morgue forensic pathologist Matthew Orde said the larger bodies were putting workers at risk of injury because they were difficult to lift, move and store.
He told The Sun-Herald that putrefaction - the degradation of soft tissue - was speeded up in morbidly obese patients, making handling difficult.
"A fat person will go off more quickly than a skinny person," Dr Orde said.
Dr Byard agrees obese patients are problematic for pathologists.
"Autopsies have been performed on floors, or with a pathologist leaning from a ladder, or actually standing on the trolley over a body," he wrote in an article in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine.
Dr Orde said the problems facing Glebe Morgue reflected the growing incidence of obesity in the greater community.
Almost half of the NSW population was classified overweight or obese in 2005.
The state government has been forced to buy three extra-large $150,000 ambulances fitted with hydraulic lifts capable of carrying loads of up to one tonne.
They don't show this on "Bones".
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I was quite shocked when I read that Australia was catching up with us and the Yanks in the obesity stakes. I thought you lot were much more 'active'...
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I love the bit where he says 'A fat person will go off more quickly than a skinny person". That had me pleased I wasn't drinking my tea. ahahahahah
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It's also quite gross when you think about it...
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It's also quite gross when you think about it...
Yeah. It is.
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I think I misread your other post as meaning "It's a good thing I wasn't drinking my tea as it would have made me spit my tea everywhere with laughter" as opposed to "It would have put me off my tea..."
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they did show it on CSI though, much better than Bones IMHO
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It DID make me laugh!! Just the really matter-of-fact Oz way of putting it had me in hysterics!
But I liked your 'gross' pun as well. (You did mean it didn't you ...?)
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I have to confess, it was unintentional ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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If you are lucky enough to have (bootleg) cable, you probably get CNN international:
CNN reporter in sex, rope and drug scandal (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/21/1208629776034.html)
Quest - who is known for his boisterous and quirky style...
Quite. This is only really funny if you have seen him on TV - he kind of plays on his eccentric English gentleman abroad type character. I always suspected he was a bit more mental than he let on.
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I was quite shocked when I read that Australia was catching up with us and the Yanks in the obesity stakes. I thought you lot were much more 'active'...
We were,until the Government started handing out more "sit down money", to coin an Aboriginal phrase.
There is however plenty of activity going on between the sheets afafafafaf since the "baby bonus" has gone up to about $Aus5000. bfbfbfbfbf
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Knighthood for Wills 'leaves Howard in cold'
John Howard's chances of being knighted appear to have been scuttled by Prince William.
Rumours have circulated since the beginning of the year that the Queen had personally chosen Howard, a staunch monarchist during his four terms as Prime Minister, to become a Royal Knight of the Garter.
However, Prince William has instead been selected as the Garter's 1000th knight, following the honour his father Prince Charles received fifty years ago, according to news.com.au.
If Howard was disappointed in missing out, he wasn't showing it today - claiming he actually knew nothing about the rumours.
"It's news to me," the Sydney Morning Herald reported Howard as saying when asked about the possible knighthood.
The announcement will be officially made tomorrow Australian time — keeping in line with a St George's Day tradition.
Really hope he doesn't get Knighted. A staunch monarchist, bloody hell he was nowt but a brown noser.
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Knight of the Garter...come on, would you really want to be one? What's next? Lord of the Frilly Dress? High Steward of the Pink Stiletto Heels? Grand Marshal of the Red Thong?
They made Cliff Richard a Knight...and Elton John...the latter just turned the whole knighthood into a mockery. I mean, does anyone really think "Elton John" when they hear the word 'knight'?
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Howard's idol was Robert Menzies.....who became a knight...and Warden of the Cinque Ports, for what that's worth. Howard wants to emulate the greatest QE2 brown-noser of all time.
" I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till she kick the bucket".
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Knights in white satin...
(http://evilmong.com/images/His_Majesty_Queen_Elton_I.jpg)
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ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah bkbkbkbkbk bkbkbkbkbk Damn you! Coffee all over my desk!
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The best i have seen the 'Queen' look :D
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Damn shame, Little Johnny missed the mark again...
Former Australian prime minister John Howard appears to have missed out on joining a prestigious British order of knights.
Speculation mounted earlier this year that Howard might be appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter - the oldest order of British chivalry - when Queen Elizabeth II announced any new additions.
Howard was a staunch monarchist during his term as Australia's second longest-serving prime minister.
The deaths of former British prime minister Sir Edward Heath and Mount Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary left two places open in the exclusive order.
But the Queen announced on Wednesday those vacancies would be filled by Lord Luce, who was Lord Chamberlain from 2000 to 2006, and Sir Thomas Dunne, Lord-Lieutenant of Hereford since 1977 and chairman of the Lord Lieutenants Association.
Their appointments take the number of Companion Knights to the maximum 24.
The Queen also announced her grandson, Prince William, would join other members of his family as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
Members of the Royal family are additional to the 24 Knights Companion.
New members of the order, established in 1348 by Edward III, are customarily announced on St George's Day, England's national day on April 23.
Its emblem is a blue ribbon or garter worn by men below the left knee and women on the left arm.
Each year in June a procession and service take place at Windsor Castle for the order.
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That's a damn shame - he'd have looked so sweet wearing a bit of blue ribbon tied on his suit pants. I bet he wouldn't have taken it off to go to bed!
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What the hell is going on around this country? First 14 stupid lawyers sue CNN and Cafferty for 1400RMB in Beijing (cheap lawyers). Now their suing for $1.3 billion in New York.
I come from the most litigious state in America. This is ridiculous. I'm waiting for the counter-suits.
Also, if this is successful, can we start suing the Chinese for rude remarks toward us foreigners? I'd like to sue that jackass who called my wife a traitor for marrying a foreigner.
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Would you mind telling me who is suing who for what? No ranting without newsing first. bibibibibi
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Would you mind telling me who is suing who for what? No ranting without newsing first. bibibibibi
US TV-news station CNN has a "reporter" commentator surnamed Cafferty who said that China is being run by thugs. No doubt, the lawsuit(s) stems from that remark. I believe that a retraction/apology was demanded by the Chinese government, along with Cafferty's firing....which hasn't happened so far.
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Japanese!! llllllllll llllllllll And we thought Chinese were silly!
Japanese fooled in poodle scam
April 26, 2007 - 8:59PM
Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.
Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.
That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.
The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.
She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.
Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.
One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.
Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.
"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles," Japanese police said, the The Sun reported.
"Sadly we think there is more than one company operating in this way.
"The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas - Britain, Australia."
Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.
Who said Chinese and Japanese are so different? This story proves that the two cultures are not that dissimiliar.
Maybe I should try to sell them the Brooklyn Bridge (for cash or Japanese Hentai porn)
Senor
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How in the name of Fenris, Grimnir and Hel do you mistake a sheep for a poodle?
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How in the name of Fenris, Grimnir and Hel do you mistake a sheep for a poodle?
Well, yer gotta be Japanese, for starters!
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So, I guess one might say the poor Japanese people had the wool pulled over their eyes? They probably looked somewhat sheepish when they found out.
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lambs to the slaughter, yer might say!
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OK, guys. Time to stop with the horrible puns now. Ewe've Ram-med home the point sufficiently. Please go on the lam(b) immediately.
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Better poodles than sacrificial lamb.
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Other than not eating dog food and not barking, aren't there a few other problems to keeping sheep as house pets? Did they just tell them that these poodles are too dumb to housebreak? bibibibibi
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Yes...they obviously did not think of the RAMifications.
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How to tell if your pet poodle is really a lamb
It has hooves instead of nails
It eats grass and houseplants instead of meat and dogfood
It bleats instead of barking
It's too mellow and stupid to housetrain instead of being too nervous and hyperactive
It has enough meat on it for more than one sandwich
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Those tricked should severely LAMBast the people who sold them the "poodles". It's a bleating outrage (a pun and a homophone, dear me...)
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What the hell is going on around this country? First 14 stupid lawyers sue CNN and Cafferty for 1400RMB in Beijing (cheap lawyers). Now their suing for $1.3 billion in New York.
I come from the most litigious state in America. This is ridiculous. I'm waiting for the counter-suits.
Also, if this is successful, can we start suing the Chinese for rude remarks toward us foreigners? I'd like to sue that jackass who called my wife a traitor for marrying a foreigner.
We could sue the China Daily for the amount of outright racism against westerners it allows on its boards, the only remotely comparable hate I have ever seen on a western website is on the likes of stormfront.
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Why first-borns have higher IQs
By Laura Mappas, April 21, 2008.
According to new research your older brother or sister really is smarter than you.
The new Dutch study shows that birth order affects intelligence, making the first-born the smartest, while a long list of other studies link personality, weight gain and even premature death to where you're positioned in the family lineage.
Here are some of the theories linked to birth order:
Intelligence
A number of studies have been conducted that suggest IQ scores decline according to birth order. Why this is the case still isn't clear, but a popular theory is that the extra one-on-one time, attention and patience parents give their first-borns, compared to children arriving later, gives them a intellectual head start.
Personality
A study from the University of California suggests first-borns are the achievers, more dominant, religious, conscientious and neurotic. They also earn more, are more responsible, anxious and organised, and they tend to stick to the rules.
Middle-borns on the other hand are rebellious, impulsive and open to new experiences. They perform more poorly academically and often procrastinate, but they are also the peacemakers.
And the lucky last-borns are the family favourite — they're often the joker, are warm, sociable, extrovert and creative. They are also the most likely to question authority.
Mortality
Later-borns are more likely to die prematurely. One possible explanation is that later-borns are also the bigger risk takers and that their adventurousness may at times put them in harm's way.
Eczema and asthma
Research shows that later-borns have a reduced risk of suffering from common childhood illnesses like eczema and asthma. One theory is that younger children are exposed to a wider range of infections by their older siblings and therefore have strengthened immune systems.
Sexual partners
Later-borns often have more sexual partners than first-borns. According to researchers, this finding suggests first-borns are more interested in finding a long-term mate, which is a reflection of the fact that they want to uphold the values of their parents, while the later-borns are more rebellious.
Weight
Later-borns are less likely to be overweight. It's not clear why this is, but one theory is that over-protection and over-feeding of the first-born may lead to obesity.
So now i know why i am super smart lol....
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now I know why I'm neurotic and anal.
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Bugalugs, anything about half brothers or sisters in relation to this study? It appears that the children have to be raised in the same household.
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Haven't found anything about half siblings but i'll keep looking.
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Open minded, procrastinating middle born peacemaker here...doesn't explain why my older sister is such a lazy **** though.
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A lot of that definitely ties in with me and my younger brother. aoaoaoaoao
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I'm sorry, but i'm not having any of that. I don't believe a word of it, i'm definitely smarter than my older brother bbbbbbbbbb
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So if I'm smarter (and I'm the one who did well in school), then why is it that I'm the rebellious one, the dreamer and seeker after distant truths? More to the point the one who makes less money? There's a lot more to it than just primogeniture. "Daddy loves me and that's what counts" (from The Lion in Winter)
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I'm the eldest of 6 aoaoaoaoao So what does that do to the "statistics"?? And for that matter, Hubby is #4 out of 9 (but first son). What's his profile, I wonder??
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NZ scientists start to defrost big squid
By Xavier La Canna
For those of you who have trouble defrosting a steak in the microwave, spare a thought for New Zealand scientists tasked with thawing out a 500kg squid.
The massive colossal squid - the largest ever found - has been creating a headache for researchers trying to extract it from a giant block of ice.
The creature was frozen by fishermen who hauled it from Antarctica's icy waters in February last year.
Since then, the squid has defied attempts to defrost it intact, so scientists can properly examine and preserve it.
"We have never had a squid frozen in a block (of ice) before. Usually the squid we get come in bags and are frozen lengthwise," said a spokeswoman for Wellington's Te Papa Tongarewa Museum.
"They are very easy to defrost. You just put them onto an autopsy table and bang, there you go," she said.
"We are learning as we go with this one."
Scientists realised early on that just leaving the specimen in a room and allowing it to thaw would fail.
The squid's huge bulk would take days to defrost, leaving the outside to rot while the inside remained frozen.
An offer from an Australian academic to use a giant microwave to thaw it out was considered, but ultimately rejected, for fear of damaging the creature.
Scientists are confident a new thawing method, commenced on Monday, will be successful, and that they can start examining the creature on Wednesday.
The squid has been placed in a tank filled with salty water.
Because salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, it will allow the freshwater ice around the creature to melt, while the surrounding liquid is kept at or below 0 degrees Celsius.
Scientists hope Wednesday's planned examination will unlock many secrets, including the squid's gender.
Female squid are usually larger than males, so if the specimen turns out to be a male it could mean much larger colossal squid are yet to be found.
Little is known about the life cycle of the colossal squid, but they are known to have huge beaks and unique swivelling hooks, which can tear prey apart.
Colossal squid are shorter but can grow to a far greater mass than the better known giant squid, and are thought to be more ferocious.
People interested in watching the squid thawing out and being examined can view a live webcam broadcast at www.tepapa.govt.nz.
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News of the day (or yesterday)...
The Chasers are FREEE!!!!!!!! ababababab
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/28/2228926.htm
Watch the video 'The Chasers' response by Osama Bin Laden- priceless!
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Given that the price of oil seems to be driving so many prices up not to mention this fuelish insanity to make biofuel that has forced so many poor to be poorer still since price of grain risen so high.... Wondering how many feeling pinch as value of dollar falls to Yuan. Are our Ozlanders and Canukastani's holding their own or are you experiencing the same.
China Daily posted this today. I do worry about the French woman in the article who shifted from her usual canned tuna to a Chinese brand. If we are concerned of mecury in our tuna then the alternative aoaoaoaoao
Comfort food starting to come at heavy price
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/24/content_6639690.htm
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A lot of tinned seafood sold in Canada originates from Asian waters, shrimp too. I recently read an article in an Ottawa paper about mom and pop grocery stores having a tough go because the cost of flour and bread has gone up so much many of their customers have cut back on staples and it's impacting their businesses.
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Aussies have had their money rise against the greenback, and against the yuan - so I don't mind buying some more big toys here (lens for my camera).
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Aussies have had their money rise against the greenback, and against the yuan - so I don't mind buying some more big toys here (lens for my camera).
LE, Enjoy it while you can. I'm sure there are those who will have an adavantage and those who don't. The next year, at least for USANIA, promises to be an interesting ride.
For me, I want to get someone to buy my car so I can end debt and if not go to the Big Silly for a year, at least have a long visit of a month +.
2009 will be my time to hopefully meet some of you.
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Incredible footage has emerged of a man who was talked out of jumping off a bridge by emergency workers, only to slip and then fall into the windscreen of a fire truck as the vehicle moved into position to bring him down to safety.
The drama began when 'Bruce' walked onto a railway overpass in the NSW regional centre of Dubbo late last week.
He was seen carrying a bladder out of a cask of wine and appeared intoxicated.
Concerned family members called police and when they arrived Bruce threatened to jump off the 10m-high bridge.
A senior officer then negotiated with him over a loudspeaker but Bruce clambered over the bridge railing and became stuck in the steelwork support braces beneath the rail line.
It appeared the negotiators had successfully talked him out of jumping and encouraged Bruce to "hang in there, big fella" as a fire truck moved into position under the bridge with a view to lowering him onto the roof of the vehicle.
But with freakish timing, Bruce lost his grip just as the vehicle approached and slammed into the flat windscreen of the moving truck mid-fall.
Onlookers screamed as his limp body bounced and rolled to a stop on the dusty ground — but it turns out the bizarre event was a blessing in disguise.
Bruce was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital in a satisfactory condition and was found to have no broken bones or serious injuries, leaving emergency workers to conclude that the impact with the perspex screen of the truck may have saved his life.
Investigations are continuing.
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aoaoaoaoao "VEGEMITE is now a banned substance at the Beijing Olympics, following China's decision to stop the Australian team taking its own food to the Games.
In another example of the iron-clad control Beijing is trying to exert on foreigners, Games organisers have told Australia it must obtain all food from within China.
It is understood the Chinese have introduced the ban to maximise revenue for local food producers."
Bloody sabotage!!
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So this means the US team will also be banned from bringing anything with them?
Although I can understand them wanting to ban vegemite - that food is more potent and strength giving than steroids! Merely fear of competition on then part of the Chinese. But the effects of vegemite (ask Babe) are long lasting - and so the power will remain.
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aoaoaoaoao "VEGEMITE is now a banned substance at the Beijing Olympics, following China's decision to stop the Australian team taking its own food to the Games.
In another example of the iron-clad control Beijing is trying to exert on foreigners, Games organisers have told Australia it must obtain all food from within China.
It is understood the Chinese have introduced the ban to maximise revenue for local food producers."
Bloody sabotage!!
It's lucky for the British that there are specialist shops in BJ/SH selling marmite, then eh agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag
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So why isn't Marmite banned?
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They wouldn't dare bcbcbcbcbc bcbcbcbcbc
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No use banning something that no one eats anyway :P
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And it doesn't have the restorative powers of vegemite.
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So why isn't Marmite banned?
Vegemite isn't banned. It merely isn't (easily) obtainable in China. On the other hand, I do know that a couple of places sell the real deal in Shangers and Beijing.
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This one is not a good one.
North Korea Heading towards famine.
http://www.planetark.com/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=48189 (http://www.planetark.com/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=48189)
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Ban Vegemite? OH yeah it's full of steroids. Or that's what the advertisers almost tell us, So why not?
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North Korea Heading towards famine.
This past month there have been food riots in Egypt, Haiti (where they also toppled the Government) and areas across Africa. Big US names (Costco and Sam's) are limiting the purchase of rice and flour.
A goodly portion of the blame for this is the rising oil prices, but one of the other problems is the increased use of ethanol (grain fuel). The equation goes something along these lines....More Ethanol = Less Food (for people and/or animals).
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They're predicting dire consequences in Mexico since they are a corn consuming nation and since a large portion of edible crop will likely be sold for ethanol.
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A goodly portion of the blame for this is the rising oil prices, but one of the other problems is the increased use of ethanol (grain fuel). The equation goes something along these lines....More Ethanol = Less Food (for people and/or animals).
Even better. Ethanol usage is driving corn prices are up, so a lot of US acreage is being converted from soybean production to corn. This raised the price of soybeans. In Brazil, areas used for cattle grazing were converted to soybean production. This is causing cattle ranchers to start doing the slash and burn routine on more rainforest.
So what we have is a "green biofuel" leading to tropical rainforest destruction. asasasasas
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Frankly, old bean, Australia should go to the mat on this one. Can your athletes control their own diet or not? Chinese food merchants can survive without a few hundred extra mouths. Outrageous.
Sadly, Lotus, this could very well go unnoticed as "yet another North Korean crisis". I hope I'm wrong.
The world's food supply problem continues to grow. I'd have never thought it would go this far; I wonder how much nastier it'll get.
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The world's food supply problem continues to grow. I'd have never thought it would go this far; I wonder how much nastier it'll get.
I hear that shares of th Soylent Corporation are up 20% in the last month. Also, Donner's Catering says they are getting booked for a lot of parties.
axaxaxaxax
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BOISE -- A ValleyRide bus driver has been placed on administrative leave after a 14-year-old boy accused the driver of calling him a racial slur before kicking him off his bus last Friday.
"Hey, kid. Yer a racial slur! Get offa my bus!" ahahahahah
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Kiwi does it again...
From the Sydney Moring Herald:
Desperate robber hides $2000 in his bottom
May 9, 2008 - 4:41PM
When it came to stashing his stolen cash, bank robber Michael Linn chose a very dark and unusual place... up his bottom.
But the rustling sounds coming from down below that gave him away when police quizzed him, a court heard.
The 36-year-old jobless New Zealander admitted robbing the BNZ Cromwell branch bank in Central Otago of around $2000 on April 3.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Tom Scoullar told Alexandra District Court said Linn had pressed the buzzer to get into the bank and pulled a green hand-knitted balaclava over his face.
After a staff member filled a bag with money, Linn had apologised, saying: "I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to frighten you but I'm very, very desperate."
Linn drove to the lakefront, removed his clothes and set them alight using petrol and paper from his car, Mr Scoullar said.
Witnesses who saw the fire called firefighters. Construction workers nearby got there first and, using shovels, rescued the clothing and papers, some of which had Linn's name and address on them.
When he was taken to the Queenstown police station, he said he had given the money to an associate.
Police noticed some rustling sounds from Linn's bottom area and on closer inspection a roll of cash was found protruding from Linn's anus, the full amount of cash taken in the robbery.
The money will be destroyed.
Linn was remanded in custody until June 5 for sentence.
The Southland Times
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/05/09/1210131248617.html
"The money will be destroyed." afafafafaf afafafafaf
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Desperate robber hides $2000 in his bottom
May 9, 2008 - 4:41PM
When it came to stashing his stolen cash, bank robber Michael Linn chose a very dark and unusual place... up his bottom.
The money will be destroyed.
Well!!! aoaoaoaoao I should hope so!! aoaoaoaoao
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That was a crappy place to try to hide money. cccccccccc
bpbpbpbpbp
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What you never saw Papillion? Besides ain't that where you get your lesson plans? ahahahahah
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14000 RMB up the piyan? kkkkkkkkkk
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On a more serious, sadder note.....Pig-headed stupidity and cruelty are not limited to any one nation.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/12/asia/AS-GEN-Myanmar-US-Military.php
It's been over a week since Myanmar (Burma) suffered from a direct cyclone strike, killing several thousands in the coastal regions, and leaving many more without homes or clean water or food. Estimates are that the death toll will reach around 100,000. Some even put the possible toll at 216,000.
What does their government do? It forbids foreigners from coming in to aid the survivors. Then it goes ahead and holds a referendum on a point in their constitution. aoaoaoaoao llllllllll llllllllll
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Yes, well, that's what military junta's do. They're not out to take care of their people. They don't care a jot for the victims of a natural disaster. They do not much care for a bunch of volounteer foreigners coming to the rescue.
And what can this glorious world do about it? This wonderful world where you can find organizations with such ostentatious names as the United Nations? Nothing. Bugger all. Oh yes, I forgot, they can threaten with sanctions...that'll have those tyrants in uniforms quivering in their boots...NOT!
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The Goodyear Blimp was floating in the skies above Jinan today. mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm
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Actually, that would be one of the Goodyear Blimps. There is a fleet. They fly up and down the coast of California where I live and often overnight at the airport about a half-mile from my house. They're really noisy, which I never expected. Why would a blimp be in Jinan?
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The ole blimp was here in Wuhan 2 weeks ago - perfect timing for me as I was giving my marketing class a lecture on promotions as he took off over my campus - great example
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5 university staff linked to bribes
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-14 07:11
Five people in charge of university admissions in Hunan province are allegedly involved in a corruption case, only weeks ahead of the national college entrance examination, the Oriental Outlook weekly said Tuesday.
Ma Lihuang, a section chief who oversees student recruitment and employment at Xiangnan University, was recently "taken away" by members of the procuratorate in Changsha, a likely sign of an impending prosecution.
He is accused of having abused his power in selling university places for personal gain, the weekly, which is affiliated to the Xinhua News Agency, said.
Zhou Xianghui, a section chief of Hengyang Normal University and three section chiefs of three other universities in the same province are also accused of the same offense.
The three and their universities were not named.
Ma has been described as a "star worker" for his "outstanding contributions" to the university, Wang Xiaocheng, deputy head of the Xiangnan University, was quoted as saying.
"He (Ma) has the admission power and therefore holds the purse strings. He wields much power," Wang said.
Ma is alleged to have sold places to unqualified students, those who know they will score lower than other students in the entrance examination.
A student who declined to be named, was quoted as saying that after two consecutive failed attempts to qualify for a university place, he managed to gain a place at Xiangnan University after his family gave Ma an unspecified sum of money.
The Oriental Outlook report said the exposure of Ma and Zhou might be just the "tip of the iceberg". It mentioned another alleged corruption case involving more than 20 people connected with education in the province.
Guo Jianguo, an official with the Hunan provincial education department, said policy loop-holes must be addressed to weed out the corrupt.
"The practice to allow universities to enroll students with comparatively lower qualifications must be stopped," Guo said.
The college entrance examination will be held from June 6-8. In Hunan, about 600,000 students will sit for it, a record high.
Last year, 520,000 students took the examination. The enrollment rate is forecast to be about 60 percent.
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Why would a blimp be in Jinan?
I think it's a tire promotion. It came to my town last year. If you bought a set of premium Goodyear tires, you were entered in a raffle and raffle winners were given blimp rides around the city and lake. They sold a lot of tires to the black Audi set that week.
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Nice to see they know what's important in life. agagagagag
****
Australian fined for buckling in beer, not child
Associated Press Tue May 13, 2:57 PM ET
DARWIN, Australia - An Australian man has been fined after buckling in a case of beer with a seat belt but leaving a 5-year-old child to sit on the car's floor, police said Tuesday.
Constable Wayne Burnett said he was "shocked and appalled" when he pulled over the unregistered car Friday in the central Australian town of Alice Springs.
The 30-can beer case was strapped in between two adults sitting in the back seat of the car. The child was also in back, but on the car's floor.
"The child was sitting in the lump in the center, unrestrained," Burnett told reporters Tuesday.
"I haven't ever seen something like this before," he said. "This is the first time that the beer has taken priority over a child."
The driver was fined 750 Australian dollars — about $710 — for driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and for failing to ensure a child was wearing a safety belt.
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acacacacac Wow man, groovy flowers. zzzzzzzzzz
****
Japanese city finds opium poppies grown for festival
AFP Wed May 14, 1:47 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese city has been forced to destroy thousands of flowers grown for a local festival after a police officer noticed they were illegal opium poppies, an official said Wednesday.
About 100 officials were mobilised in Shimotsuma City north of Tokyo to pluck and burn the one-hectare (2.47-acre) field of lilac-coloured papaver setigerum poppies, according to the city official.
The flowers were grown by volunteers using seeds imported from abroad, she said, adding that the city was checking how the seeds had got into the country.
"A small number of them had been spotted since a few years ago but nobody ever realised they are a banned type. We are so surprised," she said.
The Shimotsuma flower festival draws 2,000-3,000 visitors every year, according to the city.
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I think they've finally solved the energy crises and saved us all. afafafafaf
****
Solar bra brings conservation closer to the heart
Reuters Wed May 14, 10:31 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - Ladies, take your battle for the environment a little closer to your heart with a solar-powered bra that can generate enough electric energy to charge a mobile phone or an iPod.
Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan Ltd unveiled its environmentally friendly, and green colored, "Solar Power Bra" on Wednesday in Tokyo which features a solar panel worn around the stomach.
The panel requires light to generate electricity and the concept bra will not be in stores anytime soon, said Triumph spokeswoman Yoshiko Masuda, as "people usually can not go outside without wearing clothes over it."
But it does send the message of how lingerie could possibly save the planet, Masuda said, adding that the bra should not be washed or sunned on a rainy day to avoid damaging it.
Being eco-friendly is now fashionable in Japan, and the "Solar Energy Bra" follows the company's other green-themed undergarments that include a bra that turns into a reusable shopping bag and one that featured metal chopsticks to promote the use of reusable chopsticks.
"It is very comfortable and I can really feel involved in eco-friendly efforts as well," model Yuko Ishida said.
(Reporting by Takanori Isshiki; Writing by Yoko Kubota; editing by Miral Fahmy)
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The itialians had created a solar powered jacket for those same reasons, but I kind of like the bra idea better. It could have some interesting conontations for some of these young ladies working in the offices. they could use them to recharge many different types of batteries.
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Takes the interest out of those nippy, winter mornings!!
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But in the process, won't the ladies get a.... TAN? aoaoaoaoao
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Giant Pythons Invade Florida
AFP
May 16, 2008 -- Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially threatening other southeastern states, a study said.
"Pythons are likely to colonize anywhere alligators live, including north Florida, Georgia and Louisiana," said Frank Mazzotti, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, in his two-year study.
The pythons thriving in Florida are mostly Burmese pythons from Myanmar that were brought over as pets and then turned loose in the wild.
From 2002-2005, 201 of the beasts were caught by state authorities, but in the last two years the number has more than doubled to 418, Mazzotti said in his study published on the university Web site.
The largest python caught so far in Florida measured 16.4 feet and weighed 154 pounds.
Mazzotti said the serpents, despite their awesome size, are not poisonous, but are excellent swimmers and able to cover great distances in little time. Some, trapped and released with radio transmitters, swam 37 miles in a few hours.
Highly adaptable, pythons prey on cats, dogs, hares, foxes, squirrels, raccoons and even alligators, allowing them to thrive in a variety of environments.
After populating the Florida Everglades -- a vast marshland -- where it is estimated they number 30,000, the giant python is now spreading across the rest of the peninsula.
"Females may store sperm, so they can produce fertile clutches for years. And a 100-something pound snake can easily be producing 60, 80 eggs a year," said Mazzotti, adding that the reptile could eventually populate the entire southern United States.
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Double amputee Pistorius wins Olympic appeal
South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius has won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that has given him an Olympic Games lifeline.
The disabled 21-year-old sprinter runs on specially adapted carbon fibre blades after having his legs amputated below the knee.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had banned the 400 metres runner from all competitions involving able-bodied athletes because of claims that the artificial legs he uses give him an unfair advantage.
However, CAS ruled against the IAAF decision.
"As you can imagine I have been struggling to hide my smile for the past half an hour," Pistorius told a news conference.
"Now I can definitely say the truth has come out. I have the opportunity once again to chase my dream of the Olympics if not 2008, in 2012."
After CAS's ruling, Pistorius' participation in the able-bodied events in Beijing will depend on him achieving the minimum Olympic qualifying time of 45.95 seconds, or 45.55 if another South African runs less than 45.95.
Pistorius' personal record is 46.46.
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At last, we can solve the giant alligator problem with giant snakes. bibibibibi
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And now we have geckos in chicken eggs.
Gecko in egg 'must have crawled up cloaca'
The Egg Corporation says this gecko must have entered the chicken's cloaca. (ABC News: Jack Kerr)
The Australian Egg Corporation has expressed surprise at the discovery of a gecko inside a chicken egg.
Darwin doctor Peter Beaumont was cooking dinner when he cracked open the egg and found the dead gecko inside the shell.
Health authorities say the discovery is nothing to be alarmed about and it is being examined at a laboratory.
The research and development program manager with the Egg Corporation, David Witcombe, says he has never heard of such a case before.
"Certainly the gecko wouldn't have been ingested by the bird. It would be physically impossible for it to make its way from the digestive tract into the area where the egg's formed.
"So it's a case of the gecko actually making its way through the cloaca of the bird and onto the developing egg."
Tags: offbeat, science-and-technology, animals
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Baggy green replaced by VB blue
By WWOS Staff
12:00 AEST Sun May 18 2008
Cricket Australia has been accused of selling out on the famous baggy green after Australian players wore a sponsors cap in a tour match against Jamaica.
Former Australian player Greg Matthews has told News Limited publications that he would never have abandoned the traditional baggy green cap in favour of a sponosors cap.
"Money talks," Matthews said. "You're selling your pride, selling the baggy green. It just cheapens things.
"If someone said to me I had to wear a VB hat, I'd tell them to piss off," he continued emotionally.
Cricket Australia's public affairs manager, Philip Pope, said that the decision was made for the sake of uniformity, with commercial considerations not coming into it.
Players receive a baggy green cap when making their Test debut, so not all tourists have one. Brad Haddin was the only player in the side facing Jamaica who hasn't made his Test debut.
Greg Matthews replied that every player on tour should be entitled to wear the traditional headwear.
"They're making someone feel not as important because, what, they haven't played Test cricket?" he said.
"They're saying you're not an equal to the bloke you're sharing a dressing room with, an aeroplane with, that you're going out to bat with, that you're walking on the field with."
Former Australian Test captain Kim Hughes said he couldn't recall a precedent.
"The only alternative was the floppy wide-brimmed hat, always with our coat of arms on it," he said.
Keith Stackpole said he was disappointed.
"There are certain things that should be sacred," he said. "You are representing Australia, not VB."
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Totally disgusting!! ....although I played for Australia wearing the VB Tee-shirts provided for the team! afafafafaf
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The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had banned the 400 metres runner from all competitions involving able-bodied athletes because of claims that the artificial legs he uses give him an unfair advantage.
Well, does it?
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Obviously the IAAF thinks it does, although it seems they were rather narrow-minded in their examination of the evidence. The CAS oveturned the ban, so they weren't persuaded by the arguments the IAAF made. I'm not an engineer, but if I had to guess, I'd say that if artificial legs give Pistorius an unfair advantage, we should make all runners go barefoot. And swimmers swim naked. afafafafaf
Raoul, I didn't know you were such a fan of Greco-Roman wrestling.
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His best times aren't qualifiers yet - so he has to actually reach the standard first.
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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23742593-28737,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23742593-28737,00.html)
VERY interesting article - but too long to copy. Looks at public response to the earthquake, but also gives an interesting view of NGO's here and a touch of very interesting T't information.
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According to CNN, Sharon Stone, whom we all know is famous for her highly intellectual movies, stated in Cannes that this recent earthquake in China was the result of bad karma, primarily gotten by China's stance on The Roof of the World.
Yeppers, Mrs. Stone, bad karma, that was it. Indeed. What an intelligent and astute observation.
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My brother made a similar comment a couple of weeks ago. llllllllll I slapped him down right quick. cbcbcbcbcb cbcbcbcbcb Told him it was the minority people not the han that got the brunt of the losses. My bro, like some others can be so bigoted. bibibibibi However, if two people said it, others probably did too. Not good!!! asasasasas llllllllll llllllllll
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I've got Google Alerts working for me.
They are reporting that China will relax their One Child policy for Sichuan Province, and will not put any limits on the number of orphans who can be adopted by families. bfbfbfbfbf
There are also therapists heading inland to help the survivors through PTS (Post Traumatic Stress) Disorder. bfbfbfbfbf
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What's worse re the Stone comment is that the students are reporting it to me that she said that all the Chinese should have been killed in it!
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Chinese whispers...gotta love them. I wonder if Mrs. Stone considered New Orleans, Myanmar and other places when she made that comment?
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...??...AIDS and gays...??...
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As I recall, religious zealots and even some politicians did call AIDS God's way of punishing homosexuals...which leads to the question of what everyone else did wrong to have to endure Elton John?
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(activating fake Jamaican accent) Hey mon, forget about that stupid woman named Stone and get really stoned, compliments of those really nice people in Japan. zzzzzzzzzz
Tue May 27, 11:07 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - One of the travelers who arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport over the weekend may have picked up an unusual souvenir from customs -- a package of cannabis.
A customs official hid the package in a suitcase belonging to a passenger arriving from Hong Kong as a training exercise for sniffer dogs Sunday, but lost track of both drugs and suitcase during the practice session, a spokeswoman for Tokyo customs said.
Customs regulations specify that a training suitcase be used for such exercises, but the official said he had used passengers' suitcases for similar purposes in the past, domestic media reported.
"The dogs have always been able to find it before," NHK quoted him as saying. "I became overconfident that it would work."
Anyone who finds the package should contact Tokyo customs as soon as possible, the spokeswoman said.
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; editing by Sophie Hardach)
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Right, and who is going to call the Customs official and hand over free weed?
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I'm jealous that someone came up with this idea before I did. bibibibibi
HK, China customs crack high-wire smuggling act: report
AFP Thu May 29, 3:35 AM ET
HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong and Chinese customs have cracked an audacious smuggling operation that saw millions of dollars in goods ferried across the border along a long cable, officials and reports said Thursday.
Sixteen people -- four from Hong Kong and 12 from China -- were arrested and electronic goods, including computer accessories and mobile phones, worth more than six million Hong Kong dollars (0.8 million US) were seized.
"The ring was suspected of smuggling high-value electronic goods and computer accessories across the Sha Tau Kok river to the mainland," Hong Kong's customs department said in a statement.
A 300-metre-long cable was suspended between a house in rural Hong Kong and a high-rise building in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, allowing smugglers to move goods into the mainland using an elaborate pulley system, the South China Morning Post reported.
"There were many ways of smuggling in the past, such as by underground drains," the report quoted Leo Sin, head of Hong Kong's customs intelligence co-ordination group, as saying.
"But this is the first time we have found wire being used for smuggling."
The cable was shot across the border using a crossbow and the goods were ferried across at night in black plastic bags, the report said.
The syndicate had been operating for two or three weeks, the report added.
Hong Kong and mainland China run independent legal and taxation systems, and smugglers often try to take advantage of different prices and tax rates to smuggle goods either in or out of China.
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Quality!
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I know we have to take the UK's Daily Wail with a pinch of salt, but this (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1022915/Middle-classes-losing-faith-rude-police-soft-targets-instead-real-criminals.html) article is quite alarming.
Basically a lot people in the uK are getting sick of the way that the police are always harrassing people over relatively minor 'crimes' while real scumbags/knifers/rapists/etc get off more or less scot free.
Middle classes losing faith in 'rude' police who go for soft targets instead of the real criminals
The middle classes have lost confidence in the police, a stark report has warned.
They fear they have been alienated by a service which routinely targets ordinary people rather than serious criminals, simply to fill Government crime quotas.
The attitude of some officers has also led to spiralling complaints about neglect of duty and rudeness.
Enlarge The report warns that the middle classes have been alienated by a service which targets ordinary people rather than serious criminals
The report from the Civitas think-tank says incidents which would once have been ignored are now treated as crimes - including a case of children chalking a pavement.
Its author, respected journalist Harriet Sergeant, says she was also told of a student being arrested, held for five hours and cautioned for keeping a London Underground lift door open with his foot.
The report warns that a generation of young people - the police's favourite soft targets - are being criminalised, putting their future prospects at risk.
Journalist Harriet Sergeant is the report's author and she says that a generation of young people are the police's favourite targets
Some offences being prosecuted are now so minor that senior officers have even begun talks with the U.S. authorities to prevent such a 'criminal record' stopping decent citizens obtaining a visa to cross the Atlantic.
Meanwhile responses to crimes such as burglary are slow and statements given by victims of serious crime are often left lying idle for months, the report warns.
An apparent emphasis on motoring crimes is another negative factor.
Miss Sergeant warns: 'The loss of public confidence is a serious matter.
The police cannot police without the backing of society. Without trust and consensus it is very difficult and costly to maintain law and order.'
Her report says: 'Complaints against the police have risen, with much of the increase coming from law-abiding, middle-class, middle-aged and retired people who no longer feel the police are on their side.'
In 2006-7, there were 29,637 complaints - the most since records began 17 years ago.
Miss Sergeant said this was due in part to the law-abiding middle-classes becoming upset by the 'rudeness and behaviour' of officers.
The report details how officers are expected to reach a certain number of 'sanction detections' a month by charging, cautioning or fining an 'offender'.
\Arresting or fining someone for a trifling offence - such as a child stealing a Mars bar - is a good way of hitting the target and pleasing the Home Office.
Amazingly, the chocolate theft ranks as highly as catching a killer.
Miss Sergeant says performance-related bonuses of between £10,000 and £15,000 a year for police commanders depend partly on reaching such targets.
This leads them to put pressure on frontline officers to make arrests for the most minor misdemeanours.
Officers said at the end of a month, when there was pressure to hit the target for that period, they would pursue young men as the most likely 'offenders'.
'Crimes' investigated by police have been criticised by the middle classes
Offences could include scrawling a name on a bus stop in felt-tip or playing ball games in the street.
One officer was so concerned he told his teenage son to be careful at the end of each month.
The pamphlet, parts of which were serialised by the Daily Mail earlier this year, says the police themselves are angry at the way they have to 'make fools of themselves'.
There were high levels of 'bitterness and frustration' and the targets were 'bitterly resented'.
One officer told how he was pressed to charge children playing with a tree with 'harassment'.
The same offence was used against a drunken student dancing in flowerbeds, who aimed a kick at a flower.
While some of the examples may be antisocial behaviour, it's ridiculous that there are people being knifed in London and the police seem powerless to do anything about it.
Then there was an even more ridiculous case of a woman who had a paddling pool in her garden and got told it was illegal to have it unless she hired a lifeguard. I kid you not.
And we call China the Big Silly...
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Just in time to help the London police quota for the end of May...
Transport chaos as Londoners party on Tube before alcohol ban
Sat May 31, 7:09 PM ET
LONDON (AFP) - The London transport system was heavily disrupted late Saturday as thousands of revellers held an unauthorised "drinks party" on underground trains before an alcohol ban went into effect.
The key Circle Line which serves some of the capital's most exclusive districts was shut down as thousands of people gathered for a booze-up on Tube trains after being rallied by social networking websites.
"There are problems on the Circle Line and it has been stopped," a London Transport Police spokesman said.
David Mudkips, a 25-year-old computer programmer, described the experience on one of the trains packed with revellers as: "Like rush hour but fun. There were people's sweaty armpits in my face but I didn't care because I was drinking."
Police made at least six arrests as the behaviour of the crowds became increasingly boisterous.
Thousands of people had signed up for the party on Facebook sites with names like "The Booze Tube" and "One Final Tube Booze Party".
From Sunday, anyone caught drinking from, or even carrying, open containers of alcohol will be ejected from trains and buses.
Newly elected London Mayor Boris Johnson introduced the alcohol ban in one of his first acts in office.
Johnson said: "I firmly believe that banning the drinking of alcohol on London's public transport will create a better travelling environment for all Londoners and that if we drive out anti-social behaviour and so called minor crime then we will be able to get a firm grip on more serious crime."
The ban has been criticised by the railworkers' union RMT as another burden on its overworked members.
The union's general secretary Bob Crow warned it could put staff in greater danger of assault.
"Violence against Tube staff is already a major problem, particularly from people who have been drinking, but now our members will be expected to approach people drinking and stop them or even remove them from the train or station," he said.
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Oh oh Eric, watch out!
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An apparent car bomb exploded outside the Danish embassy in Pakistan's capital on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens more, officials and witnesses said.
The blast echoed through Islamabad and left a crater more than three feet deep in the road in front of the embassy. Shattered glass, fallen masonry and dozens of wrecked vehicles littered the area. A plume of smoke rose above the scene as people, some bloodied, ran back and forth in a state of panic.
The explosion appeared to be a car bomb, police officer Muhammad Ashraf said. Someone parked a car in front of the embassy and it exploded at around 1 p.m, he said.
Officials at two hospitals reported at least five people — including two policemen — were killed and 32 wounded in the blast.
Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said the explosion killed a male Pakistani custodian at the embassy and seriously injured a handyman. Two office workers were also injured, Moeller said.
He condemned the attack as "totally unacceptable."
"It is terrible that terrorists do this. The embassy is there to have a cooperation between the Pakistani population and Denmark, and that means they are destroying that," Moeller told Denmark's TV2 News channel.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri recently called for attacks on Danish targets in response to the publication of caricatures in Danish newspapers depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Denmark has faced threats at its embassies following the reprinting in Danish newspapers of a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims generally consider depicting the prophet to be sacrilegious and Islamic militants had warned of reprisals.
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Yeah, yeah, my boss is all jittery about it. I had to finish a most delightful conversation with Bugalugs to go deal with the issue.
I really could not care less. So they blew up a bomb near the Danish embassy. Big whoop. That's what we get for being so deliriously stupid to publish satirical drawings of Muhammed, twice! If you come across a rattlesnake, the prudent person does not prod it with a stick, because it would be stupid, same thing goes for pissing of that little group of fanatic zealots called Islamists.
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Exit interview
China and the West
A Chinese ambassador's unique Canadian experience
Last Updated: Monday, June 2, 2008 by Ira Basen CBC News
It was the summer of 1973 and the slumbering Chinese giant was slowly awakening. At home, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was in its seventh year. Many of its murderous excesses were still to come. Internationally, China was beginning to open its doors to the world.
In this, Canada was leading the way. It officially recognized the People's Republic in the fall of 1970. Fifteen months later, U.S. President Richard Nixon made his surprise visit, unexpectedly toasting Chinese leaders in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.
Then, on May 1, 1973, nine Chinese students arrived at Ottawa's Uplands airport and made history. They were the first students from Communist China to ever study at a North American university.
Ira Basen, centre, with two of China's first foreign exchange students in Ottawa in 1973: Zhang Yuan-Yuan (left) and Yuan Hsiao-Ying. In an exchange agreement, nine Chinese students would study in Canada and a group of Canadian students would be given the extraordinary opportunity to attend university in China.
Carleton University was the chosen destination for the Chinese students, possibly so they could not stray too far from the watchful eye of the embassy in Ottawa.
I was an undergraduate student at Carleton in 1973, looking for a summer job, and while I knew almost nothing about China, I was fortunate enough to be hired by the university to help these exchange students get acclimatized to Canadian life and prepare for the academic year to come.
It was an experience that changed all our lives.
Stereotypes undone
Like most Canadians, the only image I had of Chinese students then was of the millions of fanatic young people roaming the countryside holding high their little red books containing the collected wisdom of Chairman Mao and railing against "capitalist roaders."
But these students, five men, four women, all in their early 20s, were nothing like the stereotypes, except perhaps for their clothes. Their baggy, blue cotton "Mao jackets" or more formal suits and ties caused them to stand out wherever they went in Ottawa that summer.
Clearly, their selection was not random. They were all bright, reasonably proficient in English and had participated in the Cultural Revolution, spending time working in the countryside with "the people." But they were also modest, unfailingly polite, eager to learn and, while supportive of their government, relatively apolitical and candid about the failings of their own economy.
We spent the summer attending lectures on history, literature, art, economics and philosophy, and discussing ideas they had never been exposed to. We went to movies, art galleries, museums and concerts and learned the intricacies of eating Western food with a fork in a university cafeteria.
Their lack of knowledge about the West was occasionally staggering. In the summer of 1973 they were still unaware that a man had walked on the moon four years earlier.
Several months later, I went off to graduate school and lost track of these students, though I often wondered what became of them. That question was answered a couple of years ago when I saw that one of them, Lu Shumin, was back in Ottawa. This time, though, he was the Chinese ambassador to Canada.
Ambassador Lu
It turns out Lu had returned to Ottawa once before, in the late 1970s, to work as a translator at the Chinese embassy. He then began his climb up the diplomatic ladder, with postings in Australia and Washington, before becoming the ambassador to Indonesia in 2002.
Lu Shumin, the ambassador to Canada from the People's Republic of China in a November 2006 photo. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
Three years later, he was back in Ottawa, this time to oversee the embassy that had overseen him 30 years earlier. It should have been a relatively easy posting, a chance to reconnect with old friends and oversee a now burgeoning trade relationship between the two countries. But it didn't quite work out that way.
When Stephen Harper became prime minister in February 2006, he ended years of quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy with China by openly declaring that he would not sell out those fighting for human rights "to the almighty dollar."
Harper's government publicly clashed with the Chinese over T, Taiwan and imprisoned dissident Huseyin Celil as well as the persecution of the religious sect Falun Gong. The prime minister even declared in Parliament that there were a thousand Chinese government agents in Canada involved in industrial espionage, a charge angrily denied by the embassy.
Exit interview
Two months ago, relations hit a new low as many Canadians were outraged by the scenes of Chinese troops cracking down on supporters of the Dalai Lama on the streets of T.
The Harper government condemned the Chinese administration. At the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, ambassador Lu responded with a public relations offensive of his own that was extraordinary for a Chinese diplomat: He made himself available for interviews to the Canadian media and even invited reporters to the embassy for a news conference where he railed against the "Dalai clique" and the Tan "splitists," whom he compared to the Nazis.
He came across as an articulate but not particularly sympathetic defender of the Chinese position.
A few weeks later, the Chinese government announced that Lu Shumin's time in Canada was coming to an end. One Ottawa newspaper announced the news with the headline "Embattled Chinese Ambassador Lu Shumin to Return Home."
Lu Shumin, far right, as an exchange student with the Kealey family of Ottawa in 1973. He would later become China's ambassador to Canada. (Courtesy Kealey family)
I had visited with Lu a couple of times since his return to Ottawa and when I heard about his impending departure I asked him if he would care to do an "exit interview," to reflect on the end of his 35-year association with Canada.
He didn't appear "embattled" when I met him late one afternoon at the embassy in Ottawa in early May 2008. Earlier in the day he had been honoured at a luncheon hosted by the federal minister of international trade, David Emerson, where all the correct words were exchanged. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day had attended a farewell reception at the embassy just the previous week.
Lu said his departure was simply part of the normal diplomatic rotation and not related to his problems with the Canadian government or his openness with the press. As a diplomat, you have to be prepared to pull up stakes every few years, he said. But he admitted that this move left him with feelings of "sweet sorrow.
"I feel very satisfied that I have very many friends here and that is the most precious thing I cherish."
Crossing centuries
I asked Lu what stood out about his arrival in Ottawa 35 years earlier. His reply was that he and the other students felt as if they had arrived in a different universe, so great were the differences between 20th century urban Canada and what was effectively still a 19th century peasant society.
Even crossing an Ottawa street back then was an adventure. "When you looked at people here living in much larger houses and they could go anywhere in their cars, that was certainly a striking contrast. Back home we were all on bicycles and a home was maybe one room with three generations of a single family all under one roof or maybe in one or two rooms."
By the time Lu returned to Canada in 2005, the streets of Ottawa had gotten busier, but the changes here were insignificant compared to the transformation that China had undergone.
The capitalist roaders who had been denounced during the Cultural Revolution were now being hailed as economic saviours. And that was not all that was different.
"I can remember when I was in Carleton," he recalls, "we would go to the grocery store to buy something. There were some things made in China but it was always low grade. But now it's different. You go to the shops and if you want to find something that is not made in China it is very difficult and the quality is high grade."
Lu is clearly proud of the economic progress China has made over the past three decades. But he also understands it has resulted in some significant changes in the way Canadians view his country.
In the 1970s, it was easy for people in Canada to cheer for the Chinese, to hope that out of all their political turmoil they would find a way to provide food, clothes and shelter for hundreds of millions of people living in abject poverty.
But now that China has become an economic powerhouse, it is often no longer seen as the sympathetic underdog. Instead, many here see it as contributing to Canada's economic woes, a low-wage magnet attracting manufacturing jobs once held by Canadians.
The good life
Lu Shumin thinks that criticism, as well as many of the others levied against China today, is unfair.
Time and again he returns to the same two refrains: The first is that there can be no double standard. Canadians cannot argue that it is okay for them to have high-paying jobs and drive their cars wherever they want while denying the same rights to the Chinese.
And second, Canadians are uninformed about his country. If they would take the time to learn the facts about T, Darfur, the environment, human rights and all the rest, they would arrive at different conclusions, he argues.
I suggest to him that one of the things that Canadians find most puzzling about China today is how the government seems to overreact to almost every situation.
Neither the Dalai Lama nor Taiwan nor Falun Gong appears to pose any real threat to the Chinese leadership, yet Beijing behaves in every case as if it did. "It's like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer," I tell him.
He responds that a better understanding of Chinese history and development might lead me to the opposite conclusion, that China continues to be threatened by forces that are trying to destroy it and that the government must protect the human rights of the majority by dealing firmly with those groups who are trying to tear the country apart.
"But," I ask him, "isn't the tough response out of proportion to the actual threat?"
He smiles, "There was a riot after the hockey game in Montreal and even the police had to come out and arrest the rioters. Do you think that is kind of tough? I think it is not whether it is tough or not, it is law enforcement and the measures taken by the government were appropriate to what has happened."
Goodbye to the past
After our interview ended, Lu presented me with a Beijing Olympic pin. Three days later, he and his wife, whom he met 30 years ago while she was an exchange student at York University, left Ottawa for the Special Administrative Region of Macao, where Lu was to take up his new posting.
His return to Ottawa had clearly not gone as smoothly as he had anticipated. It's unlikely he will ever be back in any official capacity.
He had arrived in the 1970s amidst the heady optimism of China's opening up to the world. He leaves this time having experienced the more sober realities of the political and economic differences that have emerged between the two countries.
His relationship to Canada was unique. Most diplomats come to Ottawa with only a passing knowledge of this country and its people. Lu Shumin was different.
This was, in many respects, his second home, a place where he had his eyes opened to the possibilities of the Western experience.
He readily acknowledges that he will miss us. The many Canadians he befriended over the past 35 years will clearly miss him as well.
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Aid in and out.
China's secret Pacific aid hike
Sian Powell | June 12, 2008
GROUND-BREAKING Australian research has uncovered the extent of China's secretive aid program in the Pacific - estimated to have grown almost nine-fold since 2005, to $US293million ($309 million) last year.
Lowy Institute research associate Fergus Hanson, who has spent months delving into China's aid program, said yesterday that although China received $US1.76 billion in assistance in 2005, the nation had been busily pledging and disbursing aid around the world, particularly in the Pacific.
"The main driver of Chinese aid to the region remains halting and reversing diplomatic recognition of Taiwan," Mr Hanson told a Lowy Institute audience in Sydney yesterday. "China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and has for several decades waged a largely successful battle to wrest diplomatic recognition from 'the other China'. This battle remains particularly intense in the Pacific."
China aids eight developing Pacific Island Forum nations that recognise its sovereignty - the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Mr Hanson, formerly a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade diplomat, said China's aid program was wrapped in secrecy. This had unfortunate consequences, including fuelling suspicion among nations getting the aid, inhibiting donor co-ordination and undermining efforts to promote good governance and accountability.
Much of the Chinese aid went into infrastructure projects, which could "have high maintenance costs and be poorly designed for local conditions".
The projects were funded with concessional loans, which increased the Pacific states' debt, Mr Hanson said, and the Chinese funds were often allocated to Chinese contractors, who used Chinese labour to build the projects, cutting flow-on benefits to the local economies.
The projects were often poorly targeted and included large houses for the heads of state and chief justices.
Mr Hanson said a combined courthouse and police headquarters in the Cook Islands was built with the signage in Mandarin, making repairs difficult, and a television tower in Niue was constructed with materials unsuited to Pacific conditions, and would have to be rebuilt.
He concluded that China's aid budget for pledged aid projects in the Pacific was $US33million in 2005, grew to $US78million in 2006 and then to $US293million last year.
He said this was more than New Zealand's aid budget for the Pacific, but was less than Australia's, which was $US560million in 2006-07.
But Mr Hanson said the $US293million estimate included several large multi-year loans, which could artificially inflate the aid totals.
He concluded that a realistic estimate of Chinese aid in the Pacific, excluding concessional loans, was between $US100million and $US150 million.
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If Australia had the brains that New Zealand has, there would be no gaps for the Chinese to jump into, in the South Pacific! Australian Governments have been patronising the Pacific for yonks. Ratbag Ruddock even told the Pacific Islanders that if they sunk because of global warming, they would still have to stand in line at the Immigration Counter.
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2012: the year the interweb ends
http://ipower.ning.com/netneutralityold
:( asasasasas asasasasas asasasasas
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And to think of all the time the conspiracy theorists wasted on Roswell when it's really the Chinese reverse engineering the alien technology. xxxxxxxxxx
****
Chinese company develops 'UFO': report
Tue Jun 17, 6:04 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - A Chinese company has developed a prototype flying saucer that can hover in the air and be controlled remotely from afar, state press said Tuesday.
The aircraft is 1.2 metres (four feet) in diameter and is able to take off and land vertically and hover at an altitude of up to 1,000 metres (yards), Xinhua news agency said.
The unmanned disc is driven by a propeller and can be controlled remotely or sent on a preset flight path, it said.
Its top speed is 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, it added.
It took the Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft Co Ltd 12 years and 28 million yuan (4.1 million dollars) to develop the prototype craft, which is designed for aerial photography, geological surveys and emergency lighting, the report said.
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What about all of the remotely controlled toy planes currently flitting about??
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What's happening in Canada??
""Sixth human foot washes up to shore
June 19, 2008 - 7:19AM
Another human foot - the second this week and the sixth in a year - has washed ashore off the coast of British Columbia in Canada.
Sergeant Mike Tresoor said a citizen reported finding the foot, which appeared to be a right foot, on a beach on Tyee Spit on Canada's Pacific coast. No other remains were found.
It is the latest in a bizarre and deepening mystery, which began when the first foot was found nearly a year ago on Jedidiah Island in the Strait of Georgia.
Within days, another right foot was found inside a man's Reebok sneaker on nearby Gabriola Island and the third was found in the same area, on the east side of Valdez Island in early February.
The fourth foot was found May 22 on Kirkland Island in the Fraser River, only about a mile away from the site in Ladner, along the same river, where the fifth foot was found on Monday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the remains of the latest foot were found inside a size 10 black adidas running shoe.
Sergeant Tresoor said major crime investigators from the Campbell River detachment, with staff from the coroner's office, went to the scene to investigate.
"The object will ultimately be examined by a forensic pathologist in attempts to determine the source of the foot and if it is related to other feet recently found," he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the chief coroner of British Columbia, Terry Smith, said DNA profiles have been obtained from the first three of the feet.
He said that so far the DNA samples taken from the feet have not been able to be matched with any known samples to determine identities.
He and others have already put forth the hypothesis that the feet have washed ashore because they were encased in buoyant running shoes.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said there's no evidence the feet were severed or removed from the victims' legs by force.
Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer based in Seattle, said when a human body is submerged in the ocean, the main parts such as arms, legs, hands, feet and the head are usually what come off the body.
He said his theory is that the feet came along as a result of an accident that might have happened up along the Fraser River, that washed down and spread out along the Straight of Georgia.""
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Killjoys!! Partypoopers! Puritans! They're taking all the fun out of things...
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- What's in a name?
Westerners are more accustomed to names that describe the ingredients and how they are cooked.
Local dishes like "Husband and wife's lung slice" or "Chicken without sexual life" conjure lots of furrowed eyebrows on famished foreigners.
So, with the Olympics a few short weeks away, China is giving its cuisine a linguistic makeover.
It is proposing that restaurants change the names of exotic, but bizarrely named, delicacies to make them more delectable for the estimated 50,000 visitors arriving in August for the Summer Games.
The appetizer "Husband and wife's lung slice" is taking on the more appetizing "Beef and ox tripe in chili sauce."
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"Chicken without sexual life" has been transformed into "Steamed pullet."
The government has put down more than 2,000 proposed names in a 170-page book that it has offered to Beijing hotels, according to state media.
"Thanks to the pamphlet, we do not have to struggle to come up with the English translations of dishes any more, which is usually time consuming," a senior manager at the four-star Guangzhou Hotel in downtown Beijing told the Xinhua news agency.
The Chinese say the names of their dishes focus more on appearance than taste or smell. But Westerners are more accustomed to names that describe the ingredients and how they are cooked -- such as pot roast.
The government realizes local names are a matter of taste, but don't want them to get lost in translation.
Hence, the spicy Sichuanese dish "Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman" has been bestowed the more palatable "Mapo tofu."
Not everyone is pleased.
"The process of standardizing a menu translation is a double-edged sword," wrote columnist Raymond Zhou in the China Daily newspaper. It "removes the ambiguity and unintended humor" and "takes away the fun and the rich connotation.
"It turns a menu into the equivalent of plain rice, which has the necessary nutrients but is devoid of flavor."
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.
The Chinese say the names of their dishes focus more on appearance than taste or smell.
Hence, the spicy Sichuanese dish "Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman"
The mind boggles!!!!! aoaoaoaoao
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They seem to have missed the point of bad translating. It's a literal thing, and no-one bothers searching for the most appropriate word. First one that comes up will do! For example, "Jack" is often translated into "Left Bower"......hence, on the drinks menu will be "Left Bower Danni"...........
I'm sure that "husband and wife" has only a miniscule connection to "beef and ox", and "lung" has naught to do with "tripe".
I bet the Chinese don't read it as "Chicken without sexual life".
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No - my Chinese mates laugh at that translation as well.
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http://apcmag.com/top_10_reasons_to_hate_the_iphone_3g.htm
Top 10 reasons to hate the iPhone 3G
Dan Warne25 June 2008, 10:38 AM (5 hours 13 minutes ago.)
Is the iPhone 3G really deserving of the nickname Jesusphone?
Sure, the iPhone 3G is a groundbreaking phone. There's a lot to love about it… the amazingly easy-to-use touchscreen interface, amazing video playback, a big, bright, high contrast, high-resolution display that's the best of any smartphone on the market, and a web browser that's as good as any you'd use on a desktop computer. Not to mention Apple's new MobileMe service which will provide over the air syncing of your email, contacts, calendar, tasks and photos with your home or office computer — no plugging in required.
But there are a lot of big disappointments with the iPhone 3G too. Some of them are stubborn commercial decisions Apple has made; others look like oversights, and others are fundamental flaws in the design of the phone itself.
Think I don't know jack? Before you post an angry comment, read through the 10 points and then tell me what you think.
#1 No upgrade to the camera
The camera in the first-gen iPhone was only two megapixels with no flash. "Fair enough," I thought… "it's a first-gen product. They have to leave themselves room to move for the upgrade they'll surely put into the next-generation iPhone." No such luck. The camera in the iPhone 3G is exactly the same as the first-gen one. Still stuck at two megapixels. Still unable to cope in low-light and still no flash. Oh, and there's no video recording capability either, even though this has been found on phones for the last five years or so.
Scorecard
iPhone 3G: 2 megapixel camera, no flash, no video, no optical zoom
Other phones: up to 5 megapixel cameras, optical zoom, lens-based autofocus, flash.
Verdict: Smackdown by other phones.
#2 No Adobe Flash support
Undeniably, the iPhone has the best web browser of any phone on the market. But when you hit a web page with Adobe Flash in it, you'll just get an empty space with a 'missing plugin' icon. Apple says Flash would run too slowly on the iPhone, but in reality, it's probably more to do with Apple wanting to promote its competing web app development technology, Sproutcore.
Apple realises the 'mobile web' is at a tipping point… if it can get enough momentum behind developers coding sites specifically for the iPhone, it will help sales of the iPhone along in the long term. (That said, unlike Flash, Sproutcore is an open standard that theoretically works in any web browser that supports Javascript, so it could be widely supported by all handset makers if their phone web browsers got better.)
For a laugh, check out Steve Jobs demonstrating the web browser on the iPhone. When he views The New York Times, up pops the 'missing flash' icon.
Scorecard:
iPhone: no Adobe Flash support
Other smartphones: Flash Lite support, or full Flash support on Windows Mobile.(Admittedly Flash support on other phones isn't great either, but then, they're not running a full computer operating system like the iPhone is, where it would be trivially easy to port Flash across to run on it.)
Verdict: Other phones win by a narrow margin.
#3 No instant messaging
Despite the fact that the iPhone comes with unlimited data plans (in the US at least; Australian plans haven't yet been revealed) Apple has hobbled the iPhone's ability to do instant messaging.
Rather than sending instant messages over the internet to friends, the iPhone sends them by SMS. Since Apple has great instant messaging software for Mac called iChat, this is undoubtedly a concession to phone companies. SMS is widely considered to be the most expensive data service in the world, with each message only 165 characters long but charged by phone companies at around 20c per message. Multiplied out, that equates to 1.3 million dollars per gigabyte of SMSes. (By comparison, Aussie mobile network Three offers 1GB of high speed internet usage for $15.)
Oh yeah, and forget about chatting to someone who's sitting at a computer using the iPhone. Heaven forbid you might want to chat to someone using MSN/Windows Live Chat, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, Facebook or any of the other popular chat protocols.
Hopefully, this ludicrous situation will be plugged by third-party application developers who will develop internet-based chat clients for iPhone. However, Apple has said that it will not allow applications to run in the background on the iPhone; instead, the developers must run an internet-based service, send a message to Apple servers, which will then send a message to the iPhone to alert the user to open the app. Yes, it may save battery life on the iPhone, but no, it's not exactly convenient.
On a Blackberry, the Blackberry Messenger just sits quietly in the background. If your phone is on, so is Blackberry Messenger. It's 100% reliable. It doesn't send messages using a stupid method like SMS. It uses the Blackberry's unlimited internet access. And yes, Blackberries do have good battery life.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: SMS is the only way to instant message people.
Other smartphones: A large variety of instant messaging software that can send messages using the internet capability of the phone.
Verdict: iPhone is shamed by other phones.
#4 Totally impractical for international travel
The iPhone downloads full emails, attachments and all, when you view them on the iPhone. If someone sends you an email with several megabytes of photos attached, that's how much data has to be downloaded by the iPhone. That's fine if you're in your home country and have an unlimited data plan. But go to another country and see how much it costs you — you can expect to pay up to $20 per megabyte. Your roaming charges will soon be running into hundreds of dollars.
Not to harp on about the Blackberry, but when you roam with one of them, it's quite cheap, because the Blackberry servers downscale images to perfectly fit the size of the Blackberry screen before sending them — a huge saving in data transfer charges, and messages are heavily compressed before transmission, etc. In fact, even heavy Blackberry users may be surprised to learn that they use less than 5MB of data per month.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: It's the data equivalent of the gas guzzling SUVs that GM suspended production of this week.
Other smartphones: Well, there are certainly other data guzzling phones. But Blackberry is a perfect example of a smartphone that's made for roaming.
Verdict: Blackberry wins
#5 Not compatible with Bluetooth car kits or headphones
Apple has Bluetooth wireless in the iPhone, but it only works with a handful of wireless headsets. Forget talking handsfree on Bluetooth car kits or using the iPhone with stereo Bluetooth headphones. You could expect those sorts of features from the world's leading music player, but not the iP… oh, wait.
Considering Apple wants the world to take the iPhone seriously for its phone capabilities, it's truly incredible that it has hobbled the Bluetooth audio capability so much. Could it be because it wants to make money from car equipment manufacturers who build an iPod dock connector into their car stereos?
Caveat: this comment is based on what we know about pre-release versions of the iPhone 2.0 software. It's possible Apple will have fixed this in the release version of the iPhone 3G.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: only works with Apple's mono Bluetooth headset and a handful of other companies' similar units. No support for Bluetooth stereo or in-car Bluetooth handsfree.
Other smartphones: many support stereo Bluetooth for streaming to headphones or a stereo, and most models work with Bluetooth car handsfree units (though there are still compatibility glitches between brands, admittedly.)
Verdict: Other phones win
#6 No cut and paste
This one is truly hard to understand. Apple brings out one of the world's most advanced smartphones in terms of user interface, and somehow forgets to put in cut and paste... probably the only smartphone on the market that doesn't have it. The mind boggles. (Also something that Apple could conceivably fix by the time the iPhone 3G is released… here's hoping.)
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: No cut and paste.
Other smartphones: Well, yeah, duh. They have cut and paste.
Verdict: Decisive victory for other phones.
#7 Non user-replaceable battery
It's a sad fact about rechargeable batteries: the first time you recharge them, their maximum capacity degrades. After a few hundred recharges, their capacity is down to something like half their original capacity. Normally, this is annoying, but manageable — you just swap the battery out for a new one, or get a second battery and swap between the two of them until the first battery is toast.
Not so with the iPhone. Its battery is sealed up tightly inside the nearly-impossible-to-pry-open casing (believe me, I've taken the back off an iPhone and that sucker is not meant to come apart… Apple must be replacing the casing of iPhones it services). Apple will then install the battery for you (in the US it costs $US85.95) and post it back to you. Oh, and you can pay them extra $US30 for the privilege of renting another phone from them to use in the meantime.
Not only is this massively inconvenient, it's a cunning attempt by Apple to get people to simply buy a new iPhone when the battery finally dies. People will be asking themselves… "do I pay $105.95 to get my old iPhone battery fixed, or do I pay $199.00 to buy the latest and greatest model of iPhone?" I know which one I'd pick, and I bet that's central to Apple's business plan.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: Battery sealed inside the case. Costs a hundred bucks and considerable inconvenience to get it replaced.
Other smartphones: Well, yeah, duh. You just unplug the battery and put a new one in.
Verdict: Crushing loss to Apple.
#8 No MMS
So you've snapped a nice photo on your iPhone and you want to send it to a friend? You'd better hope they have email on their phone, because that's the only way you're going to be able to send it to them with the iPhone. For some reason, despite its ridiculous decision to force all instant messaging through SMS, Apple has totally left out MMS (picture/video SMSes) from the iPhone.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: No MMS support. You will send your photos using the Apple-authorised method, by email.
Other smartphones: Well, yeah, duh. They have MMS.
Verdict: Own-goal by Apple.
#9 No turn-by-turn navigation
Despite building a GPS satellite navigation receiver into the iPhone, Apple has stopped short of offering voiced, turn-by-turn navigation into the device. Yes, you can plot directions from your current position to somewhere else, and you can watch yourself as a little dot on the map, but have you ever tried doing that in a car? I have … on my Blackberry. I nearly crashed.
If you're thinking I'm being a bit overly critical (isn't it a "nice to have" feature than a necessity?) compare Apple to Nokia, which has been offering voiced, 3D, turn-by-turn navigation on its phones for a couple of years now. Having a Nokia N78 saved my bacon recently when I realised I was totally lost and didn't have a street directory with me. I also had a Blackberry with me that has 2D map routing similar to what's on the Blackberry, and it sucked, because it was like reading a map constantly while driving.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: No voiced, 3D turn-by-turn navigation.
Other smartphones: OK, so it's not a standard feature on all phones. But Nokia, which has over 50% market share in Australia, has been shipping it with its phones for the last couple of years.
Verdict: Nokia wins.
#10 Stunning hypocrisy
At Apple's last presentation on the iPhone (March 6th 2008), Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller ridiculed market leader Blackberry for the complexity of its push email service, pointing out that your messages have to pass through a RIM messaging server and a network operations centre before they're sent out to your phone. Plus you have to pay extra for the service.
With the iPhone 3G, Apple introduces MobileMe, a service that … passes your email through an Apple messaging server before it is sent through to your phone. And it costs $AUD119 per year extra. Spot any similarity with the Blackberry business model?
It seems stunningly hypocritical for Apple's to criticise the technology of the market leader in the US smartphone space, then adopt the same technologies in its own product. On the other hand, I'm glad it has… but I'm flabbergasted at Apple's audacity in working on a service while at the very same moment criticising others for doing it.
Scorecard:
iPhone 3G: made by a company dominated by self-serving hypocrites.
Other smartphones: let's be honest... made by companies dominated by self-serving hypocrites.
Verdict: Apple is on even footing with other handset makers. Welcome to the industry!
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Bush Government Sues To Make Testing Meat Illegal
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.12.08
Food & Health (food)
In most free countries, the Government and its agencies try to raise standards and make food healthier. Not in America. Creekstone Farms wanted to test every one of their cows for mad cow disease, to satisfy demand from overseas customers.
Except that they are not allowed to; the USDA guidelines only test 1% of cows. Creekstone went to court for the right to test all of their cows and won at a lower level, but the Bush Administration is appealing it, saying that "more widespread testing does not guarantee food safety and could result in a false positive that scares consumers."
What kind of government goes to court to stop testing done voluntarily by a company? Perhaps one that listens to large meatpackers who oppose wider testing because, according to AP, "consumer pressure would force them to begin testing all animals too. Increased testing would raise the price of meat by a few cents per pound."
Lawyers for Creekstone say "This is the government telling the consumers, `You're not entitled to this information.'" The Chief Judge on the Court of Appeal seems to agree: "All they want to do is create information," Chief Judge Sentelle said, noting that it's up to consumers to decide how to interpret the information.
No wonder people don't have faith in their food supply, when the government makes it illegal to even test it"
Steak and tomatoes are off the menu, Raoul!!
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Yea, open accountable government!
Hu Jintao answers to people online for first time
Rowan Callick | June 21, 2008
A CHINESE leader yesterday communicated with some of the country's 221 million "netizens" directly for the first time.
President Hu Jintao, on a visit to the People's Daily, answered questions posed on the newspaper's Strong China Forum, which receives 23,000 postings and 1.4million web page hits daily.
Given brief notice that the President would be online, readers asked: "How are you fighting corruption?", "What do you think of democracy in Taiwan?" and "What is your answer to the oil crisis?".
He greeted them with: "Hello, my friends!" Mr Hu said that although he was too busy to surf the web every day, he liked to go online, especially to read news.
"Through the web, I also want to know what netizens are thinking about and hope to get some advice for the Government and the party," he said.
Mr Hu told Little Flaming Dragon: "The web is an important channel for us to understand the concerns of the public, and to assemble its wisdom."
But after explaining that time constraints prevented him responding to any questions except with generalisations about the web, he signed off.
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Tell your students!
Call to let foreign postgrads stay
Guy Healy | June 25, 2008
FOREIGN higher degree research students should be given preferential residency treatment to counter the deepening researcher shortage, University of NSW deputy vice-chancellor Les Field has said.
The idea of adding foreign masters and PhD students studying in Australia to the federal Government's Migration Occupations in Demand List was contained in UNSW's submission to the Government's innovation review.
With leading submissions identifying a shortfall of 19,000 scientists and engineers during the medium term, Professor Field told the HES it had become necessary to tap highly skilled migration in defined areas of anticipated academic skills shortages.
"About 30 per cent of our higher degree research students are from overseas and are steadily increasingly, in contrast to domestic PhDs, who are slowly declining (in number) due to competition from employment," he said.
Professor Field described UNSW's research intensive environment for postgraduates as incredible. "But most overseas postgraduates are forcibly repatriated within weeks, often days of them ending their degrees, in contrast to countries such as New Zealand (that) capitalise on the high level training they have invested in," Professor Field said.
The tertiary qualifications of overseas higher degree research students should be given a weighting under the MODL to encourage such students, especially PhDs, to remain in Australia, he said.
The Australian Research Council's submission also highlighted how mobility enhanced skills development and the building of co-operative networks.
It welcomed the Government's recent opening of key fellowships and awards to foreigners.
"Also desirable is a visa system that, while ensuring that entry requirements are met, makes it easier for higher education institutions to welcome into this country staff and students from overseas," it said.
However, the ARC warned that success rates for some of its flagship schemes were at, or close to, historically low levels.
Spokesmen for the two federal departments that run the MODL -- immigration and education -- said university researchers couldn't be added to it at present because the occupation wasn't on the government's Skilled Occupations List.
However, the Government was reviewing the MODL's occupations and it had no firm view on the inclusion or exclusion of any occupations during the review consultation period, the spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship told the HES.
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Oh dear. Side effects.
Fuel costing brothels their regular trucker clients
Chris Ayres, Los Angeles | June 27, 2008
THE oldest profession is one of the few sectors that is generally immune to global economic problems. But high oil prices are another thing, especially when many of your regular clients are truckers.
According to the Nevada Brothel Owners Association, revenue for US houses of ill repute has dropped by 20-45per cent since the energy crunch began - the worst economic crisis in prostitution in almost half a century.
"Old George or Jimmy out there, he's got to take care of Momma and the groceries first, and he's got to take care of fuel costs, and he's got other expenses, and he may not have much left over for having a good time," association director George Flint said.
At the Stardust Ranch in eastern Nevada, so many girls have been made redundant that only two still work there, despite the management offering incentives such as free showers, overnight parking and coffee.
At other brothels in the Nevada desert - where licensed brothels have been legal since the silver mining boom of the 1800s - petrol discount schemes are being introduced.
Some have abandoned financial negotiations between customers and girls and are offering flat-rate, no-haggle services, advertised online. At the Shady Lady Ranch, a 40-minute session is being promoted for the discount price of $US175 ($183).
Next month, customers will receive a $US50 petrol voucher if they spend at least $US300, or a $US100 voucher if they spend $US500.
Truckers are the ideal customers for brothels. Bored, a long way from home and with nothing much to spend their money on while on the road, they are often tempted by the prospect of the intimate company of women.
But fuel bills for truckers have risen by two-thirds in the past year, and many brothels are several hours' drive outside metropolitan areas because of licensing restrictions.
Politicians have tried to help. A ban on advertising was lifted last July, allowing brothels to put up billboards in cities such as Las Vegas, where prostitution is illegal.
President George W.Bush's tax refund cheques have also been helpful. At the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, the first 100 customers who showed up with their tax refunds were offered special deals.
'You bring your $US600 cheque in, and we give you the $US1200 George Bush party: three girls and a bottle of champagne," owner Dennis Hof promised.
The Times
offering incentives such as free showers
You mean they had to pay for the showers before?? I wonder how many truckers bothered??
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OK. So I have Google giving me updates and Alerts on stuff. Today's crop yielded these interesting articles.
First, a report on Iraqi (paralympic) competitors to Beijing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/middleeast/29paralympic.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast&oref=slogin
The second was on the economic fallout in India, from the earthquake in China.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Indian_silk_industry_hit_by_China_quake/articleshow/3177116.cms
And apparently, the tourism industry in and around BJ is hurting! big time! Hotels occupancy is down 15-50% over last year. And not looking to improve as much as was promised for this Summer Event.
Hhhhmmmm....... Seems furriners don't like what they're seeing/hearing about snowstorms, protests, earthshakes nor new visa hassles. Guess they're figuring that there are better places to go $pend their fund$.
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I'm not sure how many people would be put off by acts of nature, that wouldn't be one of my considerations, given that every country has these little occurrences. But - dumb visa rules? Too right!
Someone needs to tell Hu Jin Tao.
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I'm not sure how many people would be put off by acts of nature, that wouldn't be one of my considerations, given that every country has these little occurrences. But - dumb visa rules? Too right!
Someone needs to tell Hu Jin Tao.
It ain't only just the one or two natural occurrences alone, LE. It's the whole flaming package that's off-putting.
Oh, and it seems that some of top-level BJ hotels (having already tripled their normal rates in honour of the Summer Event) still have lots of/way too many unbooked rooms still available. They may even have to end by lowering their (inflated) rates aoaoaoaoao
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Why do I suddenly foresee an increased demand for deaf mistresses???
******
Corrupt officials betrayed by pillow talk
Thu Jun 26, 11:56 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Anti-graft authorities in a southern Chinese city are questioning mistresses of suspected corrupt officials and finding the information is paying off prettily, state media said on Thursday.
Mistresses and "second wives" are common among government officials and businessmen in China and are often blamed for driving officials to seek money through bribes or other abuses of power.
"At least 80 percent of corrupt officials exposed in Dongguan had mistresses who gave us important information that we did not possess," Zhou Yuefeng, deputy director of the industrial city's anti-graft bureau told the China Daily.
He declined to give details.
Besides having mistresses, Zhou said receiving bribes in the form of share dividends was also common among corrupt officials in Dongguan.
"Our focus this year will be on the taxation and medical departments." he said. "However, that doesn't mean we won't be looking at corruption in other areas."
A report by China's top prosecutor's office last year said that of 16 provincial-level officials punished for serious graft in the previous five years, most were involved in "trading power for sex," along with gambling, money-laundering and shady land sales to developers.
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Dongguan aoaoaoaoao but, but, but...
Glad they are cracking down. Could the movie title be, 'Revenge of the Mistresses'?
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Give this boy a medal. Instead of locking up their children and molly-cuddling them, parents should take a hint from this awesome kid. Instead of the trite, stupid "Jamie, if a stranger tells you he has candy in his van, run away" routine, it should be, "Jamie, when you beat up perverted sick pedophiles, you must not kill them, only severely maiming is allowed. Otherwise, no dinner or TV!" This kid is a hero. The article is from Austrian News.
The convicted sex offender was allowed to work as a pool monitor...WTF!!! It's a loony hatch out there.
11-year-old boy smacked up 24-year-old child abuser
by admin June 27th, 2008 in Crime
A 24-year-old previously convicted sex offender broke into a guesthouse during the night, where a whole school class found a place to sleep during an excursion week.
The man was searching a boy for his sexual pleasure. He found his victim in an 11-year-old pupil, who returned from the toilet.
He did not know that the 11-year-old is a very talented karate fighter. When he tried to overwhelm the little boy, he was surprised by his brillant skills in martial arts.
The child abuser was seriously smacked up by the 11-year-old boy. After that he was able to escape out of the window.
His getaway was not crowned with success. After a short while he was found by the police and brought into the prison in Graz.
The sex offender already was in prison because of his sexual preferences. He was sent into freedom after a short while, and allowed to work as a pool supervisor[!]. Now he is in prison again. But for how long?
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Pleased I didn't have to clear this one up.
Canada Truck Crash Stirs Up 12 Million Angry Bees
CANADA: July 2, 2008
OTTAWA - How do you deal with millions of upset bees? Very carefully.
A truck containing 330 crates of bees, about 12 million of them altogether, overturned on a major highway near the town of St Leonard, New Brunswick, in Eastern Canada on Monday, setting free thousands of irritated stinging insects. Police sealed off the vehicle and called for expert help with the millions that were left inside.
"Trying to unload 12 million agitated bees out of the back of a truck would not be a good situation," said Derek Strong, a local spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
A team of beekeepers arrived and poured smoke into the truck to calm down the bees, which will be moved later in the day. Police said there was no general danger to the public.
"If there's anyone in St Leonard who is allergic to bees, we're recommending they leave town for a couple of hours," Strong told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
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Very rarely has a simple car crash created such a buzz...
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bkbkbkbkbk
It's quite rare that I lol, so to speak.
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Apparently, the Chinese earthquake was a "rare type". Thank Gooodness!!
http://www.livescience.com/environment/080630-china-quake-rare.html
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And now we find out that things are looking positively (Old Testament) Biblical for Ole PRC bibibibibi
http://www.latimes.com:80/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-locust3-2008jul03,0,5361489.story
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I really liked this line:
Among the Internet search terms restricted in recent months include those linking the earthquake to the curse of heaven, the anger by the heaven or the change of dynasty.
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I thought linking the 5 mascots to the 5 different major problems also interesting. That could spread fast amongst the populace too.
The one about the earthquake won't load for me.
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Toilets...Beijing...cleanliness... I'm in disbelief:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-07/04/content_6817886.htm
Now bring them to the rest of China!
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Well, hopefully they really did clean the toilets in Beijing! Cause when I was leaving yesterday, even the airport toilets weren't 100% clean bibibibibi
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I cant beleive only 8000 workers have been trained to keep the toilets clean, they have a shit job on their hands, so to speak. They are never going to stay clean for long and toilet paper wont last long either.
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B.C. model working in Shanghai found dead
A young model from Saltspring Island, B.C., was found dead in Shanghai, China, her friends told CBC News on Monday.
Diana O'Brien, 22, had been in China since mid-June after landing a contract with a modelling agency in Shanghai.
RCMP confirmed Monday that they notified a Saltspring Island family of a death but refused to divulge any details or say whether the young woman was a victim of a homicide. Police said they are investigating her death.
"As of yet, the Chinese police are reluctant to divulge any information as it is an ongoing investigation and they must wait for results of an autopsy," Jesse Blanchette, one of O'Brien's friends, told CBC News.
Police in Shanghai had also started a murder investigation of their own but have not said how O'Brien was killed, her friends said.
O'Brien told to dance on podiums: friends
Several of O'Brien's friends, including her boyfriend, gathered at her Saltspring Island home Monday, after learning of her death.
O'Brien had told friends she didn't like working in Shanghai and had bought an airline ticket to return to B.C. in two weeks, after finishing her last assignment.
O'Brien told friends that she did legitimate modelling work but was also asked to dance partially nude for elderly men.
"She thought that was weird. It was right to one of these bars ... the agency had her dancing on the podiums," Brittany Brown, one of O'Brien's friends, said Monday at O'Brien's house.
Brown said friends called various government agencies to try to find out what happened but "no one has called back.
"We need to get to the bottom of things and have some justice served for her and protect other girls from the same thing happening to them," Brown said.
O'Brien began modelling locally more than a year ago and a stint in Milan was her first big break, friends said.
O'Brien was one of 27 female international models listed on the website of Barbara Coultish Model Management, a Victoria-based modelling agency. She just finished three months of modelling in Milan and was in Shanghai this summer on contract work, according to the website.
A spokesperson for the agency refused an on-camera interview with the CBC but said nothing like this has ever happened in its 27-year business in the modelling industry.
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Cue John Williams fanfare...is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Super Bishop!
Women can't hold leading positions in the Church because Jesus was a raging misogynist would not approve...errr...according to what gospel exactly? As I recall, one very important figure in the Messiah posse was a woman.
It is, to me anyway, highly amusing that I spend most of my time translating articles about how Christian Europeans rail and rant against Islam as a religion that oppresses women and does not treat them as equals. "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone"...I read that somewhere...some minor character in the Bible said it...not an important chap or anything.
CNN) -- The Vatican said Tuesday it regrets the decision by the Church of England's governing body to allow the ordination of women as bishops.
General view of the Synod Assembly Chamber during the General Synod Session.
The move by the Anglican Church's General Synod "is a rift to the apostolic tradition" of ordaining only men as bishops, the Vatican said in a statement, and is another obstacle to reconciliation between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.
"This decision will have consequences on the dialogue which had brought good fruits," the Vatican statement said.
The General Synod passed a resolution Monday night that allows women to become bishops, acting over the objections of traditionalists who argued that Jesus only wanted men in leadership positions.
Some traditionalists have threatened to abandon the Anglican Church for the Roman Catholic Church if women become bishops. Several hundred Anglican priests made that move when women were first ordained 16 years ago.
The synod narrowly rejected a proposal for "super bishops," which would have allowed parishes opposed to women bishops to opt out. Opponents argued the plan would be insulting to women bishops.
The Church of England has about 114 bishops. They supervise parishes in Britain.
The final hurdle for the consecration of women bishop is expected next February with a vote on a "code of practice" intended to protect people who as a matter of theological conviction will not be able to receive the ministry of women as bishops or priests."
The first consecration of a woman bishop could potentially happen in 2015.
The theological debate over women bishops has centered over the question "What would Jesus do?"
The traditionalists argued that bishops must be men, as were Jesus and his apostles.
Retired Canon Alan Duke, a longtime supporter of women in church leadership posts, said those arguments "simply do not stack up."
Duke said that while Jesus named no female disciples, he used and valued woman in radical and different ways for his time.
"He was hardly going to choose women and send them into a situation where they might have been in grave risk," Duke said.
Christina Rees, with the pro-women lobby Women and the Church, described what was at stake as "an acceptance by the Church of England of women on equal terms as men in the ordained ministries."
David Holding, a traditionalist church member, said he does not object to women bishops, but "there must be a proper provision made for those who can't go along with it."
The lack of a provision to allow traditionalist choose to be under a "super bishop" instead of a woman raises concern that a schism could develop in the Church of England.
Duke described "an awful lot of bluster" but doubted there "will be a mass exodus."
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The Roman Catholic Church's "tradition" of only ordaining of era goes back to Pope Gregory the... um, 3.1426th, who banned women from the pulpit, likely as a way to break the Goddess-based traditins of European cultures. I see nothing in that article arguing against the wisdom of ordaining women, except "We shouldn't in the future because we don't now."
Perhaps those black-clad hermits should climb down into the world and walk around with the rest of us.
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Keeping it harmonious!
Five-ring circus
Jul 17th 2008
From The Economist print edition
A weekly round-up of news from the Forbidden Citius, Altius, Fortius
The Chinese authorities are taking no chances: 100,000 troops, anti-aircraft missiles, checkpoints ringing the city. Beijing’s Olympics, they say, are the most threatened by terrorists in history. Evidence for this is thin. China says it has arrested 82 “suspected terrorists” in the western region of Xinjiang for allegedly plotting to sabotage the games. On July 9th two terrorists were reportedly executed there. A day earlier police killed five people in a raid on a “holy-war training group” in the region’s capital, Urumqi. The suspects “wielded knives”, a police spokesman said. Not exactly dirty bombs, but you have to start somewhere.
What worries Chinese officials is the risk of yet more political embarrassment after a round-the-world tour of the Olympic torch was dogged by protests. Even slogans on T-shirts make them fret. Spectators at the games have been banned from wearing “I love China” T-shirts (lest, presumably, anyone thinks they can get away with “I love T”). Under pressure from foreign television networks, the government has reversed its ban on live broadcasts by the foreign media from Tiananmen Square, the city’s most sensitive site. But it is insisting on limited hours and no invited guests—ie, no dissidents.
Officials say that, notwithstanding Beijing’s semi-permanent shroud of haze, air quality is improving and should get even better. For two months, beginning on July 20th, drivers will only be able to use their vehicles on alternate days depending on their licence-plate numbers. The city plans this month to open two new underground-railway lines and a rail link to the airport, which could help reduce car traffic further. The worst-polluting factories in Beijing and its environs are being ordered to cut production or stop work altogether.
But who is to say if the air will be good enough for endurance events such as the marathon? An environmental official was quoted in the Hong Kong press, claiming air pollution had been exaggerated: “We don’t need any independent party to help us monitor our air quality during the event.” Unconvinced, some Olympic teams are staying away from Beijing until the last minute.
Doggone!
“If visitors ask for it to be served, we will dissuade them.” Xiong Yumei, deputy director of the Beijing Tourism Bureau, referring to the city’s ban on Olympic-designated restaurants serving dog-meat, a common dish. Other restaurants can keep dog on the menu if they insist, but have been advised to drop it.
Locals travelling to Beijing, starting on the 20th July, will have to show ID to book train tickets and the tickets will have some form of ID on them to verify that the traveller is the buyer. No-one with a criminal record of any form will be allowed to travel to Beijing.
Soon no liquids will be allowed to be carried on the underground - so no-one will be able to carry water or tea with them.
It's all good fun!
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"Air pollution isn't that bad. And no, you may not measure it." Retards.
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Dutch-Chinese relations now take a nose dice!
Baby panda chokes to death on milk
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From correspondents in Amsterdam | July 19, 2008
A BABY panda adopted by a domestic cat at Amsterdam's Artis zoo has died after choking on the milk of its foster mother.
"The little one was discovered lifeless on Thursday morning," the zoo said in a statement.
"A post-mortem revealed that its windpipe was filled with milk. It had choked to death."
The red panda cub was born on June 30, but was rejected by its own mother, along with a sibling who died shortly afterwards.
It was adopted by a zoo employee's pet cat who suckled the newborn with its own four kittens.
"The cat had just had kittens and accepted the baby panda as a foster child," said the zoo statement.
"As far as we know, this was the first time that a cat has adopted a baby panda."
Red pandas, which are only slightly larger than domestic cats, are an endangered species found mostly in the eastern Himalayas. Many zoos worldwide have breeding programs as only about 2500 red pandas remain in the wild today.
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A Chinese reality show Boys and Girls is being filmed on the Gold Coast (near Brisbane,Australia)During last week, contestants herded sheep,made damper and learned to surf.Sea World dolphins presented the loved-up couples with engagement rings. aoaoaoaoao.
According to my newspaper,one can see Chinese reality TV footage at thesundaymail.com.au.
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"made danmper"..duibuqi, wo bu dong.
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"made danmper"..duibuqi, wo bu dong.
You expect to teach English in China? Tsk tsk.
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"made damper"..duibuqi, wo bu dong.
Damper is an Australian form of soda bread, used by stockmen (sheepherders or "cowboys").
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stockmen (sheepherders or "cowboys")
The proper term is jackaroo or jillaroo. ahahahahah
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Be careful in bars!
British government denies Chinese 'honeytrap'09:00 AEST Mon Jul 21 20082 hours 30 minutes agoAFPVIEWS: 0| FLOCKS: 0| 0 comments so farPrime Minister Gordon Brown's office confirmed on Saturday that an investigation was launched after an aide to the premier lost his BlackBerry mobile device while on a trip to China in January.
Downing Street denied, however, a report in The Sunday Times newspaper that the aide had been the victim of a "honeytrap" by Chinese intelligence agents, and said the BlackBerry had instead been lost at an "evening event" and added that security was not compromised.
"It is correct that a member of Prime Minister's Office lost their BlackBerry during a visit to China in January, however not in the circumstances described in the story," Brown's office said in a statement.
"The BlackBerry was lost at an evening event attended by the member of staff and others from the official party.
"This was reported immediately and mitigation measures were put in place -- an investigation has subsequently taken place. There was no compromise to security."
The Sunday Times had reported that the aide, who was not named, was picked up by a Chinese woman who approached him at a Shanghai disco, and agreed to go back to his hotel with her.
According to the weekly, which cited an unidentified senior official, the aide reported his BlackBerry, a mobile phone that can also be used to make and receive e-mails, missing the following morning.
A senior official was quoted in the paper as saying that the incident had all the hallmarks of a honeytrap by the Chinese government.
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Beijing's blue skies show air may be clearing
By China correspondent Stephen McDonell
Posted Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:00am AEST
Updated Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:16am AEST
Residents and Olympians alike hope the air will be clear for the Games.
Residents and Olympians alike hope the air will be clear for the Games. (Getty Images: China Photos, file photo)
* Video: Wheel progress: Beijing is going all out to clean up it's air. (ABC News)
Beijing's battle with air quality and traffic congestion has stepped up a notch as it tries to clean up the city's air for the Olympic Games next month.
The sky was blue in Beijing over the weekend and people were starting to say that the air pollution reduction methods in place for the Olympics might just work.
Factories have been closed, three new subway lines opened and traffic bans put in place.
Private cars have now been banned from driving every second day, using an 'odds and evens' number plate system.
Government officials say this will take 45 per cent of Beijing's 3.3 million private cars off the road during the Olympic period.
Traffic was also flowing freely around the normally congested city. Many locals will have to change their transport habits if they want to get to work today, but most don't seem to mind.
"It's really not convenient, but we do understand and support the restrictions," one man said.
"It's not a problem; we should all make a contribution to the Olympics," a woman added.
Private companies have been asked to adjust working hours during the Olympics, so people start and finish at staggered times instead of the normal rush hours.
Factory shutdowns have also commenced. Polluting industries will remain closed for two months to reduce emissions.
Travelling without the car
Probably the key piece of infrastructure which the Olympic Games will leave Beijing is the expanded subway.
Over the weekend, three new lines opened, including the services to the airport and the Olympic stadium. The subway now runs for 200 kilometres, with 160 stations.
Meng Fanyu is a Communist Party official and subway worker.
"The subway system is convenient, non-polluting, fast and safe. It's good for Beijing to reduce both air pollution and the use of the car," he said.
Even with the new subway lines, Beijing's buses will take up most of the slack of the millions of extra commuters who will need to travel around this enormous city without their cars.
The other option is to go for a blast from the past and get back on board the trusty Chinese pushbike - the bike lanes are still there, although they're becoming ever-smaller.
But bike shop owners say the new car restrictions have meant an increase in sales.
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The sky was blue for one day. mmmmmmmmmm
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I saw blue sky once in Beijing during my two trips there.
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I think I would be scared if strangers walked up to me in the street, beaming with joy and proceeded to inform me that I am great. It's obviously true but still somewhat on the wrong side of spooky.
Olympic etiquette: 'Eight don't asks'Story Highlights
Propaganda department of Dongcheng district put together advice
Locals instructed not to ask about age, salary, love life, political views
Locals recommended to use phrases like "You are really great"
Posters are part of government measures to clean up China's image
Next Article in World »
Read VIDEO
BEIJING, China (AP) -- Questions about salaries are out. Ditto queries about the age of a foreigner visiting Beijing for the Olympics. And an inquiry about someone's love life? Forget it.
A foreigner takes a snapshot at the Tan Buddhist Lama Temple in Beijing on Wednesday.
These are part of the "Eight don't asks" displayed on posters in a central Beijing district that give conversational etiquette guidelines to residents for when they meet foreigners or disabled athletes during next month's Olympics.
The advice on Chinese-language posters was put together by the propaganda department of Dongcheng district to educate residents on how to properly welcome visitors during the Olympics, a spokeswoman for the district said.
Dongcheng includes Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It is also the location of the Beijing Workers' Gymnasium, the boxing venue for the August 8-24 Olympics.
One poster focuses on "etiquette when communicating with foreigners." Locals are instructed not to ask foreigners personal questions about their age, salary, love life, health, income, political views, religious beliefs or personal experiences.
"It's normal for Chinese to ask people they just met such questions, but foreigners respond negatively to such questions," Beijing municipal government spokeswoman Wang Zhaoqian said Wednesday.
"By educating locals, we hope that they will become more socially sensitive when communicating with visitors," she said.
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Another poster gives advice on talking to disabled people. Locals are told not to use phrases such as "It's up there," or "It's over there" when talking to anyone who is visually impaired, and to avoid phrases such as "It's behind you" to physically impaired athletes.
Instead, locals are recommended to use phrases such as, "You are really great," or "You are wonderful."
In May, Beijing organizers apologized for a training manual issued to thousands of Olympic and Paralympic volunteers following complaints about inappropriate language used to describe disabled athletes.
The posters are part of wide-ranging measures the government has taken to clean up China's image during the Olympics. China's communist government and Beijing Olympic organizers have been conducting sweeping campaigns to get citizens to wait patiently in line, stop spitting and improve their driving habits.
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Fucking idiots.
Foreigners respond negatively only because the context is wrong. Every person in the entire world, regardless of country, colour or creed, responds negatively when the context is wrong.
Simple example that works for whitey. Someone walks up and asks, "What's your name?" Comes off as aggressive. But someone walks up and says, "Hi, my name's Tiddles, what's yours?" Everything's peachy. The extra words create a non-yellow person's English language context.
When people talk about teaching culture in language classes, they should be throwing in simple things like that, like giving equal information before asking, like balance of cultural sense of personhood. And so on.
Or everyone could just stop pretending that visitors are freakish. You know the idea that only guilty people suspect everyone else? What does it mean that Chinese look at everyone else as monsters?
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Those posters about what you should or shouldn't say are all good and that, but do you really think the homies will care?
I mean it's forbidden to spit, you are supposed to stop at a red light, cross a road on a zebra crossing, have a shit in a toilet (not on the street)...
We all know that some homies (I'm not saying all) don't give a toss about any of those rules. Why would it be any different now?
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"The posters are part of wide-ranging measures the government has taken to clean up China's image during the Olympics. China's communist government and Beijing Olympic organizers have been conducting sweeping campaigns to get citizens to wait patiently in line, stop spitting and improve their driving habits."
Oh, I think some will care. I mean, there is a certain the-loonies-have-taken-over-the-asylum sense to China, but there is also the kind of fear that only a totalitarian regime can instil in people. But the posters crack me up. "Wait patiently in line"??? Oh, my aching sides....improve driving habits.....ouch, ouch, must stop laughing....Why should China change just because a bunch of big-nosed, round-eyed pale ghosts (which, as far as I know, sums up how we laowai were perceived by the Chinese for centuries) decides to have a spot of five-a-side in Beijing? What will they think of next? Posters claiming that the signs in lifts stating that only 10 people are allowed in them are rules, not loose guidelines? They're taking the fun out of China.
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http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-13531954.html
This is just too weird. Allow me to sum um the article, as it is in Danish. In Fenzhang, China, a pig was born with the head of a monkey. It sort of jumps around and scares people.
The picture in the article says it all.
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Like cloning or just an ugly baby?
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http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-13531954.html
This is just too weird. Allow me to sum um the article, as it is in Danish. In Fenzhang, China, a pig was born with the head of a monkey. It sort of jumps around and scares people.
The picture in the article says it all.
Had a good time when you visited Fenzhang didn't you Eric.
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No, Acjade, this is an actual freak of nature. No cloning or a baby. A sow gave birth to nine piglets and one looked like that. I'm not eating zhu rou in China ever again....
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In Fenzhang, China, a pig was born with the head of a monkey......The picture in the article says it all.
Seems more like an unformed Siamese twin to me. You know. Like a two-headed (two-faced) child. A real Ripley's picture!
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AMonk, the thing has cloven hoofs!!! What I find decidedly horrible is that the people did not just smother the poor creature.
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But, Eric, pigs do have split (cloven) feet. bibibibibi Check it out.....
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Yes, I know this. I tamed one once. It's just that the cloven feet makes it look very little like an unborn siamese twin and more like something Dr.Moreau and Dr.Frankenstein might have made after a particularly wet evening.
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A Uighur Islamic separatist group has taken credit for a deadly bus bombing in Shanghai in May and warned of new attacks in China during the Olympics, a group monitoring threats by extremists on the internet said today.
In a video statement, Commander Seyfullah of the Turkestan Islamic Party claimed credit for several attacks.
They include the May 5 Shanghai bus bombing which killed three; another Shanghai attack; an attack on police in Wenzhou on July 17 using an explosive-laden tractor; a bombing of a Guangzhou plastic factory on July 17; and bombings of three buses in Yunnan province on July 21.
Three people were killed by the explosion on the crowded bus in Shanghai on May 5, police and witnesses said.
The morning traffic rush hour attack in northwest Shanghai also left 12 people injured.
At the time, authorities attributed the blast to flammable materials carried by a passenger.
But Seyfullah said the blast was the work of his group and warned of more explosions to come.
"Through this blessed jihad in Yunnan this time, the Turkestan Islamic Party warns China one more time,'' Seyfullah says in the video dated July 23, according to a transcript from the Washington-based Intel Centre.
"Our aim is to target the most critical points related to the Olympics. We will try to attack Chinese central cities severely, using the tactics that have never been employed.''.
The warnings come just a day after Chinese police claimed they cracked a terrorist cell planning to attack Shanghai Stadium, the venue where the Australian men's soccer team will open its Olympic campaign on August 7.
Australian Olympic Committee spokesman Mike Tancred said it took any terrorist threat "very seriously'' but remained confident in the Chinese government's security plans for the Games.
"The safety of the athletes is paramount to us and there is a security force of 110,000 in China so we are not concerned about any terrorist threat in this country,'' he told AAP from Beijing today.
"We think with the size of the force they have and the knowledge they have, we think they will counter any terrorist problem that might arise.
"There is a very strong presence in the streets in Beijing with the army and the police. There are people that are stationed throughout the Olympic precinct 24 hours a day and I really can't see how any terrorist is going to crack the Chinese defences.''
Australia is sending a team of more than 430 athletes to the China for the Olympics and they will be supported by a staff of 319 officials, including a medical team of 75.
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According to global intelligence analysts Stratfor, the Turkestan Islamic Party is another name used by the Islamic Party of East Turkestan (ETIM), an ethnic Uighur and Muslim separatist group seeking to create an independent state out of China's westernmost, heavily Muslim Xinjiang province.
The United States, China and other countries have designated ETIM a terrorist group.
Beijing is wary of ethnic Uighur Muslims living in Xinjiang, who maintain an ethnic identity distinct from the Chinese and have struggled to re-establish the independent state of East Turkestan since their homeland became part of China in 1955.
Rights bodies say the Chinese government is cracking down on them under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
On June 27, Seyfullah released a five page statement, citing a long list of grievances against the Chinese government and calling for attacks on the Olympic Games and other targets in China.
The statement said the use of biological weapons would be permissible and that suicide bombers were ready and willing to carry out operations throughout the world.
"After receiving the order, asking Allah's continual help in this matter, the military commander has made the order to all brothers and sisters in every corner of the world, to move to the action phase,'' Seyfullah argued.
"These brothers and sisters have been waiting for the order and these brothers and sisters are volunteers who would commit suicide bombing when it is time for it.''
The separatist leader went on to urge attacks on Chinese officials, declaring readiness to kill the top leaders, soldiers, police, prison wardens, and accomplices.''
AFP
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Yeah...going up against the country with the largest army in the world...splendid idea. Especially since China is internationally famous for taking a calm, collected and peaceful approach to people and groups threatening state security.
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bkbkbkbkbk
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YES YES YES - finally!! Another smear of shame removed from our face.
Mandatory detention ... changes flagged (AAP: Mick Tsikas)
Refugee support groups are welcoming planned changes to the policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers.
Minister for Immigration Chris Evans is today expected to announce several reforms including a new emphasis on only detaining those posing a security or health risk to the community.
The change will mean that it will be up to the Immigration Department to argue why a person should be kept in detention.
Under the changes asylum seekers denied a visa will be offered legal assistance and efforts will be made to shorten detention periods.
The announcement will include the temporary closure of the $400 million detention centre built on Christmas Island by the Howard government.
On ABC1's Lateline, Dr Graham Thom from Amnesty International said this will bring Australia into line with other western democracies.
"We are certainly hoping that most of the people in detention will be released," he said.
"The vast majority are either asylum seekers or visa over-stayers.
"This is a very fundamental change because really for the last 15 years Australia has reserved the right to mandatorily detain somebody simply based on their lack of a visa and wanting to keep them in detention for as long as possible."
Dr Thom expects the new refugee policy will mirror those of other western democracies.
"Hopefully these changes will bring Australia in line with other western democracies and into line with our international obligations," he said.
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Good on Oz. While I recognise their right to control immigration, there has to be a better way than building gigantic prisons for the crime of being in Australia, which-
...Naw, too easy.
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Beijing gets mixed review from Greenpeace
Last Updated: Monday, July 28, 2008 | 3:04 PM ET
CBC News
The Beijing Olympics received a mixed review of its environmental initiatives from Greenpeace just days before the Games begin.
In a report issued Monday, Greenpeace praised Beijing for achieving and in some cases surpassing original environmental goals, but also criticized the host city for missed opportunities to create a better short-term and long-term environmental Olympic legacy for the city.
Furthermore, the organization said, China's efforts were hampered by a lack of policy transparency and independently verified data.
Greenpeace based its assessment of Beijing's environmental initiatives for the Games on two public reports by the United Nations Environmental Program and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).
"Greenpeace's ability to conduct its own comprehensive independent evaluation was constrained by limited access to Olympic venues and comprehensive data," the report says.
"Some crucial data needed to comprehensively assess the Olympics were unavailable."
In the report, Greenpeace focused on six key environmental areas: air quality, energy use/climate change and refrigerants, transportation, water, forestry, and toxics and wastes.
Beijing received kudos from the organization for energy-saving technology in Olympic venues, stricter vehicle emissions standards and expanded public transport.
But in other areas, Beijing's air quality still falls short of international standards, the report said.
The city's measures of PM10 — particulate matter 10 microns in diameter, about a seventh of the thickness of a human hair — have consistently stayed above Chinese national standards and stricter World Health Organization standards, Greenpeace said.
Lo Sze Ping, Greenpeace China's campaign director, told a news conference Monday that Games organizers and "sports teams from the various countries have reason to be concerned."
"In the event PM10 conditions cannot meet with national standards and WHO standards, then there are reasons for different parties to suggest that certain events be delayed," Lo said.
For four days now, Beijing has not experienced a "blue sky day," when the air pollution index stays below the national standard for "good air quality."
Beijing did not even officially collect statistics on smaller particulate matter and ozone, pollutants that worry health experts, Greenpeace said.
"Beijing has also missed a golden opportunity in using the Games as a platform to implement more ambitious initiatives," Lo said.
Greenpeace's report also recommended that Beijing:
- Continue to tackle air pollution through strictly regulating vehicle emissions standards and to set an example for other Chinese cities.
- Continue to upgrade industrial technologies and to push them toward clean production.
- Widely promote renewable energy technology used at Game venues across the city, such as solar lighting and geothermal heating.
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I don't think it is just the frog that can do this in China!
Chinese frog has tuneable ears
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News
Odorrana tormota frog
The frog's unusual ears and ultrasonic calls allow it to communicate in noisy environments (Source: Albert Feng)
Just as humans tune into their favourite radio station, an unusual frog from China can shift its hearing from one frequency to another in order to selectively choose what it hears.
Known as the Concave-eared Torrent Frog, Odorrana tormota, is the only known animal in the world that can manipulate its hearing system to select particular frequencies, according to a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Humans appear to possess a modicum of control, but our system is slow compared to that of the frog and we cannot, with precision, tune our ears to match sounds.
The researchers believe the rare amphibian likely evolved its hearing talent out of necessity, since its environment is so noisy.
"Their calling sites are on the steep banks of a fast-flowing body of water - the Tao Hua Creek (at Huangshan Hot Springs in central China)," says co-author Professor Albert Feng from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Feng says the site is especially noisy after spring showers, pointing out that humans often cannot hear well over heavy rains either.
"We pretty much have to shout at one another," he says.
The frog doesn't shout, but it instead sings like a bird either in audible chirp-like frequencies or by emitting very high-pitched ultrasonic sounds.
Transparent ears
Curious as to how the amphibian could hear these different vocalisations, Feng and his team analysed the frog's hearing system, which wasn't too challenging since the frog's eardrum is completely transparent.
The scientists used a laser to measure the eardrum's vibration, and noticed that while it could respond to both audible and ultrasonic sounds, sometimes the eardrum's sensitivity to ultrasonic noise mysteriously disappeared.
Further investigation determined the frog actively opens and closes two narrow channels known as the Eustachian tubes, which connect the pharynx (part of the neck and throat) to the left and right middle ears.
When open, the tubes couple the frog's left and right ears, making them sensitive to audible sounds from all directions. When closed, their ability to pick up ultrasonic frequencies kicks in.
"We said, 'Woah! This is bizarre.'" Feng says. "In all textbooks on sound communication and hearing in frogs, it is plainly stated that the Eustachian tubes are permanently open."
Amazing accuracy
The ability to tune into specific frequencies at will isn't the frog's only claim to animal fame.
It possesses recessed ears instead of ones that, like those of most other creatures, are located on the body's surface. It can also localise sound with astonishing precision.
With an error of less than 1%, males of this species leap directly toward calling, wooing females, with a level of accuracy never before observed in frogs.
"On the one hand, I am surprised that any frog can open and close the Eustachian tubes," says Professor Carl Gerhardt from University of Missouri.
"But on the other hand, I am not too surprised that this frog does it because it is also the first to be shown to have ultrasonic hearing and calls with ultrasonic components."
The frog's unique hearing system is already being used as a model for "intelligent" hearing aids that can spatially separate sounds, process them the way that human brains do, and boost sound signals of interest, such as differentiating background noise from that of a desired conversation.
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It is not unique.
I have a girl friend who does that.
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I have a female parental unit who can do the same.
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I have found that the majority of fellas can tune out any other frequency when watching sport.
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Actually we can',t that's why we really want all of you shut up while we're watching.
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Stil, expect a bill from Apple.
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There's a "Bill" at Apple?
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I thought bill was with microsoft?
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Russia is in a military conflict with Georgia. bibibibibi This is just what we need the most. aoaoaoaoao
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Yeah, so I read. Russia is bombing targets inside Georgia, who have shot a few planes down. Nasty implications here. Where's the rest of the world in this?
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... Where's the rest of the world in this?
At the Games in Beijing.
Actually, Putin has left BJ and headed to the Georgia-Russia border. Don't know if he thinks a close-up visit will help solve tensions, but he's gone there.
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50-year old (US) comedian Bernie Mac died at 2:00 am of pneumonia complications.
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50-year old (US) comedian Bernie Mac died at 2:00 am of pneumonia complications.
I was not a fan in the sENse that I can tell you much about his work. I did hear him in interviews and found him charismatic and I enjoyed his work in a couple of films. He was quite entertaining in the film adaptations of Charlie's Angels.
50 is far too young. It reminds me of a very talented comedian named Robin Harris who also died way too young. I was a fan of Mr. Harris. Just as he was about to break into the mainstream he died of heart failure. Younger than 50, I believe. Now I am also reminded of Richard Jeni, who took his own life at an early age. It's all too sad. All three men brought smiles to many people.
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Found this interesting item, I know I google is getting more popular so:
Google 'gadgets' called gateways for hackers
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/09/2329850.htm (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/09/2329850.htm)
I choose to insert this relevant choice tidbit here: "I could force you to download child porn or send subversive material to China," Mr Hansen said. "The exploitation is almost limitless. Google has to fix it."
aoaoaoaoao
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If it was US attacking Georgia, by now that would become the only news all over TV besides Olympics.
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I agree. How is the world ignoring this? Georgia's a middle-sized, advanced country with a military to match. This should be one of the biggest news stories of the year.
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I also agree. This is very serious. I must admit I don't know much about the history, but I'm finding daily updates on the current situation on internet news sites.
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It's been reported quite a lot on CNN. Apparently, Georgia just called a one-sided truce.
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Team GB won a gold medal today. agagagagag
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Let's hope this madness ends before more people die. bibibibibi And it affects the world's economy. Apparently Euro fell towards US$.
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Truce is not working - Gori is under heavy attack. This report from the ABC 30 minutes ago.
United States Vice-President Dick Cheney has called Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to say "Russian aggression must not go unanswered," the vice-president's office said.
The United States has accused Russia of seeking regime change in Georgia as the US pushes the UN Security Council to call for a ceasefire in the widening, bloody Caucasus conflict.
The simmering conflict between Russia and its small, former Soviet neighbour Georgia erupted late on Thursday when Georgia sent forces into South Ossetia, a small pro-Russian province which threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s.
Moscow said 2,000 civilians were killed and thousands made homeless in a "humanitarian catastrophe" but there has been no independent confirmation of the number of dead and wounded throughout the region.
Russia, which has accused Georgia of "genocide" in South Ossetia, had provided support to the separatists and acted as a peacekeeper in the province, responded to Georgia's invasion by pouring troops and tanks south through the Caucasus mountains into South Ossetia to drive back the Georgians.
Russian troops and tanks took control of Tskhinvali, the region's devastated capital, early on Sunday after a three-day battle.
Georgia offered Russia a ceasefire and peace talks on Sunday after pulling troops back from rebel South Ossetia's capital, and mediators began a mission to end the internationally condemned fighting.
However, some fighting still gripped parts of the Caucasus region and Russia demanded an unconditional Georgian withdrawal.
The conflict has alarmed the West, which views Georgia as a valuable, if volatile, ally because of its strategic location on an energy transit route carrying oil from the Caspian to Europe.
Mr Cheney's office said in a statement that "the Vice-President expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected Government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity".
It said Mr Cheney told Mr Saakashvili that "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community".
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Tbilisi at the head of an international team of mediators, the first top level diplomatic mission to fly to the region in an attempt to stem the bloodshed. It was due to move on to Moscow on Monday.
After meeting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Mr Kouchner said a "controlled withdrawal of the troops" was his main priority.
"Coming back to the table, negotiations, peace talks, a political solution. That's it. Easy to say, very difficult to do," Mr Kouchner said.
Mr Saakashvili appeared smiling but dishevelled to meet Mr Kouchner, before showing him the night-time view of Tbilisi from a hillside.
"It is the most surreal world crisis I could ever imagine," the Georgian leader told reporters.
Devastation
Russian television showed what it said were pictures from Tskhinvali of burnt-out buildings, wounded civilians receiving medical treatment in dilapidated basements and weeping mothers complaining of a lack of food and water.
"It started with severe bombing with artillery and planes and helicopters. Our boys, with their guns, could do nothing," resident Alla Dzhiloyeva told RTR state television by phone.
"They bombed us so may times all the houses are destroyed ... on one street there is only one wall left."
Pictures on NTV television showed Tskhinvali's main hospital in ruins and most of its 200 patients crammed into the basement.
Patients, many wincing, underwent treatment on tabletops in what looked like unsanitary conditions.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cut short his visit to the Olympics on Saturday and flew to a field hospital in North Ossetia, visiting wounded troops and evacuees, and denouncing what he termed Georgia's "crimes against its own people".
Potentially widening the conflict, Sergei Bagapsh, the leader of Abkhazia, another separatist region on Georgia's Black Sea coast, said he had ordered 1,000 troops to push Georgian forces out of the Kodori Gorge, a strategic pocket of territory.
- Reuters
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And it affects the world's economy. Apparently Euro fell towards US$.
currency prices fall and rise all the time. its no big deal, that drop was about 300 pips which is only about a third more than the usual daily range.
i trade it.
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It's serious - but so is the coup is Mauritania, the Israelis telling the Eritreans to leave Tel Aviv, the starving IDPs in Yemen, the flooding in Chad, the starving in Ethiopia, the increase in weapons in Kenya ....
Endless.
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Wearable beer belly and wine bra: (http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?collectionId=1983&galleryName=All%20Collections#a=12)
(http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/4160/12rtx74gchv3.jpg) (http://www.imagehosting.com/)
Free beer goggles with every purchase!
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It's serious - but so is the coup is Mauritania, the Israelis telling the Eritreans to leave Tel Aviv, the starving IDPs in Yemen, the flooding in Chad, the starving in Ethiopia, the increase in weapons in Kenya ....
Endless.
Russia and Georgia are AT WAR. Russian tanks are battling Georgian tanks. Both countries are nuclear powers.
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B.C. teacher sentenced to more than 3 years for sexual abuse of Thai boy
Last Updated: Friday, August 15, 2008 | 1:08 AM ET CBC News
A British Columbia teacher who admitted he sexually abused a 13-year-old boy in Thailand and photographed the offence was sentenced Friday to three years and three months in a Thai prison.
Christopher Paul Neil sits in a cell at a criminal court in Bangkok in June. (Apichart Weerawong/Associated Press)
Christopher Paul Neil, 33, of Maple Ridge, B.C., who worked as a teacher in different parts of Asia before his arrest last October, avoided a possible six-year, six-month sentence by pleading guilty in May. He was also sentenced to pay a fine of 60,000 baht, or about $1,700 US.
"OK," was Neil's only comment to reporters after the verdict was read. His interpreter said Neil, dressed in a prison uniform and wearing ankle chains, would not appeal.
During the trial, Neil admitted that he took the photos, but said he did not post the pictures online.
He pleaded not guilty in early June to similar charges involving the teen's brother, who was nine years old at the time of the alleged offence. He faces up to 20 years in that case, which goes to trial on Oct. 7.
Neil was the subject of an international police search last year after Interpol released censored photos of him allegedly engaging in sexual acts with young boys from different parts of southeast Asia, including Cambodia and Vietnam.
The photos were found online in 2004, but the face of the perpetrator was digitally obscured by a swirl shape. Interpol unscrambled the images with the help of German police computer experts three years later, and circulated the pictures publicly.
Hundreds of tips were received and Neil was arrested 11 days after the Interpol appeal was launched.
Neil taught at various schools in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since at least 2000.
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Russia cluster bombed Georgia - claim
From correspondents in Tbilisi | August 15, 2008
INTERNATIONAL rights group Human Rights Watch said today it had evidence that Russian aircraft had dropped cluster bombs on Georgia, including the flashpoint city of Gori, killing at least 11 civilians.
The New York-based non-governmental organisation said the dead included a Dutch journalist and that dozens more had been wounded.
Human Rights Watch said its researchers had spoken to doctors and victims and had examined photographic evidence that led them to conclude cluster bombs had been used in Gori and the nearby town of Ruisi, south of South Ossetia.
"Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers that most nations have agreed to outlaw,'' said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch, in a statement.
"Russia's use of this weapon is not only deadly to civilians, but also an insult to international efforts to avoid a global humanitarian disaster of the kind caused by landmines.''
Dropped from aircraft or fired from artillery, cluster bombs explode in midair, scattering bomblets. They pose a lasting threat as many bomblets fail to explode on impact and act as landmines.
A landmark international convention banning cluster munitions was formally adopted by 111 countries in Ireland in May in a move that organisers hoped would stigmatise the lethal weapons as much as landmines.
Russia and Georgia did not take part.
"This is the first known use of cluster munitions since 2006, during Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon,'' said the rights group.
It might be a war - or invasion - but it is pretty unlikely that either side will use their nuclear capabilities.
This article is really interesting, but as it is in "The Economist' it needs to be read pretty quickly.
http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_ID=11920992 (http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_ID=11920992)
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Oh dear, war, pestilence, famine, false degrees and other horrible things...
Here is some lighter news...
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/08/14/bigfoot.body/index.html
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:-( It is so sad. I hope this whole war nonsense stops soon. We really really don't need this show off of powers and allies involvements.
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I like how Bush has accused Russia of bullying Georgia. Right then, becaue illegal wars, sanctioning the use torture, dispensing with habeas corpus and other irritating judicial mumbo-jumbo is something nice, civilized and intelligent people do...If ever there was an instance of the pot calling the kettle black this is it.
You would think that we, as a race, had evolved enough by now to start solving conflicts with words and not bullets.
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B.C. teacher sentenced to more than 3 years for sexual abuse of Thai boy
Last Updated: Friday, August 15, 2008 | 1:08 AM ET CBC News
A British Columbia teacher who admitted he sexually abused a 13-year-old boy in Thailand and photographed the offence was sentenced Friday to three years and three months in a Thai prison.
Christopher Paul Neil sits in a cell at a criminal court in Bangkok in June. (Apichart Weerawong/Associated Press)
Christopher Paul Neil, 33, of Maple Ridge, B.C., who worked as a teacher in different parts of Asia before his arrest last October, avoided a possible six-year, six-month sentence by pleading guilty in May. He was also sentenced to pay a fine of 60,000 baht, or about $1,700 US.
"OK," was Neil's only comment to reporters after the verdict was read. His interpreter said Neil, dressed in a prison uniform and wearing ankle chains, would not appeal.
During the trial, Neil admitted that he took the photos, but said he did not post the pictures online.
He pleaded not guilty in early June to similar charges involving the teen's brother, who was nine years old at the time of the alleged offence. He faces up to 20 years in that case, which goes to trial on Oct. 7.
Neil was the subject of an international police search last year after Interpol released censored photos of him allegedly engaging in sexual acts with young boys from different parts of southeast Asia, including Cambodia and Vietnam.
The photos were found online in 2004, but the face of the perpetrator was digitally obscured by a swirl shape. Interpol unscrambled the images with the help of German police computer experts three years later, and circulated the pictures publicly.
Hundreds of tips were received and Neil was arrested 11 days after the Interpol appeal was launched.
Neil taught at various schools in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since at least 2000.
Sad, very sad. Will he be prosecuted in Canada as well, when he gets back?
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Good sabre rattling: What will Washington do?
Moscow warns it could strike Poland over US missile shield
· US condemns 'bullying' of Georgia
· Russian general threatens nuclear attack
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/15/russia.poland.nuclear.missiles.threat (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/15/russia.poland.nuclear.missiles.threat)
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Who says the Courts are always on the woman's side?
Man wins court order to stop girlfriend cutting off his penis
Article from: Northern Territory News
August 15, 2008 09:55am
A MAN has been granted a court injunction to stop a woman trying to cut off his penis.
Tony Goodchild, of Darwin, was granted the domestic violence order against his former girlfriend.
He told Darwin Magistrates Court the woman was trying to hunt him down and threatening to "cut his penis off''. The unusual application caused laughter in the courtroom, reports The NT News.
But Mr Goodchild -- who was shaking and carrying two backpacks during the hearing -- said he had been in hiding in a city park from his ex since she had "bashed'' him up.
Read the full report here.
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Texas school district letting teachers carry guns
* August 18, 2008 - 3:20PM
A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings when classes begin this month, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/texas-school-district-letting-teachers-carry-guns-20080818-3xf7.html (http://www.theage.com.au/world/texas-school-district-letting-teachers-carry-guns-20080818-3xf7.html)
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That's just wonderfully insane. Instead of taking drastic measures to keep student's with guns out of schools, they just ensure that teacher's can shoot back. Amazingly stupid. "Hello, I'm Mr. Johnson, your new English teacher and this is my high-powered sniper rifle loaded with armour-piercing bullets. Now, let's discuss Hamlet"....
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I'll bet they'll check the stats on school shootings in a while, and discover the vast majority were done by students who swiped the teacher's gun.
More guns= more shooting. I can't figure out how Yanks can't see this.
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Con, you're talking about a country who seems unable to realize that certain rules written down following a rather bloody and unpleasant conflict in the Eighteenth Century might be ready for a revision. I have always thought that America would be much more peaceful country if the founding fathers' had been dyslexic and written the amendment so it gave everyone "the right to arm bears".
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It is very funny how apparently the media got the whole Russia-Georgia conflict wrong. I have talked to my mom and she said there wasn't anything like Georgia announcing war to Russia. And no one bombed Gori. Blah. Apparently Georgian president has turned the whole thing around. They had a press-conference in South Ossetia for foreign reporters and showed what exactly happened there so that no one says it was just a CLAIM. bibibibibi Anyway, I am glad this whole mess is over.
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Musharraf Announces His Resignation
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It is very funny how apparently the media got the whole Russia-Georgia conflict wrong. I have talked to my mom and she said there wasn't anything like Georgia announcing war to Russia. And no one bombed Gori. Blah. Apparently Georgian president has turned the whole thing around. They had a press-conference in South Ossetia for foreign reporters and showed what exactly happened there so that no one says it was just a CLAIM. bibibibibi Anyway, I am glad this whole mess is over.
Really difficult to find out the truth.
GORI, Georgia (Reuters) - Russian aircraft dropped bombs on the Georgian town of Gori on Tuesday, injuring several civilians in all but deserted streets, a Reuters witness said.
"The bombs hit in front of us and beside us," a Reuters reporter driving through Gori in a vehicle said. "Several people were wounded and lying in the street. We got straight out of there."
A Dutch television journalist was killed overnight when Russian warplanes bombed the central Georgian city of Gori.
The television news station RTL reported on its Web site that its cameraman Stan Storimans, 39, was killed and correspondent Jeroen Akkermans was wounded in the leg in the attack. RTL said at least five people died in the Gori bombing.
At least two other journalists have been reported killed previously in the fighting between Georgian and Russian troops, now in its fifth day.
Gori was bombed overnight by Russian forces who have occupied the nearby Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia and on Monday advanced into Georgia proper. Gori was all but deserted late Monday after most remaining residents and Georgian soldiers fled.
Georgia announces full military mobilization
Originally published 03:28 a.m., August 8, 2008, updated 03:30 a.m., August 8, 2008
TBILISI, GEORGIA (AP) - Georgia's president is announcing a full military mobilization as Georgian troops have moved to regain control over the separatist province of South Ossetia.
Mikhail Saakasvhili says in a televized statement that his government will be calling up reservists as fighting is continuing to rage in South Ossetia's capital.
The move comes as the United Nations Security Council failed to agree early Friday morning on a statement drafted by Russia that would have called on Georgia and its separatist region in South Ossetia to immediately put down their arms.
Georgia's parliament approved a state of war across the country for the next 15 days, while Russia accused the West of contributing to the violence by supplying Georgia with arms.
And if only it were over.
Georgia sees little sign of Russian withdrawal
The Associated Press
Published: August 19, 2008
GORI, Georgia: Russia's military held onto crucial positions across Georgia despite announcing the start of a promised pullout after a brief war with the ex-Soviet republic at the heart of growing tension between Moscow and the West.
Around the strategic central city of Gori, the only movement seen by Associated Press reporters Monday was in the opposite direction — toward the Georgian capital. In the west, Russian forces continued to occupy a military base in Senaki and Georgian authorities said the Russians set off resounding explosions that blew up the runway there.
With Western leaders anxiously watching for a withdrawal and puzzling over how to punish Moscow for what they called a disproportionate reaction to a Georgian offensive targeting separatist South Ossetia province, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev defended Russia's actions and warned against any aggression.
"Anyone who tries anything like that will face a crushing response," he said.
The movements of Russian tanks and troops also seemed to taunt Georgia and its Western backers.
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Actually, Gori wasn't really bombed... bibibibibi Oh well. They have signed now 6-step cease-fire pact. And the forces are being withdrawn from Ossetia now.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7572298.stm
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The grammar police no longer ride.
Grammar vigilantes 'vandalise' sign
August 25, 2008
A CAMPAIGN by two grammar vigilantes to correct mistakes on signs across America has come to an abrupt end after they were charged with vandalism for trying to rectify a spelling error at the Grand Canyon.
The founders of the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) have been banned by a court from correcting any publicly owned signs after trying to emend one on the Desert View Watchtower that, for seven decades, has drawn attention to an "emense westward view of the Grand Canyon". Oblivious to grammar, the prosecutors pronounced the sign "a unique historical object of irreplaceable value".
Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, both 28, met in a creative writing class. The two graduates of the Ivy League Dartmouth College teamed up after Mr Deck, from Somerville, Massachusetts, had an epiphany in the shower. Misspellings on his shower curtain inspired him to try to make a better world by travelling the nation to correct errors with a fix-it kit of magic markers and correction fluid.
A star of high-school spelling competitions, he worked on Dartmouth's student newspaper and honed his editing skills in a temporary job at an academic publisher. He invited Mr Herson, then working in a bookshop outside Washington, to join him in a round trip of the United States.
Their goal, according to the TEAL mission statement, was to "stamp out as many typos as we can find, in public signage and other venues where innocent eyes may be befouled by vile stains on the delicate fabric of our language".
They found and corrected 231 signs with mistakes ranging from "birthday candell's" to a "Sweedish" berry drink and even discovered misspellings in neon lights in Las Vegas.
They quickly identified the apostrophe as America's greatest grammatical challenge. Their pet peeve is the number of car park signs warning that vehicles will be towed "at owners expense" - without an apostrophe.
The grammar vigilantes planned to take a day off when they visited the Grand Canyon on March 28 and found the hand-rendered sign inside the Desert View Watchtower. They covered up a misplaced apostrophe and painted it in its proper place with correction fluid. They also added an omitted comma. Reading on, however, they were appalled to discover what Mr Deck described as a made-up word: emense.
The sign was painted by Mary Colter, the architect who designed the rustic 1930s watchtower and other Grand Canyon landmarks. The authorities took a dim view of what they considered "vandalism" at a site listed in 1987 as a National Historic Landmark.
Mr Deck and Mr Herson were caught after recording their exploits on their website, which was seen by the police. The two admitted conspiracy to vandalise government property and were fined dollars 3,035 and banned from national parks or from modifying any public signs for a year.
- The Times
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Those guys should come to China. They'd have enough work to keep them busy until retirement age.
edit - Just had a thought: Can you imagine some guy with a magic marker accosting people on the street to correct their t-shirts ahahahahah
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You don't have to imagine... his name is Stil.
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Those guys should come to China. They'd have enough work to keep them busy until retirement age.
edit - Just had a thought: Can you imagine some guy with a magic marker accosting people on the street to correct their t-shirts ahahahahah
I think I may have a new mission in life. bfbfbfbfbf
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ZOOM AIRLINES GOES KA-BLOOM!!!
The discount airline from the UK stopped running on Thursday. Passengers have been left high and dry and many were stranded, as the last flights touched down and parked alongside runways. The airline is now officially bankrupt and grounded.
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Lotus, this HAS to be asked....so does that guy's penis have an AVO out on his ex ahahahahah ahahahahah??
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AMonk, your tickets to China aren't with ZOOM airlines, are they?
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No. Thank the Lord. They're American Airlines. bfbfbfbfbf
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American Pilot Arrested In UK, Suspected Of Drinking
An American Airlines pilot was arrested in Britain on Saturday on suspicion of being drunk before a scheduled flight to Chicago, the airline said.
A statement by the airline said the crew member was a relief pilot on the Boeing 767-300 with 198 passengers, meaning he was a backup to the captain and first officer. The crew member was not identified.
He was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol after reporting for duty at Manchester Airport, the carrier said. A court appearance was scheduled for Monday.
American said in a statement it was investigating and would not provide additional details.
"Our primary concern is for the safety and comfort of our passengers and crews," the airline said. "American Airlines has strict policies on alcohol and substance abuse and holds its employees to the highest standards."
Flight 55 was due to arrive in Chicago shortly after 4 p.m. local time, three hours late. The plane was scheduled to stop in New York to supplement the crew.
Don't worry about it. I'm sure those things really fly themselves.
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Fantastic piece for discussion in class. Let your classes go to town on this one.
Rail work damages 3000-year-old relics
From correspondents in Shanghai | September 02, 2008
A CHINESE construction company has severely damaged relics dating back more than 3000 years while building a section of a high-speed rail linking Beijing and Shanghai, state media has reported.
Work was halted on the section of rail in the eastern city of Nanjing and the company faces a fine of up to 500,000 yuan ($80,000) for ignoring warnings that the site contained ancient treasures, the China Daily said.
"These precious cultural relics absolutely must be excavated before construction continues," Nanjing's Cultural Heritage Bureau deputy director Yang Qinghua was quoted as saying.
"You can't just ignore them."
Nearly 2000 square metres of the site was damaged last week when the company shrugged off experts' instructions not to work on the area in China's ancient capital, Mr Yang was quoted as saying.
The incident is the latest battle between those seeking to drive China's explosive growth forward at any cost and those wanting to preserve the country's priceless historical heritage.
The site was identified in October after bones and pottery dating back to the Shang Dynasty (16th to 11th century BC) and the Zhou Dynasty (11th to 3rd century BC) were discovered there, Mr Yang said, according to the report.
Heritage officials initially told the company it would have to redirect the rail line, but company officials refused, saying the project was of national importance, Mr Yang was quoted as saying.
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Good one. Thanks. And what a pity...
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Resting in peace?
Bodies dug up for cash in scam
From correspondents in Hong Kong | September 02, 2008
HONG Kong cemetery officials took bribes to allow bodies buried in the overcrowded city to be dug up from temporary graves before they were fully decomposed, the city's corruption body says.
A total of 18 senior cemetery managers, tombstone contractors and funeral agents had been arrested in connection with the racket, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said.
"ICAC enquiries revealed that the arrested serving and former staff of Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries (BMCPC) had allegedly conspired together to solicit and accept monetary advantages from a number of tombstone contractors and funeral agents,'' it said.
"In return, the BMCPC staff were alleged to have allowed exhumation to continue improperly despite the fact that the human remains of the deceased were not fully decomposed.''
The case highlights the shortage of land in Hong Kong, where permanent cemetery plots are rare and costly.
Cremation is unpopular in Chinese culture, and many families choose to bury their dead in government-run cemeteries where they lease a plot for 10 years, after which the corpse is either cremated or re-buried in a smaller plot.
Cemetery supervisors are meant to bury the body for another six months if they find it has not fully decomposed.
But the ICAC investigation - codenamed "Mid-Summer Night'' --found this rule was being ignored if bribes were paid, so the sought-after plots could be cleared and re-leased.
In some cases, the supervisors were also alleged to have brought forward the date for exhumation in return for cash, the ICAC said.
The scam had been going on for up to two years with funeral agents and tombstone contractors offering substantial cash bribes, an unnamed source told the South China Morning Post newspaper. worth hundreds of dollars.
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I just got online to find a couple of articles for use in my "newspaper reading" class tomorrow and I find Lotus has done my work for me.
I am doing this for the next ten weeks. Please keep up the good work.
bfbfbfbfbf agagagagag
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Sept. 3: Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses the crowd at the Republican National Convention telling them she is not going to Washington to seek the approval of the media but rather to “serve the people of this country.”
When Republican Presidential nominee John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his choice for vice president — a younger, relatively inexperienced woman — the scenario seemed familiar. If you were watching ABC a couple years ago, it should. It’s essentially the backstory of Commander in Chief.
Geena Davis was great as president. I say let's give Sarah Palin a chance. It's time a woman was in control.
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Top nine ridiculous place names
Australia may boast some of the funniest sounding place names in the world, but it doesn't have a monopoly. Scattered across the globe are towns and villages with names so unfortunate that it's hard not to feel sorry for the locals.
But if you're looking for an amusing spot to add to your travel itinerary, these places are ideal for a visit, especially if you'd like your smiling mug captured on camera next to a silly sign.
Muff — County Donegal, Ireland
Undeterred by a name that conjures up all sorts of hairy images, tonnes of people have been crossing the border from Northern Ireland in recent years to relocate to this once-sleepy village. Despite the population explosion, Muff hasn't lost its traditional soul. Each year, during the first week in August, residents celebrate the Muff Festival, which includes all kinds of parades, parties, copious beer consumption and a raft of bizarre competitions, like JCB heavy vehicle driving, pig racing and lorry pulling events.
Twatt — Orkney Islands, Scotland
While unfounded rumours abound that this is Muff's twin town, the inhabitants of Twatt have become rather used to people laughing at them. This far-flung village off the north coast of Scotland featured at number four on the list of most vulgar sounding names in the book Rude Britain. Perhaps surprisingly, Bell End, Minge Lane and Cocks were ruled even cruder than Twatt, which also has a namesake on the Shetland Islands.
Whiskey Dick Mountain — Washington State, US
Mountaineering aficionados may dream of reaching the peaks of Everest and K2, but the humorous hiker heads to Whiskey Dick Mountain. A two-hour drive from Seattle, a 15km trail leads you through rugged desert area, blessed with rocky outcrops, hidden canyons and a blaze of flora and wildlife, until the 1200m-high summit appears before your eyes. People have been known to reward themselves at the top with a swig of Jack Daniel's whisky from their hip-flask.
Titty Hill — Sussex, England
Although it's just 40km from Portsmouth on England's south coast, Titty Hill feels like it's in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by a patchwork of fields, the tiny hamlet consists of a couple of houses and a farm called, appropriately enough, Titty Hill farm. In a country that's well known for its wealth of silly place names, Titty Hill is within easy driving distance of Thong in Kent and Shitterton in Dorset, but a fair way from Wetwang in Yorkshire.
Gobblers Knob — Pennsylvania, US
Immortalised in the 1993 film Groundhog Day, Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney is a place of pilgrimage for those wanting to hear if winter is finally over. German tradition holds that if the sun comes out on Candlemas, the precursor to Groundhog Day, the hedgehog (or badger) will see its shadow and six more weeks of the cold season will follow. When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they continued this tradition, using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs to predict the weather.
Dildo — Newfoundland, Canada
Dildo was founded in 1700 around fishing and whaling activities, with unsubstantiated rumours that its name came about because of the phallic-like shape of its harbour. Consistently named among the prettiest towns in Canada, it's recently become a magnet for tourists. Australians may already be familiar with Dildo as it was featured in the 'What the?' segment of Rove Live in 2006. The Dildo museum is popular for the replica of a 9.1m squid hauled from local waters in 1933.
Hell — Stordal, Norway
This pleasant Norwegian village hardly lives up to its dastardly name, especially in winter when, with temperatures as low as minus 20°C, Hell literally does freeze over. An easy train ride from the major city of Trondheim on Norway's fjord-peppered west coast, Hell was put on the map in 1990 when Mona Grudt, a green-eyed redhead, was the country's Miss Universe representative. She billed herself as 'the beauty queen from Hell' — and lost.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch — Anglesey, Wales
Although there's an uninhabited hill in New Zealand called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, this Welsh town has one of the longest officially recognised place names in the English-speaking world. Locals claim that when translated from Welsh it means 'St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave'. Thankfully, it's also spelt Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and commonly known as Llanfair PG or Llanfairpwll.
Fucking — Tarsdorf, Austria
Arguably the world's most shockingly-titled town, Fucking — 30km from Salzburg and apparently named after a sixth-century local called Focko — has been the centre of much controversy in recent years. After souvenir hunters kept stealing the signs, local authorities arranged a poll to ask the townspeople whether or not they should change their name. The stubborn lot gave a two-fingered salute, and a four-letter word response, to that little idea.
Have you been to any places with 'off the wall' names?
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Nothing like those - but I like Mungallala and Muttaburra. And I have been there. I'm pretty fond of Umagico as a name, as well as being a pretty magic setting (if it wasn't so hot).
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Strangest name I've ever heard - Calgary.
Makes me shudder just writing it. bibibibibi
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Nothing fascinating yet for you Mr N - but I don't think the US ground attack in Pakistan will help that country or it's unstable gov't too much.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24294920-25837,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24294920-25837,00.html)
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Kim Jong Il dead since 2003: author
09:00 AEST Mon Sep 8 2008
2 hours 45 minutes ago
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been dead for years and replaced by a number of look-alikes, a Japanese academic claims.
North Korea expert Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor of international relations, says Kim died of diabetes in 2003 and has been substituted by up to four body doubles ever since.
Driven by a fear of assassination, Kim allegedly trained his doppelgangers — one of whom underwent plastic surgery — to attend public appearances.
"Scholars don’t trust my reasoning but intelligence people see the possibility that it will turn out to be accurate," Fox News reported Professor Shigemura as saying.
"I have identified and pinned down every source."
Kim, 66, has not appeared in public for three weeks amid rumours he is seriously unwell.
While Seoul intelligence officials have said they believe he has diabetes and heart problems, they do not think he is near death.
But Professor Shigemura, from Tokyo's respected Waseda University, believes that Kim actually died sometime during a 42-day absence from public in September 2003.
He claims that whenever anyone is granted a face-to-face meeting with today's Kim, a senior official is always by his side "like a puppet master".
Professor Shigemura's claims, outlined in his book The True Character of Kim Jong-il, have been disputed by North Korean officials.
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Sweet for a southern hemisphere Fathers Day.
'Daddy' duck mystery baffles beachgoers
The small toy duck washed ashore carrying a poignant message.The small toy
It may not be the world's greatest mystery. Hercule Poirot has probably solved more dastardly who-dunnits. And the sleuths down at Sydney's police headquarters may have better investigations on their books.
But a small human drama was intriguing the people who walked along Sydney's Curl Curl beach yesterday.
There they found a tiny toy duck that had been washed ashore.
And on its yellow plastic was written in black ink the poignant words: "Dearest Dad Your always in our hearts Love always Renee and Mariss xxx ooo'.
As one of the beach-combers said: "It's like a modern day note in a bottle, I'd love to know the story of who cast it out to sea."
"It really makes you wonder who are 'Renee and Mariss' and what happened to their dad. I wonder how far it has come and if it was left for father's day."
Father's Day might seem the obvious answer - except that the duck had clearly been in the water for a long time, with tiny shells crushed into its beak.
So who are Renee and Mariss? Where is their Dad? Where did the duck get into the water and how did it reach Curl Curl?
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Hong Kong democrats retain key power
September 08, 2008
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's pro-democracy parties won more than one third of seats in weekend elections, retaining the key power to veto legislation in the city's legislature.
The groups won 23 of the 60 seats up for grabs in the Legislative Council, results showed today, following the poll billed as a key test for pro-democracy parties in the former British colony in the face of growing Chinese patriotism.
The parties had expressed fears they would slip below the crucial number of 21 seats - losing the ability to veto government legislation, which they successfully used in 2005 to block controversial constitutional reforms.
Hong Kong was promised universal suffrage for both its legislature and chief executive when Britain handed back the territory to China in 1997, but no specific timetable was set.
Only 30 of the 60 legislative seats were being chosen by the city's 3.37 million registered electors in yesterday's poll. The remaining 30 “functional constituencies” represent various business and industry interests chosen by select electorates.
Of the 23 seats won by the pro-democrats, 19 seats belong to the directly-elected geographical constituencies, while four seats were returned from the “functional constituencies.”
Their biggest rival, the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, retained about 10 seats in the council, the results showed.
“The results do not change the current political landscape a lot,” said Ivan Choy, a political commentator at Chinese University.
“But the pro-democratic politician's support rate among voters has dropped from 60 to 50 percent, and this is something they should have a think about.”
At the last election in 2004, the democrats managed to grab 25 seats.
But the election also threw up some surprising results. The League of Social Democrats, a radical anti-government group, won three seats in the legislature.
The winners included Leung Kwok-hung, better known as “Long Hair”, who had expressed concerns that he would lose his seat after his victory in 2004.
“The success of the League of Social Democrats issues a warning sign to the government. They represent the grassroots' voice and are expected to take an aggressive, hardlined stance towards issues such as minimum wage,” said Choy.
Emily Lau, the first woman elected to the legislature in 1991, won back her seat by a narrow margin today. She accused the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities of “conspiring” to discourage the public to cast their votes.
Only 45 per cent of voters turned out yesterday, about 10 per cent lower than four years ago.
“The government is very afraid of a high turnout because it would mean that people want more democracy. It has been working overtime to make sure that people don't come out to vote,” she said.
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Daddy Duck mystery solved
Braving the chilly high seas, a tiny toy duck has travelled more than 30 kilometres up Sydney's east coast, before resurfacing in a poignant coincidence for a grieving family on Father's Day.
ninemsn published a story yesterday of a mystery yellow duck that was puzzling beachgoers at Sydney's Curl Curl beach on Sunday.
Like a modern-day message in a bottle, passers-by were intrigued by a heartfelt note written on the duck's yellow plastic.
"Dearest Dad Your (sic) always in our hearts Love always Renee and Marissa xxx ooo'," the message read.
Now, the mystery of the duck's origins has been solved.
Renee O'Neill told ninemsn it was she and her four siblings who had released the duck, along with a dozen others and her father’s ashes, off the cliff tops of Sydney's La Perouse on August 9.
The ducks were a tribute to their father Howard Knight, who had died in late July at the age of 59.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw the story, and especially that the duck had turned up on Father's Day," Ms O'Neill said.
"The meaning for all of us was different….I was a bit estranged from my father so for me it was about saying goodbye and expressing some of the things I had wanted to say but never did."
In a message posted on ninemsn's blog, another of Mr Knight's daughters, Susan, said the duck's discovery had "put the biggest smile on my face and brought tears to my eyes".
"It feels like he is sending a message back to us," she wrote.
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Well, the big news is is that today is D Day, Doomsday, the Apocalypse, name your doom 'n gloom. We now have about 1 hour left.
I shall raise my mug of cheap, but tasty, imported Aussie coffee and oversized chocolate bar to ya'll and say it's been nice knowin ya agagagagag
(then I'm off to change my undies)
and if we're still here at 5.30 I'll be cursing that blasted choc bar and you can all pppppppppp at me!
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Fears for hundreds in China landslide
September 10, 2008
BEIJING: A landslide in northern China has killed at least 56 people, with hundreds more feared trapped in the mud, mining sludge and rubble.
The landslide in Shanxi province on Monday also injured 35 people, the official Xinhua news agency reported today.
Xinhua quoted local government official Lian Zhendong as saying that rescuers had searched through 70 per cent of the rubble, though the report also said it was not known how many people were trapped under the mud.
But the People's Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, said hundreds could be missing.
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement that the death toll could exceed 500 people.
The landslide at Tashan, a hill in Xiangfen county, knocked down a mine warehouse, trapping an unknown number of people inside, Xinhua said. A three-storey office building, a market and some houses were also destroyed, the report said.
A preliminary investigation showed that the landslide was caused by the collapse of a dam holding tailings from an iron mine, said Wang Dexue, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety.
“It is an illegal company that was using the abandoned dump to get rid of its production waste,” Wang said in an interview on state broadcaster CCTV's midday news show.
“The amount stored far exceeded the capacity of the space. In addition, there was a bit of rain and the collapse took place as a result,” he said.
Xinhua said several local officials had been fired for negligence. The owner of the Tashan Mine was detained, it said.
Rescuers said it was difficult to identify the victims as most of the mine workers were migrants from elsewhere in Shanxi, Chongqing and central Hubei province, the report said.
More than 1,500 police, firefighters and villagers searching through the rubble for survivors were hampered by rough terrain, poor telecommunications and heavy rain, Xinhua quoted Ding Wenlu, rescue headquarters chief, as saying.
The accident underscores two major public safety concerns in China: the failure to enforce protective measures in the country's notoriously deadly mines, and the unsound state of many of its bridges, dams and other aging infrastructure.
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And in other news, it's now against the law to follow God's instructions regarding spending time with one's dog.
Fla. police use Taser on nude man walking a dog
Mon Sep 15, 9:05 PM ET
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A 40-year-old man walking his dog in the nude was Tasered by police when he refused to follow an officer's commands. David McCranie of the Tallahassee Police Department said an officer on patrol spotted the man shortly after 8 p.m. Friday.
The man was asked what he was doing and told the officer, "Allah told me to watch a Bruce Willis movie and walk the dog," McCranie said.
McCranie said using the Taser was the only way to subdue the man without having to hurt him. The man was then sent for mental-health evaluation and treatment.
Information from: Tallahassee Democrat, http://www.tdo.com
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AUSTRALIAN paralympians celebrating success at the Beijing Games fell victim to dangerous drink-spiking at a Beijing bar.
It's been revealed a number of Australian paralympians had their drinks spiked in the Beijing nightclub while celebrating the end of their competitions.
The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed a female athlete - believed to be an archer - fell ill while at the China Doll bar.
Reports have said another victim complained of suddenly feeling ill, vomiting and then passing out on a couch in the popular nightclub.
The attacks led to the AOC sending out a text message to all team members and staff warning them to stay clear of the bar before the final weekend of the games, when most celebrations would begin.
They're a bad lot in Beijing!!!
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http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=635712
The appealing one-liner that has become a mainstay of the James Bond movies has been scrapped in the next thriller Quantum of Solace.
Daniel Craig will not once introduce himself as "Bond … James Bond" in the next Ian Fleming 007 movie due for release in November, despite the phrase captivating viewers for 46 years, The Independent has reported.
Director Marc Forster made the drastic omission because the producers and the starring actor Daniel Craig agreed with him that it didn’t work in the latest adventure.
"There was a 'Bond, James Bond' in the script … there are several places where we shot it as well, but it never worked as we hoped," he said.
"It's nice to be open-minded about the Bond formula. You can always go back to them later on."
Bond’s introduction is not the only popular element of the Bond films that has been scrapped in the latest installments.
Q, the creator of the spy gadgets that often helped Bond escape life-threatening moments — whose character has been played by John Cleese — was left out of the last film, Casino Royale.
Fans have speculated that veering away from the formula is a risky attempt to bring the agent with a license to kill into the 21st century.
But Graham Rye, who edits the online 007 Magazine said the Bond films have actually gone back to author Fleming's original vision — with less emphasis on Q and secretary Moneypenny.
"Rather than going away from Fleming I think the producers have gone back to him," he said.
"His announcing of himself had become a bit corny."
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Casino Royale was a complete reset for the franchise. They're definitely going for a harder edge with less humour and comic book type stuff.
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I like the new direction... it's darker and seems quite a bit more authentic...
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It was about time Bond got rid of those stupid gadgets too. The invisible car was almost too stupid to bear.
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Cars? whatever. The important parts to any Bond movie are the birds.
Olga Kurylenko
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a197/Bissessar/OlgaKurylenko1.jpg)
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I remember watching an old cartoon featuring this character called Betty Boop or something. In it, these men watching her turned into wolves in suits, their eyes popped out of their heads and their tongues rolled out to be three times the length of their bodies. We need an icon like that.....
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I remember watching an old cartoon featuring this character called Betty Boop or something. In it, these men watching her turned into wolves in suits, their eyes popped out of their heads and their tongues rolled out to be three times the length of their bodies. We need an icon like that.....
You want them to ask her if you can borrow her pink lingerie??? uuuuuuuuuu
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Yowzers.
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Thanks for the Bond girl, Stil!! afafafafaf
I've noticed we're (especially me) getting slack with our general news.
We've missed Qindao Beer Festival
http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080925/100862.shtml# (http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080925/100862.shtml#)
I always thought Shanghai was the "Paris of the East" for the lastest fashion set but not only am I wrong there, a rumor is afoot that Qingdao wants to be the fashionista hot spot over HK and Tokyo
http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080925/100865.shtml (http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20080925/100865.shtml)
Please tell me that's not ETR under the "beautyberry" sign in picture #2?
And most importantly, last week, (I can't belive NoleFan didn't bring this up) we missed the annual Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19)!
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/ (http://www.talklikeapirate.com/)
Is anyone still playing Pirates on face book?
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WE MISSED TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!?!?!?!
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao
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Thanks, Stil. cbcbcbcbcb
I'm in class 'researching' and that little gem turned up.
My teacher is rather perplexed. ahahahahah
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Glad to be of help Schnerby
More Olga
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a197/Bissessar/OlgaKurylenko2.jpg)
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Stil are you sure its a Bond girl and not one of the bride.com subscribers? aoaoaoaoao
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Stil are you sure its a Bond girl and not one of the bride.com subscribers? aoaoaoaoao
I'm not sure Cheeky, so i better check out bride.com
Thanks for the tip.
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Only in China!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1062577/The-great-heave-forward---Chinese-passengers-forced-push-broken-passenger-plane.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1062577/The-great-heave-forward---Chinese-passengers-forced-push-broken-passenger-plane.html)
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ahahahahah Riot.
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aaaaaaaaaa....FORMER prime minister John Howard has been awarded the Winston S Churchill Medal of Freedom at a ceremony in LA.
The American Freedom Alliance, an LA-based think tank, presented Mr Howard with the award for being "a strong ally of the United States". aaaaaaaaaa
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Only in China!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1062577/The-great-heave-forward---Chinese-passengers-forced-push-broken-passenger-plane.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1062577/The-great-heave-forward---Chinese-passengers-forced-push-broken-passenger-plane.html)
Thank God for the 69ers. ahahahahah uuuuuuuuuu
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aaaaaaaaaa....FORMER prime minister John Howard has been awarded the Winston S Churchill Medal of Freedom at a ceremony in LA.
The American Freedom Alliance, an LA-based think tank, presented Mr Howard with the award for being "a strong ally of the United States". aaaaaaaaaa
We live in bizarre times, George. In the first American presidential "debate," both Barack Obama and Skeletor McCain referred to Henry Kissinger with gushing respectability. Kissinger is wanted for war crimes and can barely leave the United States as a result (http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Kissinger/CaseAgainst1_Hitchens.html). bibibibibi
We live in supremely strange times, sir.
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The Phantom is dead alalalalal alalalalal alalalalal ananananan
(from Courier Mail)
Theatre legend Rob Guest deadArticle from: Font size: Decrease Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Submit comment: Submit comment Staff writers
October 02, 2008 06:45am
ACTOR Rob Guest - who found fame in his starring role in the hit musical Phantom of The Opera - has died in hospital overnight after suffering a large stroke.
Guest, who had been starring as the Wizard of Oz in hit musical Wicked, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday night with bleeding on the brain.
He died peacefully in hospital last night.
Early this morning, a hospital spokesperson said: "The family want the public to know he was surrounded by family and friends when he died''.
The former Phantom of the Opera star and host of 90s TV show Man O Man had been in a critical condition on life support.
Before the tragic incident, the English-born actor, 57, was relaxing at home with partner Kellie Dickerson when he started feeling unwell and collapsed at his computer.
Ms Dickerson, a musical director, was joined by Guest's mother and Wicked producer John Frost at the bedside of the former Phantom of the Opera star at St Vincent's Hospital.
Guest's children Christopher, 19, and Amy, 17, flew from Sydney yesterday with their mother Judy Barnes to be with him.
As Guest was fighting for life earlier yesterday, the family released a statement saying he was critically ill.
Mr Frost, a long-time friend, said the family was distraught at news of the stroke.
"It's that thing of not wanting to believe what's happening. We went in and held his hand and told him how much we loved him, and to be strong,'' he said.
Mr Frost said many in the cast of Wicked cried when he broke the news.
"I addressed the cast and I never have seen a cast fall apart like that in 35 years.
"(Guest) was such a father figure to the cast. He led the cast on this show. There's a lot of upset young people. The youngest cast member is 18 so they may not have had something like this happen before.''
Guest last played the Wizard on Sunday night.
There are no performances on Monday and Tuesday.
His place was taken last night by understudy Rodney Dobson, who had been playing the part of Doctor Dillamond.
Theatregoers were saddened when told he was ill.
"He'll be here in spirit,'' said Sacha George, from Tasmania.
"I bought tickets just to see him. I saw him in Phantom and he was just great.''
Hugh O'Brien, of Cairns, said he felt dearly for the cast, who had to carry on.
"I'm very disappointed he won't be here tonight because he's a fabulous performer. I listen to him in my car on the way to work.
"He's just the iconic Australian performer, so we wish him all the best.''
Pennie Briese, who travelled with her husband from Canberra to see the show, said she had been a fan since seeing Guest in Phantom.
"We've been travelling all day, so I had no idea. What horrible news,'' she said.
"He was the attraction for us to come tonight.''
Mr Frost said Guest did not have any known health problems and was not a heavy drinker or smoker.
"It's like you and I talking now and then `bang', in half an hour something happens.''
He said Guest was "doing what he loved to do'' in his role as the Wizard.
He played the Phantom in a record 2289 performances.
More recently he played Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. He also starred in productions of Les Miserables and hosted the short-lived '90s TV game show Man O Man.
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Exploding sperm, stale chips - it's Ig Nobel
By Maggie Fox in Washington | October 03, 2008
A RESEARCHER who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough have won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes.
Other winners included physicists who found out that anything that can tangle, will tangle and a team of biologists who ascertained that dog fleas jump farther than cat fleas.
The Ig Nobels honour real research, but are meant as a funny alternative to next week's Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics, economics, literature and peace.
Awarded by the editors of the Annals of Improbable Research, the prizes are based on published research, some intended to be humorous but often not. Usually the "honoured" researchers go along with the joke.
Deborah Anderson of Boston University Medical Centre and colleagues were awarded the chemistry prize for a 1985 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found Coca-Cola kills sperm.
She said she was serious in testing the soft drink because women were using it in a douche as a contraceptive and, later, to try to protect themselves from the AIDS virus.
"It definitely wouldn't work as a contraceptive because sperm swims so fast," she said.
But Coke made with sugar does kills sperm, probably because sperm soak it up. "The sperm just kind of explode."
The Ig Nobel committee made up a "nutrition prize" for Massimiliano Zampini of the University of Trento, Italy and Charles Spence of Britain's Oxford University, who tricked people into thinking they were eating fresh potato chips by playing them loud, crunching sounds when they bit one.
The biology prize goes to a French team that found dog fleas can jump higher than cat fleas, while the medicine prize was awarded to a team at Duke University in North Carolina who showed that high-priced placebos work better than cheap fake medicine.
Dorian Raymer of the Scripps Institution in San Diego and a colleague won the physics prize for demonstrating mathematically why hair or a ball of string will inevitably tangle itself in knots.
The peace prize was given to the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology for adopting the legal principle that plants have moral standing and dignity. There is a website explaining this: http://www.ekah.admin.ch/en/topics/dignity-of-creation/index.html.
A team at The University of Sao Paulo in Brazil won a special archaeology prize for showing how an armadillo can mess up an archaeological dig.
The economics prize went to researchers at the University of New Mexico who learned that a professional lap dancer earns bigger tips when she is most fertile.
David Sims of Cass Business School in London won the literature prize "for his lovingly written study 'You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organisations'," the committee said.
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Look out crocodile Hunter:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/03/australia.zoo.carnage.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Boy feeds Aussie zoo's animals to croc
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock, the zoo's director said Friday.
The 30-minute rampage, caught on the zoo's security camera, happened early Wednesday after the boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Center in central Australia, said zoo director Rex Neindorf. apapapapap
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Times are achanging! The money or the history. ahahahahah
Mao's personal plane up for sale
Posted Fri Oct 3, 2008 10:42pm AEST
Mao Zedong's personal aeroplane has been put up for sale by the owner of a shopping centre in southern China to make more space for parking.
Wang Zhilei, general manager of property developer Ridong Group in Zhuhai, a city in southern Guangdong province, confirmed the company had put the 46-metre-long plane up for sale.
"There are not enough parking spaces, so we decided to sell the plane," Mr Wang said.
But he would not comment further on prospective buyers or on the price Ridong was seeking for the plane, and referred to a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily, a Chinese newspaper.
Mr Wang told the newspaper that it was shop owners that had asked for the plane - which was purchased by the company in 1999 and put on display near the shopping centre - to be moved to make way for more parking spaces.
The jet is one of three that the Chinese airforce bought from Pakistan in 1969, according to the report.
One was given to Mao, the founder of modern China, the other was given to Lin Biao, Mao's heir apparent, and the third was reserved for the military.
But Lin's plane crashed in neighbouring Mongolia when he fled from China in 1971 after a failed coup to oust Mao.
The two remaining planes stayed in service until 1986, at which time Mao's personal plane was put on display in an airport in Beijing's suburbs until it was bought by Ridong Group.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/03/2381998.htm
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The US state of Texas has banned fish pedicures over health and safety concerns, denying salon customers the opportunity to enjoy the sensation of hundreds of small fish nibbling away the dead skin from their feet.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3161892/Texas-bans-nibbling-fish-pedicures.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3161892/Texas-bans-nibbling-fish-pedicures.html)
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What does $315 billion look like?
http://m3.torispics.com/piles/?s=315billiondollars#nav-holder (http://m3.torispics.com/piles/?s=315billiondollars#nav-holder)
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The US state of Texas has banned fish pedicures over health and safety concerns, denying salon customers the opportunity to enjoy the sensation of hundreds of small fish nibbling away the dead skin from their feet.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3161892/Texas-bans-nibbling-fish-pedicures.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3161892/Texas-bans-nibbling-fish-pedicures.html)
That's terrible!! Let's hope that Chinese 'fish nibbling' places don't read this. Especially as the article states NO person has been made ill from this.
Texas allows people to carry guns, drive cars, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol - all proven killers and stops fish nibbling??? bibibibibi bibibibibi bibibibibi
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The US state of Texas has banned fish pedicures
I wouldn't think this would be a serious issue. Very few fish have feet.
axaxaxaxax axaxaxaxax axaxaxaxax axaxaxaxax
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One of the big questions hanging over this summer's Games was whether the measures China took to clean up its polluted capital would work. After a few hazy days, the sun came out and banished the doubters. Now many are wondering if China will stick to its greener ways.
So far, the signs are promising. The country's leaders and Beijing residents were thrilled with the results of the green drive, and ordinary folks have clamored to keep some measures in place. No one is happier about this than Wan Gang, the father of China's green-car R&D program and the minister of science and technology. "The Olympics taught us all a good lesson," he says. "Now people all over the country have an urgent desire for a better environment." Such enthusiasm is helping him and like-minded leaders push for the adoption of clean-energy car technologies and other antipollution measures.
Chief among them are restrictions on the use of Beijing's 3.5 million registered automobiles. In the past, leaders hesitated to place permanent limits on private-car traffic because the increasingly assertive middle class squawked at such constraints. But the Games have helped shift attitudes, and now the city is unveiling new rules for a six-month trial, inspired by—though not as drastic as—the cutbacks that took 2 million vehicles off roads for two months during the Olympics and Paralympics. Under the new regulations, a third of government cars have been mothballed. As of Oct. 11, a fifth of official and private vehicles are barred from driving on weekdays. Municipal authorities will also begin phasing out hundreds of thousands of vehicles that exceed emission standards by Oct. 2009, a year ahead of schedule.
And soon the government is slated to unveil 1,000 clean-energy public-transport vehicles in 10 Chinese cities. Beijing introduced 23 fuel-cell cars, 470 electric vehicles and 102 hybrids during the Games, and drivers loved them. Wan says local officials and citizens are warming to the green vehicles, too. "The Olympics has been a time for demonstrating new kinds of high technology," he says. "It'll be just like people who have an old TV at home—they'll change it when they see a new LCD screen."
Another improvement has been in public transportation. Among Beijing's Games-related initiatives were a new subway line, an airport rail link and reduced bus fares. Such transit saw heavier use as drivers were forced off the roads. Bluer skies and fewer traffic jams have since persuaded more than two thirds of respondents in a recent survey to support the traffic controls. New rules will take 800,000 vehicles off the streets daily and require ordinary citizens to take public transport one day a week.
Of course, the battle is not over yet. Parts of the Olympics pollution crackdown can't be sustained on a permanent basis, such as shutting down construction sites and factories inside Beijing and closing some factories in neighboring provinces. That means pollution is likely to return in the coming months, if not to previous levels. Beijing's pollution index in August was the lowest in a decade—but it quadrupled in early October after Olympic traffic restrictions were relaxed. And private-car owners—and China's powerful auto industry—may vigorously protest the new regulations in hopes of persuading authorities to scrap them when the trial period ends next April.
Indeed, the backlash has already begun. Within two hours of the announcement of the new traffic restrictions on Sept. 28, thousands of Netizens posted complaints on the China's leading web portal, sina.com, grousing that the new measures discriminate "unfairly" against car owners. "There is still a debate over the vehicle ban, even though the government is determined to uphold the air quality, and is getting a lot of support from ordinary people," says Mao Shoulong, a public administration expert at Renmin University. This resistance is one reason Wan—who worked for 10 years at the German automaker Audi in vehicle development and strategic planning—has trained his sights on building cleaner cars, not banning them entirely. He says the government is "trying its best" to build on green vehicles introduced during the Games. If all public transport vehicles were switched to clean energy, Wan says, the sector would reduce fuel consumption by nearly 25-30 percent and cut emissions by a quarter. That could outstrip the benefits of halving the number of buses and taxis currently on the roads. In other words, it would let Beijingers keep their blue skies—and their beloved cars, too.
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Some 40% of female gas station employees in Metro Detroit are women, up from almost none a year ago. (Detroit News article)
Marijuana Issue Sent To A Joint Committee (Toronto Star headline)
Publicize your business absolutely free! Send $6. (Entrepreneur Magazine ad)
Gators To Face Seminoles With Peters Out (The Tallahassee Bugle)
Messiah Climaxes In Chorus Of Hallelujahs (The Anchorage, Alaska Times)
Married Priests In Catholic Church A Long Time Coming (The New Haven, Connecticut Register)
Governor Chiles Offers Rare Opportunity To Goose Hunters (The Tallahassee Democrat)
Would She Climb To The Top Of Mr. Everest Again? Absolutely! (The Houston Chronicle)
Governor's Penis Busy [should be "Pen Is"] (The New Haven, Connecticut Register)
Thanks To President Clinton, Staff Sgt. Fruer Now Has A Son
Clinton Places Dickey In Gore's Hands (Bangor Maine News)
Starr Aghast At First Lady Sex Position (The Washington Times)
Clinton Stiff On Withdrawal (The Bosnia Bugle)
Long Island Stiffens For Lili's Blow (Newsday)
Organ Festival Ends In Smashing Climax (San Antonio Times)
Rose Petroleum Jelly Keeps Idle Tools Rust-free (Chicago Daily News)
Textron Inc. Makes Offer To Screw Company Stockholders (The Miami Herald)
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This one TRULY had me crying with laughter!!
Geldof launches 'Bank Aid' as markets plummet
Sir Bob Geldof today launched a moving appeal to third world nations to 'give whatever you can' in the face of the ever worsening crisis in the western financial markets. The credit crunch, which has now come to dwarf the AIDS pandemic sweeping Africa, has, said Sir Bob, seen 'suffering on an unprecedented scale'.
Addressing an audience of peasant subsistence farmers in Ethiopia, he urged Africans to 'Give us your money. Pick up the phone and give us your f***ing money now. These people are losing their bonuses, their stock, their options… People are literally losing their liquidity right now and you have the power to stop it.'
The appeal follows a harrowing television report by Michael Buerk from a Wall Street wine bar, where thousands of economic refugees have ended up. They can't drink the water, and so are forced to drink the Pinot Grigio, despite the long term risks to their health. Many of their wives are painfully thin – this morning this woman walked forty miles on a Treadmaster, but has only eaten one lettuce leaf in three days.'
Meanwhile the people of Eritrea sent a television message to Washington, expressing their sympathy at the horrendous financial losses, and promising to return in its entirety all aid money received over the last twenty years. "It's impossible for us to imagine what it must be like to lose that much money" said one man, 'Literally, impossible.'
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ararararar Lotus, if I didn't know you better I'd swear you made this up. What's next...third world African nations gathering up their top recording artists to record benefit songs for starving rich people? A giant African charity concert to aid starving CEOs? Lord almighty... bibibibibi
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Oh shit. I just reread it again and realized it was clearly a joke. The Onion perhaps? I'm a little slow this time of night I'm afraid. Hilarious, though.
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It does help me put things into perspective, though.
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Aussies required to register online for US travel
October 17, 2008 - 12:29PM
Travellers from Australia, Japan, western Europe and a number of other countries must request authorisation to enter the United States on the Internet from January 2009, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday.
These countries are currently exempt from visa requirements to enter the United States for short visits under the Visa Waiver Program, and the new program will keep travel to the United States "visa free" for travelers from VWP countries.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/aussies-to-register-online-for-us-travel/2008/10/17/1223750294754.html (http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/aussies-to-register-online-for-us-travel/2008/10/17/1223750294754.html)
And from their website.......
If your electronic travel authorization application is approved, it establishes that you are eligible to travel, but does not establish that you are admissible to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. Upon arrival to the United States, you will be inspected by a United States Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry who may determine that you are inadmissible under the Visa Waiver Program or for any reason under United States law.
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Ohmygosh. They've gone nucken futs.
Shouldn't be any problem for you George, as long as you don't try to wear your qipao through customs.
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Dear all,
At the moment, Donna and I are mailing brochures for our new project, “Focus On Skills”.
What we plan to do is:
1. Provide advice for Organizations working with training in the development field.
2. Work with organizations in the training and educational skills area
3. Help Organizations to develop baseline studies of their skill levels and monitor the development of those skills
4. Work with organizations, to help them develop high quality training packages and resources.
4. Implement training packages for managers, employees and volunteers working in the field.
If any of you are interested in learning more, or would like to pass this information on, please let me know, and I will post you a brochure.
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http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4958778.ece
Just what you all need at this point: news of the New China Internet Posse!
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Keeping the beat for CPR? Hum ‘Stayin’ Alive’
Study shows the disco hit helps bystanders remember lifesaving rhythm
Most practitioners fail perform CPR aggressively enough, says researcher Dr. David Matlock. The recommended rate is about 100 beats per minute.
'Stayin’ Alive’ really does keep people alive
Oct. 15: The Bee Gees’ famous song is written to 103 beat per minute— perfect for teaching CPR, says The American College of Emergency Physicians. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.
Under most circumstances, it's best to keep the beat of the Bee Gees song “Stayin' Alive” out of your head, but heart specialists have come up with one good reason to remember: It could save someone's life.
Turns out the 1977 disco hit has 103 beats per minute, a perfect number to maintain — and retain — the best rhythm for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.
A small study by University of Illinois College of Medicine researchers in Peoria has found that 10 doctors and five medical students who listened to the "Saturday Night Fever" tune while practicing CPR not only performed perfectly, they remembered the technique five weeks later.
“It’s a song everyone seems to know, whether they want to or not,” said Dr. David Matlock, the resident and researcher who led the study. He hopes further research will confirm its use in lay people trained in CPR as well.
Results of the study are set to be presented later this month at the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Chicago.
One trouble with CPR training, Matlock said, is that most practitioners, from trained medical professionals to people who take classes at the local fire department, fail to perform the potentially lifesaving technique aggressively enough.
“We stress that you have to push hard and you have to push fast,” he said. “If you don’t push hard enough and you don’t go fast enough, you don’t push that blood where it needs to go.”
A nudge from a song like “Stayin’ Alive” appears to help ensure that pace.
Participants in the study listening to the song performed CPR at the recommended rate, about 100 beats per minute. Five weeks later, without the music, they performed at 113 beats a minute, which is within an acceptable range, Matlock said.
Matlock stressed that the CPR-music connection was not his idea. The notion actually was suggested in 2005 by Dr. Alson Inaba, a pediatric emergency specialist at the University of Hawaii, after the American Heart Association came out with new guidelines for CPR.
“Both the message of the title and the mechanics of the music support the CPR message,” said Mary Fran Hazinski, a nurse at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville and senior science editor for the heart association.
Performed quickly and accurately, CPR has been demonstrated to save lives when implemented in the first minutes after someone's heart has stopped, Hazinski said. It’s not necessary to have formal training, she added. People who witness an emergency should call 911 and then begin hands-only compressions.
“The important thing is that bystanders should do something rather than nothing,” she said, noting it could save tens of thousands of lives a year.
The idea of using a song to remember rhythm is appealing to Glenda Henry, 56, an office worker at the University of Illinois College of Medicine who wants to be prepared but worries about performing correctly in a crisis.
"I've taken CPR before, but I forget," she said. "But if someone teaches me with 'Stayin' Alive,' I could do it.'"
Neither Matlock nor the heart association have compiled lists of other CPR-friendly songs, though many popular tunes do have the appropriate beat. One suggested song has the right rhythm but the wrong message:
It’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” by Queen.
Everyone got that song in your head now? You're welcome.
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Gee, thanks. llllllllll
I can tell myself it might save a life but that isn't going to make this an more pleasant...
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Boy, does that mean that if they put a proper washroom and shower in my apartment I can be rich?? bfbfbfbfbf bjbjbjbjbj
UN study says toilets can help combat poverty
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Installing toilets and ensuring safe water supplies where needed throughout the world would do more to end poverty and improve world health than any other possible measure, according to a new UN study.
"Water problems, caused largely by an appalling absence of adequate toilets in many places, contribute tremendously to some of the world's most punishing problems, foremost among them the inter-related afflictions of poor health and chronic poverty," said Zafar Adeel, director of the UN University's Canadian-based International Network on Water, Environment and Health, which released the study on Sunday.
Almost 900 million people around the world lack access to safe water supplies, and 2.5 billion people live without access to improved sanitation, according to UN figures.
Diseases due to poor water, sanitation and hygiene account for an estimated 10 percent of the total global burden of illness, and the total number of deaths attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene was over 3.5 million in 2002.
Simply improving domestic water supply, sanitation and hand washing with soap can reduce illness rates by more than 25 percent, researchers said.
Copied from yahoo news service.
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Yeah......someone who hasn't had anything to eat for a couple of days is really concerned about getting hold of a bar of soap for washing their hands......
Please note the sarcastic tone of voice
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And do humans have the same problems??
Elephant unfit for wild after drug rehab
October 20, 2008
A CHINESE elephant who spent three years in rehab after animal smugglers got him addicted to heroin is not able to return to the wild despite being cured, state press reported.
Four-year-old Xiguang and three other elephants who the smugglers also captured had been taken to an animal protection centre on China's tropical island of Hainan to recover from their ordeals.
While they are all fit again, they are no longer able to live in the wild, Xinhua news agency cited an official with a wildlife park in southwestern China's Yunnan province where they are now residing.
"Three years of domestic life and a huge amount of rehabilitation medication has changed the physical situations, odours and habits of Xiguang and the other elephants,'' said Pan Hua, the park's deputy manager, according to Xinhua.
"They may become the target of attacks by other beasts if they are sent back to the wild. Some are easily irritable now and may hurt humans. They can't go back to the wild anymore.''
Xiguang became hooked on heroin after the animal smugglers laced bananas with the drug to capture and tame him, according to Xinhua.
Police caught the smugglers and rescued the elephants on the border between China and Myanmar in 2005, Xinhua said.
Xiguang was identified as having problems distinct from the other elephants because his eyes were always streamed with tears and he made continuous trumpeting noises, previous press reports said.
At the Hainan animal protection centre, his three-year rehab included regular doses of methadone five times stronger than required for humans trying to recover from heroin addiction, Xinhua said.
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What would Baden=Powell have said!!! kkkkkkkkkk kkkkkkkkkk
And what an opportunity for all of those dodgy scout masters. ahahahahah ahahahahah
Scouts to learn about sex
From correspondents in London | October 20, 2008
THE Scouts' famous motto of "be prepared" is being expanded to ensure young members know all about sex.
Under a set of new guidelines to be unveiled today, scouts will be taught about contraception, pregnancy tests and what do do if they believe they are being forced to have sex.
Scouts will also be taken on visits to sexual health clinics and given free condoms on trips.
While the new measures have outraged some traditionalists, the Scout Association argues they will help members resist peer pressure to start having sex before they are ready.
"We must be realistic and accept that around a third of young people are sexually active before 16 and many more start relationships at 16 and 17," chief scout Peter Duncan said.
"Scouting touches members of every community, religious and social group in the country so adults in scouting have a duty to promote safe and responsible relationships and, as an organisation, we have the responsibility to provide sound advice about how to do that."
There are about 400,000 scouts in Britain, 85 per cent of whom are boys.
But the new measures have alarmed some critics, who claim they will only encourage young scouts to have sex.
"This is not what parents expect of the Scout Association," Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe told The Daily Telegraph.
"They are sending their children off to a leisure activity, not for sex education.
"This is a matter for parents and they already find their role usurped by schools."
Chairman of pressure group Parents Outloud Margaret Morrissey, chairman of pressure group,
Parents Outloud accused the Scout Association of "trying to be politically correct".
"The last people you would expect to be making children sexually aware is the boy scouts," she told the Daily Mail.
"All the signs are that political correctness has got us in the situation we're in now where young people are trying to grow up too soon and can't cope with it.
"They're confused and do things they probably wouldn't have done if they hadn't had that information in the first place. "
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Talk about being ever hopeful!! ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
Russians rebuff McCain money plea
From correspondents in New York | October 21, 2008
JOHN McCain's US presidential election campaign has solicited a financial contribution from an unlikely source – Russia's UN envoy – but a McCain spokesman said overnight it was a mistake.
In the letter, McCain urged Russia's UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, to contribute anywhere from $US35 ($49) to $US5000 ($7104)to help ensure Senator McCain's victory over Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama, currently ahead in voter preference polls.
"If I have the honor of continuing to serve you, I make you this promise: We will always put America – her strength, her ideals, her future – before every other consideration," McCain assured Mr Churkin.
Moscow's mission to the UN issued a terse statement on the Republican presidential candidate's letter, saying that the Russian Government and its officials "do not finance political activity in foreign countries."
A spokesman for Senator McCain, a long-time critic of Russia, had a simple explanation for the fundraising letter's arrival at the Russian mission in New York: "It was an error in the mailing list."
The letter was addressed to Mr Churkin and sported a McCain signature near the bottom.
Earlier this month, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama harshly criticized Russia for invading Georgia two months ago, but neither was willing to say yes when asked if Russia under Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was the "evil empire".
It is illegal for US presidential candidates to accept funds from foreign sources.
The McCain campaign accused Senator Obama earlier this month of not doing enough to screen for illegal contributors and asked US election officials to investigate.
Senator McCain has agreed to public financing for his campaign and therefore cannot accept funds from private donors.
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As a former Boy Scout, I smut admit that back when I was a young scout I enjoyed eating Brownies. You learn a lot from Scouting, you know? :lickass:
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As a former Boy Scout, I smut admit
ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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As a former Boy Scout, I smut admit
ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
Freudian slip!
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bfbfbfbfbf ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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Obviously, the people behind this move have listened to the wise words of Tom Lehrer.
ARTIST: Tom Lehrer
TITLE: Be Prepared
Be prepared, that's the Boy Scout's marching song
Be prepared, as through life you march along
Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well
Don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell
Be prepared to hide that pack of cigarettes
Don't make book if you cannot cover bets
Keep those reefers hidden where you're sure that they will not be found
And be careful not to smoke them when the scoutmaster's around
For he only will insist that they be shared
Be prepared
Be prepared, that's the Boy Scouts' solemn creed
Be prepared, and be clean in word and deed
Don't solicit for your sister, that's not nice
Unless you get a good percentage of her price
Be prepared, and be careful not to do
Your good deeds when there's no one watching you
If you're looking for adventure of a new and different kind
And you come across a Girl Scout who is similarly inclined
Don't be nervous, don't be flustered, don't be scared,
Be prepared
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when I was a young scout I enjoyed eating Brownies.
As I understand it, a Cub Scout can only become a a Boy Scout after eating his first Brownie. afafafafaf
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Wow. Economic cooperation. Maybe there is some hope of avoiding a global economic failure.
******
Paulson lauds China cooperation amid market turmoil
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday praised China's cooperation in taming global financial turmoil and urged the next U.S. president to continue an active economic dialogue with Beijing.
In his first major speech on China in two months, Paulson said he has held useful and constructive discussions with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan on the turmoil rocking global markets.
"It is clear that China accepts its responsibility as a major world economy that will work with the United States and other partners to ensure global economic stability," Paulson said in prepared remarks to the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in New York.
A advance copy of his remarks were released in Washington.
Paulson said the United States has demonstrated that it will "do what is necessary" to strengthen financial institutions, unlock credit markets and minimize the impact of financial instability on the broader U.S. economy. He urged other governments to do the same.
China is feeling strains from the global turmoil as well, but was expected to continue to be an important engine for global growth, Paulson said.
The next U.S. president should recognize this and engage China as a growth opportunity for U.S. companies, consumers, exporters and investors, he said. "A stable prosperous and peaceful China is in the best interest of the Chinese people, the American people and the rest of the world," he said.
Paulson said he hopes whomever wins the November 4 election will build upon progress that Washington and Beijing have made during the past two years by holding high-level talks called the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).
"Perhaps most importantly, the SED has established a new model for communication, enabling us to address urgent issues such as turmoil in our financial markets, energy security and climate change," he said. "I hope that the next U.S. president will expand on the SED to take U.S.-Chinese relations to the next level."
Before the credit crisis forced him to prop up faltering U.S. financial institutions, Paulson had made U.S.-China economic relations the centerpiece of his two-and-a-half-year term.
The former Goldman Sachs chief has made more than 75 trips to China during his career and launched the dialogue talks to try to tackle thorny issues such as America's ballooning trade deficit with China and what many U.S. firms and lawmakers viewed as an undervalued yuan.
While the talks mainly have produced agreements on air services, product safety and energy and environmental cooperation, they have coincided with a gradual rise in the value of the yuan against the dollar.
Paulson said the talks have been an "excellent forum" for discussing the yuan's value, but he refrained from urging that Beijing allow faster appreciation. "I am pleased that China has appreciated the RMB by over 20 percent since July of 2005," he said.
Paulson also urged China to continue with financial sector and capital markets reform despite the global turmoil that has shaken U.S. financial institutions to their foundations.
"Some in China look at the recent failures in our financial markets and conclude that they should slow down their reforms," Paulson said. "But their is a great opportunity for China to learn from our significant mistakes and move forward with reforms that have the potential to produce important gains for China and its people."
He said these include helping to rebalance China's growth to improve living standards for Chinese households, helping to allow monetary policy to tame inflation and encourage market-driven innovation.
(Reporting by Pedro Dacosta and David Lawder, writing by David Lawder; editing by Leslie Adler)
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A Chinese lawyer wants to charge Microsoft with hacking Chinese computers in an effort to disrupt piracy of Windows. I actually think Microsoft's plan is pretty good--screw over the users and force them to buy the real thing.
"Software giant Microsoft has sparked a major controversy among millions of Chinese computer users with the nationwide launch Tuesday of its "Screen Blackout" anti-piracy program."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10/22/content_7126895.htm
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Well - some justification for what we do...
Drinkers happy, smokers coping - survey
October 23, 2008
A FEW alcoholic drinks a day could make you one of the happiest people in Australia, but if you smoke, you're just coping with a hard life.
This is the message in the latest Australian Unity Wellbeing Index released today, which challenges findings that alcohol can have a negative impact on a person's life.
The index, based on a survey of 2,000 Australians in April, found that those who drink up to three drinks a day are far happier than those who never drink.
And the wellbeing of 18- to 25-year-olds - the key binge drinking demographic - remains high regardless of how many drinks they have.
The findings highlight some of the challenges facing public health officials in promoting safe drinking levels and curbing the burgeoning binge-drink culture.
They are also in stark contrast to the findings of research released by the Salvation Army this week, which found one in four Australians say alcohol has had a negative impact on them or their family.
Australian Unity Health group executive Amanda Hagan said the link between alcohol consumption and the wellbeing of 18- to 25-year-olds was particularly concerning.
"This is potentially troublesome for policymakers in their struggle with binge drinking,'' she said.
"It demonstrates the need to focus on the health and safety implications of binge drinking because this age group is not feeling an adverse impact on their wellbeing.''
Also, the survey found the wellbeing of older Australians reduced if they had more than three drinks a day.
The author of the Wellbeing Index, Deakin University Professor Bob Cummins, said one of the most intriguing findings was that people who did not drink at all had the lowest wellbeing of all drinking categories.
This was particularly marked for people in middle age, he said.
"This is not because we need alcohol to make us happy - but it could be a reflection of the social aspect of drinking,'' he said.
"It's possible that a fair proportion of people who don't drink at all might be those people who are also more isolated from social activities.''
The research also found a strong link between smoking and low wellbeing.
Prof Cummins said people living in difficult circumstances were more likely to smoke.
"Therefore, it is more likely that smoking represents an outlet, a way of coping, rather than being the cause of people's low wellbeing,'' he said.
The index also reiterated the benefits of exercise on wellbeing, particularly in middle age.
Prof Cummins said those who did a moderate amount of exercise - three times a week - had enhanced wellbeing, but there was no added benefit to more frequent exercise.
"Middle age can be a stressful period of life when people are managing families, work and mortgages,'' he said.
"These findings suggest that both moderate exercise and moderate drinking can help people to cope.''
Story
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A Chinese lawyer wants to charge Microsoft with hacking Chinese computers in an effort to disrupt piracy of Windows. I actually think Microsoft's plan is pretty good--screw over the users and force them to buy the real thing.
"Software giant Microsoft has sparked a major controversy among millions of Chinese computer users with the nationwide launch Tuesday of its "Screen Blackout" anti-piracy program."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10/22/content_7126895.htm
All it does is set the desktop background to black every hour. I'd be surprised if there's not already a "background auto-reset" program available in the countries where this has been rolled out.
They should have changed the background to a big pic of Bill Gates. ahahahahah
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http://tools.cairns.com.au/photo_gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?category_id=3825&offset=1
Ok....I am supposed to go to Australia for a wedding next year.....I wonder if I can buy a suit of armour on Ebay...
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Don't fret Eric. It was only a small bird!
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You didn't notice this one! ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
http://tools.cairns.com.au/photo_gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?category_id=3511 (http://tools.cairns.com.au/photo_gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?category_id=3511)
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OoooooooooooH yeah! Eric, these are the ones you need to watch for. They luvs Danish!
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I hope they still send over the Grenaches, the Cab Savs and Merlots for the non-Chinese wine drinkers. agagagagag
Wine researchers make Chinese taste discovery
Australian researchers believe they have cracked the key to the lucrative Chinese wine market, with a study of Chinese tastes.
The Australian Wine Research Institute found that most preferred Australian red wines over other international wines, and enjoyed light fruity flavours.
The Chinese export market is worth $64 million each year in Australia and has jumped by 20 per cent over the past year.
Research manager Leigh Francis says the findings could be invaluable to the local wine industry.
"It means they can tailor the wines potentially for the way they grow the grapes and make the wines to make sure they do actually have wines with the taste profile that consumers in China are seeking," he said.
"Wine makers were flying blind to some extent, before there would be some feedback from consumers but very little information was available on Chinese consumers, especially detailed information like this about the tastes and flavours that Chinese consumers appreciate."
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http://tools.cairns.com.au/photo_gallery/photo_gallery_popup.php?category_id=3825&offset=1
Ok....I am supposed to go to Australia for a wedding next year.....I wonder if I can buy a suit of armour on Ebay...
Ericthered,just wait until you see the huge cockroaches they have up in the same area. If you are not going up north,you needn't worry about that bird eating spider or the huge roaches.If you are around Sydney, you will have to watch out for the funnel web spiders. The red back spider in Lotus Eater's reply,is found in most places.It is of the same family as the black widow I think. Enjoy the wedding! uuuuuuuuuu Will the reception be outside in the garden? uuuuuuuuuu ahahahahah
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Eh..the whats-it?? What spider??? AAAAARRRGGGHHHHH.....Need to buy a tank, hermetically sealed tank that I can fold into a suitcase....Funnel what-now? I don't want to know...lalalalaalalalalala....
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Look, as long as you don't sit down, lie down, stand up, you'll be fine. Australia is SAFE - really!!
Much safer than Korea right now:
North Korea threatens to turn South Korea into 'debris'
N Korea threatens south with anniliation | October 28, 2008
NORTH Korea today threatened to turn South Korea into "debris" unless Seoul stops what it described as a policy of confrontation.
"The puppet authorities had better bear in mind that the advanced preemptive strike of our own style will reduce everything ... to debris, not just setting them on fire,'' the North's military said in a statement.
"It will turn out to be a just war... to build an independent reunified state on it,'' it added.
The North warned that its army would take "a resolute practical action'' if the South continues its "confrontational racket,'' scattering anti-Pyongyang leaflets and conducting a smear campaign "with sheer fabrications.''
It said North Korea has a "more powerful and advanced preemptive strike of our own style as we have already stated before the world'' than that of South Korea.
"The advanced preemptive strike of our own style is based on a preemptive strike beyond imagination relying on striking means more powerful than a nuclear weapon.''
What big sabres are you rattling???
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Good explanation for concert behaviour.
Rowan Callick | October 28, 2008
DIANA Krall, the Canadian pianist and singer, one of today's greatest jazz drawcards, was held up on her way into a Beijing theatre earlier this month by a scalper, determined to sell her a ticket.
He was so insistent, she told the audience later, that he wasn't deterred even when she told him it was her show.
The sold-out concert was Krall's first in China.
She was outraged by the price he was demanding, but perhaps failed to realise she could have bargained him down. Rule of thumb in Chinese negotiations: start at one-third or one-quarter of the first asking price, and pay no more than half.
Krall was generous about the response of the audience. But as well as appearing to have caught Beijing throat, which caused her to cough throughout, she was a victim of the China concert syndrome.
China is increasingly on the map for international artists, even though as a market it remains promising rather than lucrative.
The party-state imposes a tax on every activity it knows about. In the case of cultural events, this greatly complicates costings and imposes a hidden burden on genuine supporters of the arts.
A substantial percentage of all tickets available at every venue usually has to be given by the promoter -- free of charge -- to the local Communist Party organisation, to the Culture Ministry or its regional offshoot that must ultimately approve every performance, and to the state-owned enterprise orgovernment agency that invariably owns the concert hall.
The Poly Theatre in Beijing, for instance, was developed by the People's Liberation Army and retains close military connections via the Poly Group.
This helps explain the ubiquitous huangniu, or scalpers. Tickets find their way into the hands of cadres who have no interest in the occasion. But someone in their family knows someone who knows someone who may be able to ensure some money winds its way back up that chain.
It also helps explain the sections of empty seats, usually the most expensive, near the front of the house, even at concerts where every ticket ostensibly was sold. They were "taxed" to officials who had no interest in attending.
This was the reason for the extraordinary divide between sections of the audience at Krall's concert. The hollering and applauding fans were overwhelmingly in the cheaper seats. The behaviour of those in the $240 seats was intriguingly different.
Many were children, some of them clutching light-sticks that they did not switch on. It was clear that many in that section of the audience had little notion of the music they had come to hear.
Perhaps they had seen the promotional photos of Krall and imagined that a blonde Canadian of about 40 must sing sentimental ballads in the vein of Celine Dion, the goddess of Chinese music fans, whose 1997 theme song from the movie Titanic, My Heart Will Go On, has yet to hit an iceberg in the world's most populous country.
Many of those in the $240 seats began to chat among themselves and soon they began to walk out in the middle of songs.
The tickets had been passed down to them for nothing: they did not particularly value the opportunity to hear world-class jazz, a musical idiom with which they could make no connection.
This strange setting for live music emanates from the desire of the Chinese Government, via its Culture Ministry and other agencies, and of the party via its propaganda department, to host concerts by international artists to boost the country's image, while insisting on controlling the content of all performances.
Even the Rolling Stones had to submit a playlist before their 2006 concert in Shanghai was approved. And classical music concert programs are combed scrupulously to weed out works with any religious element, such as Mozart's Requiem.
The conservative Chinese party-state also tends to distrust any event that draws crowds. Hence its extraordinary efforts to restrict the audiences for the Olympic torch relay and its advice to Beijing's laobaixing, or ordinary people, to stay at home and watch the Games on television.
Beyond the official parameters, though, large numbers of fans can be found for almost every type of music. And they are determined not to be railroaded out of their serious musical pleasures, which find no place in the popular media: Chinese TV, for example, despite its 40 or so channels, plays only middle-of-the-road American pop or patriotic melodies. Thus, when music enthusiasts are provided a rare opportunity to hear an exemplar of the genre they enjoy, they make sure the performer knows just how delighted they are.
Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, singing in the Divas in Beijing concert series during the Olympics -- an outstandingly successful event organised by Australians -- was called back for six encores.
When Emma Kirkby sang 16th and 17th-century songs accompanied by a lute in the Forbidden City concert hall, a large group of Beijingers in their 20s hollered in delight, and the English soprano came to the edge of the stage after the show and engaged them in a discussion about music.
Another, smaller section of serious music audiences comprises older people, whose attention is reverential, veering on the religious.
Their stories are, of course, varied, but they mostly share the experience of having survived terrible times, especially during the Cultural Revolution, when their seemingly harmless pleasure in Western music threatened to gravely imperil them and their families. Their joy today at being free to listen to what they want to, for the most part, is moving and stands in stark contrast with the cadres' families with the free tickets in the stalls, who prefer to spend the time sending and receiving text messages on their mobile phones.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24561193-25837,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24561193-25837,00.html)
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This one I really like! given that they have been arrested as spies, will the pigeons be tortured for information? Will they be 'turned' to become double agents? Will they be sentenced to death? What will their last meal be? Were they female pigeons - Mata Hari of the air??
Iran arrests 'spy pigeons' near uranium plant
October 21, 2008
TEHRAN: Security forces in Natanz have "arrested" two suspected "spy pigeons" near Iran's controversial uranium enrichment facility, the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper reports.
One of the pigeons was caught near a rose water production plant in the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, the report cited an unnamed informed source as saying, adding that some metal rings and invisible strings were attached to the bird.
“Early this month, a black pigeon was caught bearing a blue-coated metal ring, with invisible strings,” the source was quoted as saying of the second pigeon.
The source gave no further description of the pigeons, their current status nor what their fate will be.
Natanz is home to Iran's heavily-bunkered underground uranium enrichment plant, which is not far from Kashan.
The activity is the focus of Iran's five-year standoff with the West, which fears it aims to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran vehemently denies the charge.
Last year, Iran issued a formal protest over the use of espionage by the US to produce a key intelligence report on the country's controversial nuclear program.
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Lift your game fellas - you can't just rely on that great body!!
WHETHER a woman wants a quick fling or a long-term relationship, she's still likely to pick brains over a brawn. That's according to a study of university students.
Mark Prokosch at Elon University in North Carolina and his team filmed 15 college men performing a series of tasks, such as reading the news and catching a frisbee. The men also took an intelligence test. The videos were watched by 200 women, who rated the men's intelligence, looks and relationship appeal. The team found the smarter the man, the higher his appeal (Evolution and Human Behavior, DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.07.004).
Not only that, women proved to be good judges of intelligence: the scores predicted for each man generally matched his test results.
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A chocolate-flavoured body sex paint has been recalled from Australian shelves as authorities continue to crack down on melamine imports from China.
The paint, Boxer Lovers Body Pen Set, today joined the banned list alongside six other products including Cadbury Eclairs, Lotte Koala Biscuits, Kirin Milk Tea, Orion Tiramisu Italian Cake, Dali Yuan brand First Milk and White Rabbit Creamy Candy.
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And the concerns keep on coming! Milk, eggs, fish ...
October 31, 2008
CHINA'S state-run press warned today a toxic chemical found in eggs and milk was likely being mixed into livestock feed, in the clearest official indication yet that other foods may be contaminated.
“The feed industry seems to have acquiesced to agree on using the chemical to reduce production costs while maintaining the protein count for quality inspections,” the state-run China Daily said in an editorial.
Authorities in the eastern metropolis of Shanghai have already ordered that more than 100 fish farming enterprises in the city be tested to see if their feed is tainted with melamine, the Shanghai Daily reported.
It was one of the first reports warning seafood may also be laced with the chemical that made headlines in August after authorities admitted it had been mixed into milk.
The contaminated milk resulted in the deaths of four babies from kidney failure and the sickening of 53,000 others.
Hong Kong authorities reported last weekend that melamine had also been detected in Chinese eggs, leading to concerns the chemical was much more prevalent in China's food chain than initially believed.
Melamine is an industrial chemical normally used to make plastics and can lead to severe kidney problems if ingested in large amounts by humans.
But, after an initial cover-up by Chinese authorities, it was eventually discovered that the chemical was being routinely mixed into watered-down milk to give it the appearance of being protein-rich.
Following the egg revelations, authorities are now investigating whether mixing melamine into livestock feed for the same reason is also a widespread practice.
“We cannot say for sure if the same chemical has made its way into other types of food,” the China Daily editorial said.
“We hope it has not. But if fodder can be confirmed as the source of contamination for both the eggs and milk, action must be taken to check how widespread the use of this chemical is in the fodder industry.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese company blamed for selling the original batch of tainted eggs to Hong Kong is suing its feed provider, according to the official People's Daily newspaper.
The brief report said an investigation by the company, Hanwei, found that livestock feed provided by Xinmin Mingxing company contained melamine.
Both companies are based in the northeastern province of Liaoning.
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Dash it and double dash it! Eggs??? Are they trying to ruin breakfast for me deliberately?
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Oh boy, we now are really into the meaty part of the US election.
Schwarzenegger mocks 'skinny' Barack Obama
From correspondents in Columbus, Ohio | November 01, 2008
MUSCLEMAN-turned-actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger has called on Barack Obama to beef up his his policies - and his body - at a rally for Republican John McCain.
Mr Schwarzenegger, the Hollywood action hero who is now the Republican governor of California, delighted a crowd of several thousand at a McCain campaign event in Columbus, Ohio,
today by ridiculing both Obama's policies and his slender physique.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24585297-12377,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24585297-12377,00.html)
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Looks like the Olympics had some good side effects.
******
Olympics curbs Beijingers' spitting, queue-jumping: report
Fri Oct 31, 1:05 am ET
BEIJING (AFP) – Hosting the Olympics has made Beijing's notoriously rough-edged citizens more civil, with social scourges such as spitting and queue-jumping on the decline, state media reported on Friday.
A bizarre "civic index" that claims to record minute changes in Beijingers' manners has risen to 82.68 on a scale of 100, up 10 points from last year, the China Daily reported.
Based on a post-Olympics survey of more than 13,200 people and observations at more than 300 public venues, it found just 0.75 percent of respondents "spat wherever and whenever they wanted," down from 2.5 percent last year, it said.
"The most significant improvement was in the category of spitting," the newspaper said of the latest index, devised by Beijing's Renmin University.
Authorities in Beijing have in recent years conducted a range of campaigns to "civilise" Beijing residents, amid concerns they would embarrass the country when it hosted the Olympics in August.
Last year, in a speech marking the 12-month countdown to the Games, China's chief Olympic organiser, Liu Qi, warned the manners of Beijing residents could embarrass the host nation.
"We must carry out a campaign for a civilised environment and thoroughly resolve rampant spitting, dumping of garbage and other uncivilised behaviour... as over four billion people will be watching Beijing," he said.
These campaigns have included making one day a month a "no queue-jumping" day, while fines for spitting have been dished out and beggars kicked off the streets.
Another day each month was designated "Seat-Giving Day" to encourage people to give up their seats on trains and buses to those in greater need.
Following the campaign, queue-jumping was down to 0.67 percent, from an earlier 1.5 percent, the index found. Littering and seat giving also apparently improved.
Despite the latest index results, such behaviour is still commonly seen in the city.
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Not so much new news but confirmation of what so many here have posted many times.
Fulbright scholar who taught in Nanjing 1989-90 returns to Nanjing and posts differences he noted in "The Chronicle of Higher Education." It's title "Returning to Teach in China." http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2008/11/2008110501c.htm (http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2008/11/2008110501c.htm)
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Not a bad article - and with 2 pieces of good advice -
The Chinese speak many different languages and dialects. English is not one of them. It is still advisable for anyone spending time in China to make an effort to learn some basic Mandarin Chinese. It makes life much easier and the locals do appreciate the effort.
Too many Americans believe that they can remake China. They engage in condescending behavior based on preconceived stereotypes or prejudices. Remember that you are a guest in a country with one of the oldest civilizations in the world and that you may need to make an effort not to become "the ugly American."
Although not just Americans, although in general they seem to be more vocal about how things should change.
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Please. (Where's the eye-roll smiley?)
There are indeed some unpleasant specimens among the expat Americans, but I can't say that our fellow travelers are significantly less obnoxious than we are.
Spend a year as DJ in a multi-national bar some time. bibibibibi
We're just an easier target.
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Although not just Americans, although in general they seem to be more vocal about how things should change.
Not absolving any other nationality of this 'sin'! kkkkkkkkkk
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Yes. Well, then ... Keep trying, Lotus. Bound to eventually get it right, eh?
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Another one for ETR: Not just the spiders you need to watch out for.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24615712-12377,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24615712-12377,00.html)
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Nah! ETR should be ok.He's bigger than a wallaby and the snakes usually don't eat humans. Err, ETR,perhaps you'd better leave your hat on just in case! bfbfbfbfbf uuuuuuuuuu
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Although not just Americans, although in general they seem to be more vocal about how things should change.
bibibibibi
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A better use for Tequila...........
http://www.physorg.com/news145255770.html (http://www.physorg.com/news145255770.html)
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Never be lost again!
Knicker twist over GPS lingerie
November 01, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO: Lingerie maker Lucia Iorio says her new design targets the modern, techno-savvy woman, but the GPS-equipped Find Me If You Can line has raised the hackles of feminists who call it a 21st-century chastity belt.
The lingerie combo consists of lace bodice, bikini bottom and faux pearl collar, with the GPS device visibly nestled in the see-through part of the bodice next to the waist.
"This collection ... is a wink to women and a challenge to men because, even if she gives him the password to her GPS, she can always turn it off," Iorio said.
"She can be found only if she wants to.
"It's not a modern chastity belt. Some men think they can keep tabs on their girlfriends with it, but they're wrong."
Unconcerned with the controversy her new collection has raised, Iorio dismissed the global financial crisis and its adverse impact on luxury items sales. The GPS lingerie retails from $1200.
So how many has she sold?
Iorio admits to only a few customers, but is full of optimism.
"Some women are now interested in buying it for protection," she said, adding that in a violence-prone country such as Brazil her GPS lingerie should soon be selling briskly.
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This time a good woman lost the election.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/09/2414386.htm?section=justin (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/09/2414386.htm?section=justin)
I had a lot of respect for her policies and her way of doing things.
(You didn't know the Kiwis had a woman PM??? kkkkkkkkkk kkkkkkkkkk)
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Americans obnoxious? That hasn't been the sentiment among the Suzhou crowd. The only nationality with a bad rep here (apart from the Japanese, a knee jerk reaction among Chinese) seems to be the Germans. And yes, it's hardly scientific: I know a good number of really cool Deutsch (sp?).
Coming soon: Tequila Diamondo ((TM).
Seems the NZ voters went with the party they thought would understand global economics. I'd be interested to hear what our Kiwi members think.
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"Some women are now interested in buying it for protection," she said, adding that in a violence-prone country such as Brazil her GPS lingerie should soon be selling briskly.
At least they will find the body pretty quickly. bfbfbfbfbf
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I have a vision of prisons being filled with walking frames and wheel chairs in the future!
Japan's geriatric crime wave
Fri, 11/07/2008 - 10:16am
As Japan's population ages, the country is facing the new and unexpected problem of senior crime:
The number of people aged 65 or older arrested for crimes other than traffic violations totaled 48,605 last year, up from 24,247 in 2002, the Justice Ministry said in an annual crime report. Elderly crimes rose 4.2 percent in 2007 from a year earlier, though the total number of people arrested fell 4.8 percent to 366,002.
Thefts, such as shoplifting and pick-pocketing, were the most common crimes committed by older people, the report said, citing low income, declining health and a sense of isolation as the main causes of the trend. Serious crimes such as murder and robbery were less prevalent among seniors than younger people.
The report said elderly crime is growing at a much faster pace than the population of senior citizens.
The rise in elderly crime has also forced many prisons to renovate their facilities and provide nursing care.
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I have a vision of prisons being filled with walking frames and wheel chairs in the future!
Given the age of the perps, I don't think they'll be filled for long!
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Is the elderly care system so bad in Japan that the senior citizens have to commit crimes in order to be properly looked after??
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Traditionally it has been the daughter or daughter-in-law in a family who will care for the parents. Longevity in Japan is high - so they could be in jail a LONG time. ahahahahah But the changing social structure means that families can no longer take the same role, and the birthrate is declining (1.43 - not replacement levels). So ... it causes problems.
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Is the elderly care system so bad in Japan that the senior citizens have to commit crimes in order to be properly looked after??
Yes. Sort of. The fact that Japan has one of the lowest birth rates among first world nations plays into this. It is insanely expensive to simply live in Japan, let alone raise a child. In the late eighties or early nineties I recall a surprisingly well supported government financial investigation in settling up a retirement colony somewhere in Europe.My memory is telling me, "Spain," but it has been a while. Politicians were considering shipping elderly out of the nation!
In the late nineties a niche business sprang up and the demand for Philippine caregivers were one option, complete with insurance subsidization to ease the burden of hiring caretakers.
In weirder, related news, the demand for over-40 porn in Japan emerged and it is one of the few, growing subgenres in the Japanese adult video business with numerous, fairly mainstream companies starting up 50+ lines, and not just for the straight crowd.
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There are also robot care-givers in Japan!
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After a night on the tequila (or baijiu!) take a sieve when you go to the bathroom!
Mexican scientists turn tequila into diamonds
From correspondents in Mexico City | November 12, 2008
Article from: Agence France-Presse
MEXICAN scientists have turned the country's national tipple tequila into diamonds, and are seeking applications for their discovery, with the crystals too small to be used in jewellery.
The tequila diamonds could be used to "detect radiation, coat cutting tools or, above all, as a substitute for silicon in the computer chips of the future", said Miguel Apatiga, one of three researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico who made the discovery.
The scientists found that the heated vapour from tequila blanco, when deposited on a stainless steel base, could form diamond films.
They began experimenting some 13 years ago with synthetic diamonds - made by a technological process, as opposed to natural diamonds, produced by geological process - from gases like methane.
Later they produced diamonds from liquids, and then noticed that the ideal compound of 40 per cent ethanol and 60 per cent water was similar to the proportion used in tequila.
"One day I went to the campus shop and bought a bottle of cheap tequila. I used it under the same experiment conditions as for a test with ethanol and water and obtained positive results," Mr Apatiga said.
The diamonds formed were small crystals, too tiny to be used in jewellery.
"It would be very difficult to obtain diamonds for a ring," Mr Apatiga said.
But the scientists are investigating other applications for tequila diamonds.
"It's true that the fact it's tequila has a certain charm. It's a Mexican product and Mexican researchers developed the project ... but a businessman can say to me: 'Great, how pretty! But how can I use it?'" Mr Apatiga said.
After the first test with a common make of tequila blanco, the group is now studying more select tequilas to find the best to make the transformation.
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All in all, milk's another brick in the wall. ahahahahah
China wants to make bricks from toxic milk: report
Tue Nov 11, 2:42 pm ET
BEIJING (AFP) – A south China city is considering using milk at the centre of a poisoned food scandal to make bricks as a cheap and clean way of disposing of the tainted products, state media reported Tuesday.
Guangzhou officials are looking into the viability of dumping the toxic products, found to have been tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, into furnaces that make bricks and cement, the Nanfang Daily reported, citing Wang Fan, director of the city's food safety office.
The plan comes after some Guangzhou garbage stations earlier this month poured tainted milk into rivers, triggering concerns the city's water supply would be contaminated, it said.
Using the milk products in the manufacturing process is estimated to cost 700 yuan (105 dollars) for each tonne of milk processed, more than 70 percent cheaper than burning it in garbage incinerators, earlier media reports said.
The reports said that burying the poisoned products was another alternative allowed by the government, at a cost of 200 yuan a tonne, but quantities would have to be limited to prevent soil pollution.
In China alone, four children have died and 53,000 have fallen ill after consuming milk or milk products laced with melamine, which can make the protein content appear higher.
Many countries and territories have banned Chinese milk and milk products in the wake of the scandal, one of many involving tainted Chinese-made foods.
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After a night on the tequila (or baijiu!) take a sieve when you go to the bathroom!
Proof that some people really don't read previous posts.
A better use for Tequila...........
http://www.physorg.com/news145255770.html
Posted Nov. 8
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amamamamam bibibibibi
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After a night on the tequila (or baijiu!) take a sieve when you go to the bathroom!
Proof that some people really don't read previous posts.
A better use for Tequila...........
http://www.physorg.com/news145255770.html
Posted Nov. 8
One can only say this story puts new meaning to "a margarita on the rocks," sorry it was right there had to be said.
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All in all, milk's another brick in the wall. ahahahahah
China wants to make bricks from toxic milk: report
Tue Nov 11, 2:42 pm ET
BEIJING (AFP) – A south China city is considering using milk at the centre of a poisoned food scandal to make bricks as a cheap and clean way of disposing of the tainted products, state media reported Tuesday.
This is better than pouring in the river where it would get into city water supplies and into food chain via fin and shell fish. I would think there would be little uptake into fruits and vegetables from soil but better safe than sorry. Then again, is there so much of it per brick that one would need melamine containment just as we have asbestos containment when demolishing or renovating buildings in the future? Does the Middle Kingdom practice asbestos containment?
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M'kay me, now i'm not going to be able to eat bricks.
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UK unis are under pressure to keep the foreign students - even if they are plagiarising, cheating and can't speak English.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7610576.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7610576.stm)
But we could also possibly see some retaliation for the expulsion of these students - will teacher here with fake quals be tossed out??
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/7722943.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/7722943.stm)
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Thanks, LE, for the links to a good, thought-provoking read.
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UK unis are under pressure to keep the foreign students - even if they are plagiarising, cheating and can't speak English.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7610576.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7610576.stm)
But we could also possibly see some retaliation for the expulsion of these students - will teacher here with fake quals be tossed out??
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/7722943.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/7722943.stm)
Our fall 2009 graduate application season is about to get underway. We start in earnest second week in January. These articles give cause for thought, reflection on the GRE and TOEFL scandal in SE Asia from a few years back. Given the paranoia of one of the new and anal-retentive faculty members on our admissions committee I'd be hesitant to let him see these but then again, I like to spin him up a bit.
Oh well, another season of comparing the personal statement to the email and deciding who wrote what. It's all in the job.
Thanks for the good reads LE.
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Who's in Nanning!! Nobody?? There's a new hotel just opened there......
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/07/content_7184564.htm (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/07/content_7184564.htm)
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Who's in Nanning!! Nobody?? There's a new hotel just opened there......
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/07/content_7184564.htm (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/07/content_7184564.htm)
"... the owner is a little worried the hotel might be perceived as a brothel."
You think?!?
Ah the joys of the "No tell hotel!" or is that "No tale hotel?" Guess that depends upon if there is a tale to tell about....no, won't go there.
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Not only China has product problems
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/johnsonjohnson11_08.html
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Not only China has product problems
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/johnsonjohnson11_08.html
It's not who has problems. There can be the occasional manufacturing flaw and even sabbotage. It's how the companies and governments deal with it that is different. A problem found and/or reported and product was immediately recalled, not hidden until after the Christmas sales or after the American Football Superbowl, if you get the analogy. Big difference.
The difference too is in the regulation imposed and fines levied. But vigilance is required because greed exists everywhere and there are those who would cheat any and all they can ala ENRON and even the current Banking crisis. Half million dollar Christmas bonuses indeed!! There should be jail time.
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Hardly China scale. Speaking of China and the bricks, can we use the melamine bricks to pelt the Sanlu, etc. douche bags? That would be justice.
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Hardly China scale. Speaking of China and the bricks, can we use the melamine bricks to pelt the Sanlu, etc. douche bags? That would be justice.
For once, I find myself in 100% absolute agreement with Spaghetti. agagagagag
I think we need to build a catapult and buy some of those bricks.
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An extract from "Smart money" in the Business section of Brisbane's "The Sunday Mail"
.... Further concern centres on a slowdown in China where many projects were shut down during the Olympics period. The effect is showing up in recent economic data. The country recently announced an Aus$800 billion-plus economic stimulus package,which will kick start its return to high consumption of commodities. China will have 700 million people urbanising in the next 30 years, so this is no short-term phenomenon.......
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OOPS!
At least one person died and 16 were missing after the collapse of a partially built subway tunnel Saturday in eastern China, state media reported.
A 20-metre-wide section of road over the construction site gave way, trapping workers below, a local official in the city of Hangzhou said.
Nineteen people were hurt and taken to hospital, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The cave-in created a huge crater in which more than 10 vehicles plunged, the local official said.
Xinhua said about 2,000 rescuers were struggling to pump water out of the tunnel and search for those who remained trapped.
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One of my favorite words is officially a word. "Meh" has been entered into the dictionary. It's time to start teaching it to our students.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_new_word
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Meh.
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This could possibly be the greatest film ever produced. Violent simians vs Sammo Hung - pound for pound the superior to Jackie Chan and still making good movies, compared to Chan, who hasn't made a good film since Drunken Master II, back in 1994. The only thing that could top it would be filming it in 3-D and a score by Dick Dale:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i8d7762ca1514653d6903a3d420eabdf2
'War Monkeys' feature in works
Sammo Hung eyes starring role in Dark Horse film
By Borys Kit
Nov 18, 2008, 12:00 AM ET
Sammo Hung is negotiations to star in "War Monkeys," a horror comedy shaping up to be the biggest feature yet from the independent arm of Dark Horse Films.
UTA-repped Kevin Munroe ("TMNT") is in negotiations to direct the film for Dark Horse Indie.
The horror comedy follows two janitors who, during a Christmas holiday, get trapped in an underground research facility after accidentally unleashing military-trained Rhesus monkeys. Hung is one of the janitors who battles the rabid simians.
Cleve Nettles wrote the script, based on a story by DHI producer Chris Patton. Robert Sanchez is also producing.
"Monkeys, guns, explosions. As a genre freak, I couldn't ask for anything more," said Munroe, who became obsessed with the project after initially agreeing to read a friend's work.
"Monkeys" is eying an early 2009 start. The monkeys will be a combination of real monkeys, animatronic puppets and CGI.
Ruben Arizpe with partner Faith Zuckerman of Infinite Filmed Entertainment/7 Renegades Entertainment will produce and finance the project in association with an Asian co-production entity.
DHI recently celebrated an Emmy win for its John Landis-directed documentary "Mr. Warmth," based on the life of Don Rickles, and is gearing up to release "My Name Is Bruce," starring and directed by Bruce Campbell.
Hung, repped Blue Stone Entertainment, is a veteran of the Hong Kong kung fu scene, directing, acting and choreographing dozens of movies.
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....and if you can't make the opening of that one, try the back alley Cinema Feel Good just down the street, where "Whore Monkeys," a genuinely seminal work, starring Spurtin' Sammy Well Hung is playin' nightly to sold out, well raincoated audiences.
Scored by ---- who else? ---- Big Dick Dale!
The hits just keep a comin' ....
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Any Diabetics out there?? A new hope, maybe??
"Garlic chemical tablet treats diabetes I and II orally
-- A drug based on a chemical found in garlic can treat diabetes types I and II when taken as a tablet, a study in the new Royal Society of Chemistry journal Metallomics says.
When Hiromu Sakurai and colleagues from the Suzuka University of Medical Science, Japan, gave the drug orally to type I diabetic mice, they found it reduced blood glucose levels.
The drug is based on vanadium and allaxin, a compound found in garlic, and its action described in an Advance Article from Metallomics available free online from today. The first issue of the new journal will be published in 2009.
In previous work they had discovered the vanadium-allaxin compound treated both diabetes types when injected, but this new study shows the drug has promise as an oral treatment for the disease.
Type I diabetes (insulin dependent) is currently treated with daily injections of insulin, while type II (non-insulin dependent) is treated with drugs bearing undesirable side-effects – the authors note neither treatment is ideal.
The researchers aim to test the drug in humans in future work."
Original article: Makoto Hiromura, Metallomics, 2009, DOI: 10.1039/b815384c
http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/MT/article.asp?doi=b815384c
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Interestin' possibilities here. Thanks for sharing agagagagag
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I use garlic tablets for blood pressure control. This info therefore doesn't surprise me at all. akakakakak
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From Yahoo news:
BEIJING – China has acknowledged for the first time that more than 19,000 students died in the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May.
The earthquake left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing, but the government had never said how many of the casualties were students. Their deaths caused protests and anger among parents, because of reports that many of the schools that collapsed had been built with substandard materials.
Wei Hong, the executive vice governor of Sichuan, announced the student death toll of 19,065 at a news conference Friday.
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Too bad the panda didn't swallow him whole:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081122/ap_on_re_as/as_china_panda_bites_student
BEIJING – A college student in southern China was bitten by a panda after he broke into the bear's enclosure hoping to get a hug, state media and a park employee said Saturday.
The student was visiting Qixing Park with classmates on Friday when he jumped the 6.5-foot (2-meter) -high fence around the panda's habitat, said the park employee, who refused to give his name.
The park in Guilin, a popular tourist town in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, houses a small zoo and a panda exhibit. It was virtually deserted when the student scaled the fence surrounding the panda, named Yang Yang, the employee said.
He said the student was bitten in the arms and legs. Two foreign visitors who saw the attack ran to get help from workers at a nearby refreshment stand, who notified park officials, the employee said.
The student was pale as he was taken away by medics but appeared clear-headed, he said.
"Yang Yang was so cute and I just wanted to cuddle him. I didn't expect he would attack," the 20-year-old student, surnamed Liu, said in a local hospital, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
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Another of Mother Nature's attempts to skim the top of the gene pool derailed by bureaucracy.
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That's the third panda attack I've read about since moving to China. I was really hoping it was the same panda from the first two attacks, but it's not. I have great respect for caged animals that maul idiots.
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No more free lunches/dinners etc from your students!!
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/25/content_7235701.htm (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/25/content_7235701.htm)
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Oh dear!
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-11/26/content_7241165.htm (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-11/26/content_7241165.htm)
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Television crew filming AIDS documentary attacked in Henan, China
Article from: Agence France-Presse
November 30, 2008 08:09am
MEMBERS of a Belgian television crew described how they were violently attacked in the central Chinese province of Henan while making a documentary about AIDS patients.
Tom Van de Weghe, a journalist with Flemish radio and TV station VRT, told AFP he, an Australian cameraman and a Belgian assistant were set upon by eight men late on Thursday who forced them out of their vehicle.
"It was dark, we were hit many times, sometimes violently. They acted like animals," he said, adding they had been followed all day by two cars.
They were able to get away and escape to the airport but their attackers had taken their video tapes, money and personal possessions including a mobile phone, the journalist said.
The crew was working on a report on AIDS in Henan, where in the 1990s thousands of peasants were infected after selling their blood in a lucrative scheme organised by local civil servants who, keen to make money quickly, hadn't put in place the correct medical precautions.
Residents in the area told the VRT crew the attackers were acting for local officials and they had targeted a Chinese journalist and anti-AIDS activists.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC) condemned the attack.
"This illegal and brutal act is a disgrace to Henan and to China," said Jonathan Watts, president of the FCCC. "If the Government is serious about the rule of law and opening to the media, the culprits must be caught and punished.
"There is enough evidence to identify the perpetrators. The central authorities should send a clear message that local governments must not use thugs to intimidate journalists."
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"If the Government is serious about the rule of law and opening to the media, the culprits must be caught and punished.
Therein lies the reality. Serious? Law? Opening? kkkkkkkkkk
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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24737368-25837,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24737368-25837,00.html)
With a renewed focus on growth - does that mean that the already infinitesimal move towards environmental protection will be lost?
The call for a domestic consumer led recovery is being lost on most Chinese people i talk to. They are talking about tightening their belts, saving more - not buying!
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Dongguan's getting famous:
"Battle at Chinese Nerf Factory Does Not, Sadly, Involve Nerf Weaponry
By Jack Loftus, 4:00 PM on Sun Nov 30 2008
The global recession has sparked riots at the Nerf factory in Dongguan, South China, but there are as-of-yet no reports of anyVulcan GF-25 cannon discharges. In fact, no foam weaponry of any kind was brandished during the tussle, which came to a head following layoffs and unpaid wages.
And unlike the riots that took place in Wal-Mart and Toys R Us stores in the States last Friday, there were no reports of fatalities. Just general bedlam:
The workers battled security guards, turned over a police car, smashed the headlights of police motorcycles and forced their way through the factory's front gate, Guo said. They went on a rampage in the plant's offices, damaging 10 computers, the company said."
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That's a problem in China - the people don't have access to proper nerf weapons.
If nerf weapons are outlawed, only outlaws will have nerf weapons! ahahahahah
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294,000 Chinese children sickened by tainted milk
December 02, 2008
Article from: Agence France-Presse
CHINA has dramatically raised the tally of children sickened by dairy products laced with the industrial chemical melamine to 294,000, more than five times the original figure.
The health ministry also said six babies may have died from consuming poisoned milk, up from a previous confirmed death toll of three.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24740912-25837,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24740912-25837,00.html)
And are we surprised at the increase in number? Wonder what the real number is?
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They just offed some guy who had a bogus ant farm scheme that suckered people out of millions of dollars*. When are heads gonna be filled with lead regarding this Melamine nastiness?
*I'm not making this up, and it's U. S. millions
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OH MY GOSH!
Do not order the Polish sausage in that restaurant!!!!
Or the Spotted Dick.
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There is an historical power struggle going on right now in Canada. Rather than cut and paste some long articles I'll try to boil it down for y'all.
Canada is a parliamentary democracy, cut into 308 ridings, each of which elect a Member of Parliament (or MP). After each election, the Governal General (GG- more on this job later) asks the leader of the party with the most votes to try and from a government. If this party has a majority of the MPs in the House of commons, this is easy: while some may vote against some legislation, when it is a confidence vote (if the guv loses, an election must be called) they'll all get onside.
But for years we've had minority governments. This is trickier: since the other parties have more MPs in total and thus more votes in the House, if they all gang up they can defeat motions and legislation that the governing party puts forth; they can even win a vote of no-confidence, and force an election. But they have to be careful: if voters feel this has been done frivolously, we've been known to punish parties.
Our current leader, Stephen Harper of the Conservative party, has set a record as the longest serving minority government prime minister in our history. He has clearly grown weary of of pussyfooting around the opposition, and when the largest other party, the Liberals, put up as leader one Stephane Dion, a compromise choice with all the charisma of asthmatic accountant, Harper pounced and called an election. The timing seemed perfect: the Liberals wer strapped for cash, and the Conservatives spent a mint smearing Dion. They looked headed for Harper's first majority government, and a far freer hand in running the country.
Then, 2 weeks before we went to the polls, the economic meltdown hit. The direction of the campaign spun around: what are you gonna do in the face of this new crisis? Amazingly the Conservative platform was: cut some spending and wait to see what happens. While every other government put in a stimulus and/or relief package, Canada's government was proposing to basically do nothing.
The government's momentum was destroyed. They increased their number of seats, but fell a mere 7 short of a majority. Still, it was a strong hand to hold, since it would require unanimity among the opposition parties to resist anything the guv did. What's more: their arch rival Liberals, the only other party that has ever held power, had garnered the fewest votes in their history; their leader was the least popular leader in parliament, and had agreed to step down at their next convention; and their purse was empty. They were probably years away from being able to wage a strong campaign.
Now, to govern. Recession looming; U.S. auto makers on life support, threatening hundreds of thousands of Canuck jobs (we account for 14 percent of of the Big 3's workforce); oil prices plummetting; and after all the pain, sacrifice and discipline to get our public debt under control and in the process of being paid off, probably deficit.
The throne speech, to kick off the new session, was simply incredible: it contained NO meaningful measures to deal with the financial crisis. In stead they said they'd address it in their budget, due out in mid-January, and were completely secretive about what that would entail.
Much worse, they announced that they would save $30 million by cancelling the electoral subsidy. This pays each party a buck fifty per year for every vote they got in the last election. Now, it's easy to get campaign donations when you're in power, since everyone wants your goodwill; but when you're in opposition things are significantly tighter. and like I said, the other parties are broke right now. Without this money they couldn't put up any fight against the government at all.
It was a declaration of war. The opposition parties, the Libs, the New Democratic Party (basically socialists) and the Bloc Quebecois (basically the Quebec separatist party), found the common cause without which they'd have never been able to see eye to eye.
The 3 leaders had a joint press conference, and announced that they had signed an agreement to form a coalition government- combined, they have enough seats in the House to form a majority. Further, they had sent a letter to the GG informing her of their intentions, and placed this coming Monday as the date that they would table a motion of non-confidence. "Mister Prime Minister, you have lost the confidence of the House of Commons. We urge you, in the interest of your country, to accept this gracefully and step down."
The guv, thunderstruck, took the election fudning cut back, and introduced some token recession crisis measures, but clearly it was too late: the other 3 parties had despaired of working with the Cons and were determined to replace them.
Now the GG has 3 options:
1. Grant the government's inevitable request for an election. Normally this is a rubber stamp deal, but we just had an election a scant month ago, so it's expected that she will refuse.
2. Grant their next request, to "prorogue" the next session of parliament. That simply means that they won't convene, therefore can't vote the government out. Of course, this just delays the inevitable.
3. Appoint the coalition government. To some of you, this would seem the obvious choice, since many countries have this happen regularly; but it has never happened in Canada.
The government is going to take option 2, and buy some time to mount a massive publicity campaign to drum up support for the Conservatives, and portray the coalition push as a coup (which it isn't), and a faustian bargain with seperatists (which it kind of is).
Our country, which is enviably prepared for a downturn (guv surplus, although the Cons pissed most of it away on tax cuts; total patriation of debt, i.e. Canuck banks hold it all; and strict investment laws that have kept firms from collapsing thus far)...
Is badly divided, when we can least afford it.
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WOW!!!
I hate Harper, I am a born and raised Liberal, but I don't like the Liberal leader either. This could be real interesting!
Hope the general public aren't dumb enough to believe Harper's attempt at propaganda!! llllllllll
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Interesting analysis, Con. Glad to see you back, too.
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Update: The PM requested, and the GG granted, a prorogue. The House is closed until late January, when the government will promptly deliver their 2009 budget, complete with a plan for these troubled times.
Best case scenario: Harper will finally reach across the floor and work with the opposition, or at least clue them in as to the plan.
Worst case scenario: Harper will spend a month and a half explaining how the oposition are a bunch of communist, conniving, incompetent, jealous, whining traitors to their country, and that MAYBE he came on a tad too strong, but he's the only one we can trust.
My bet: Harper will ride the edge of the knife, experimenting with how little grace he can afford to show. Opposition leaders will meditate on how many insults they can swallow in the interests of their country...
I'll go out on a limb: I want a compromise, but I don't think there will be one. Election in the Spring. Hope I'm wrong.
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Have I mentioned how glad I am to not live in Canada anymore? This is FUBAR.
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I really don't want to see a spring election. I want to see a working government. Failing that, a reasonable facsimile. Whether we'll get it remains to be seen.
Harper has pretty much used up his 9 lives and blown his last chance to act like a prime minister. I don't think that Dion looks anything like a PM, but I do believe he has the integrity to act like one for a short time while his party chooses another leader and we as a nation dig our way out of this snow drift recession. Similarly, I don't think the coalition has what it takes to provide stable, long term governance. Just too many fundamental differences. I do believe that the pressures of political necessity and the lessons of recent history are enough to get them working together for the common good, at least in the short term. I don't think 18 months is too much to ask for.
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Oh, Canada!
bibibibibi
And, in the holiday spirit: Florida man beats father with Christmas tree!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iJi5Qhra5Jky8JXiniufnqjnvsvQD94R03AO0
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Oh, Canada!
bibibibibi
And, in the holiday spirit: Florida man beats father with Christmas tree!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iJi5Qhra5Jky8JXiniufnqjnvsvQD94R03AO0
Now that's funny. Good thing it wasn't fruit cake cuz I think under any civilized law it's considered a deadly weapon. bababababa
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Americans have the right to bare weapons invented only to murder, but they still don't have the right to live their lives without fear from the increasing danger of getting their asses smoked out anywhere*, anytime by goons brandishing said weapons, usually legally:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20081205/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_guns_national_parks
*shopping malls, places of work and high schools are the latest, greatest hot spots!
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Blighty does a GFW:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Six-UK-ISPs-Block-Access-To-Wikipedia-99540
Six UK ISPs Block Access To Wikipedia
Child porn filtration gone awry...
10:36AM Sunday Dec 07 2008 by Karl Bode
According to notices posted by Wikipedia administrators, six British ISPs (Virgin Media, Be/O2/Telefonica, EasyNet/UK Online, PlusNet, Demon and Opal) are inadvertently filtering all access to Wikipedia after the site was added to an Internet Watch Foundation child-pornography blacklist. Those ISPs are using a few transparent proxies, and because Wikipedia's anti-vandalism system blocks users by IP address, every single user of those ISPs gets this message when trying to edit Wikipedia content:
Wikipedia has been added to a Internet Watch Foundation UK website blacklist, and your Internet service provider has decided to block part of your access. Unfortunately, this also makes it impossible for us to differentiate between different users, and block those abusing the site without blocking other innocent people as well.
This, and the very bizarre BBFC film censorship sure puts the nanny into governance.
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I'm on Be and not getting anything like that when I try wiki...
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I'm on Be and not getting anything like that when I try wiki...
Did you read the article and can you access that Scorpions page? Perhaps going public changed things. I respect the fight against pedophilia, but there's a point when some "concerned" entities start to get Big Brothery and end up mucking about in shit that has absolutely nothing to do with such heinous crimes. Sometimes conveniently so, like the U. S. wire tapping malarkey that sprung up post 9-11.
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Not that anyone needed convincing that the U. S. education system is pretty fucked, but:
Teacher sorry for binding girls in slavery lesson
By JIM FITZGERALD – 3 days ago
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A white social studies teacher attempted to enliven a seventh-grade discussion of slavery by binding the hands and feet of two black girls, prompting outrage from one girl's mother and the local chapter of the NAACP. After the mother complained to Haverstraw Middle School, the superintendent said he was having "conversations with our staff on how to deliver effective lessons."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gc0c1hB9MlLCLoAjdsaRHOWOraWQD94SR4I81
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It's nice to know that some Chinese boys are really passionate when they kiss their girlfriends. bjbjbjbjbj
********
The kiss of deaf - Chinese man ruptures girlfriend's eardrum
BEIJING (Reuters) – A young woman in southern China has partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend ruptured her eardrum during an excessively passionate kiss, local media reported Monday.
The 20-something girl from Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province, went to hospital completely deaf in her left ear, the China Daily said, citing a report in a local newspaper.
"The kiss reduced pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear," the paper quoted a doctor surnamed Li from the hospital as saying.
The woman's hearing would likely return to normal after about two months, Li said.
"While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution," the paper said.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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Want to make your girlfriend happier? Put down those drinks and nibblies, get off that chair and go out exercising fellas -
REGULAR exercise is good for a man's sexual prowess, according to new research
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24779453-36398,00.html (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24779453-36398,00.html)
Me - I loved the 2nd last paragraph!!! axaxaxaxax axaxaxaxax axaxaxaxax
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Now I finally have a better explanation for waking up naked in alleys. ahahahahah
*******
Ugandan men warned of 'booby trap'
KAMPALA (AFP) - Uganda's police warned male bar-goers to keep their noses clean after a probe found a gang of robbers had been using women with chloroform smeared on their chests to knock their victims unconscious.
"They apply this chemical to their chest. We have found victims in an unconscious state," Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) spokesman Fred Enanga told AFP.
"You find the person stripped totally naked and everything is taken from him," he said. "And the victim doesn't remember anything. He just remembers being in the act of romancing."
Enanga, who explained that several types of heavy sedatives had been used, said he first came across the practice last year when an apprehended thief named Juliana Mukasa made a clean breast of the matter.
"She is a very dangerous lady," the official said.
While early investigations suggest that the gang may consist of dozens of members, the source of the sedatives remains unknown.
"We don't know exactly how they get these materials," Enanga added. "That is something that our investigations must crack."
He called on men, particularly travelling businessmen who tend to carry a lot of cash, to take caution.
"It's a serious situation and people have to be aware."
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they must watch to much CSI in uganda. that was a case from season 5 i think - the case of the poisoned nipples.
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Uganda's police warned male bar-goers to keep their noses clean after a probe found a gang of robbers had been using women with chloroform smeared on their chests to knock their victims unconscious.
traditionally men are known to fall asleep after not before lovemaking.
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I think I need to become a Cleavage Inspector - just to help defend the public against this sort of criminal activity.
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"A leading member of Melbourne's Chinese community has been fined $10,000 after his 12-year-old restaurant was closed in a state of "terrible" uncleanliness.
- Restaurant's 'terrible' filth
- Fines total $30,000
- Cockroaches, dirty equipment found"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/filth-bugs-cost-city-restaurant-owner-10000-20081218-71lv.html (http://www.theage.com.au/national/filth-bugs-cost-city-restaurant-owner-10000-20081218-71lv.html)
HA! Those Inspectors have never seen a REAL Chinese restaurant!! aoaoaoaoao
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They just don't understand the concept of 'pollution as spice' do they??
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George, the problem was that the restaurant wasn't serving the pests to diners like they do here in Shenzhen.
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No failures allowed here!!
China will chase runaway investors
From correspondents in Shanghai | December 20, 2008
Article from: Reuters
CHINA, hit by a slowdown in manufacturing from the global downturn, will pursue foreign investors who flee the country to escape failed business investments and debt.
China will ask foreign governments to help investigate and extradite the fugitives, especially in cases involving large sums of money, the Xinhua news agency said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24829213-12377,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24829213-12377,00.html)
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Of course they aren't doing anything about the overwhelming, dominating majority of LOCAL investors who cut and run at this time. bibibibibi
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When you think "foreign investor" I'll bet you picture a white face?
I'm certain that the vast majority of foreigners referenced in the article will be HK/Taiwan ID'd folks or mainland Chinese who've picked up a new passport and come back to exploit the workers. Very, very, very few will be the classic westerner or an FT who pulled themselves up fro the gutter.
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The article named Koreans as the cut and run artists, but I've herd of others as well.
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but I've herd of others as well.
I've herd of cows and goats.
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The article named Koreans as the cut and run artists, but I've herd of others as well.
Having witnessed many Koreans express their views on China, this does not surprise me. It all goes back to the institutionalized and accepted notion of eugenics that is taught in Korean public schools, both as a science and as a cultural attribute.
Yeah, non-Dave. I'm guilty of thinking non-Asian westerners first, when I read that. bibibibibi
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How to Help Finance a University's Expansion Program:
Using the students' private ID information, open online accounts and credit cards for the students. But don't tell them.
http://english.cri.cn/2946/2008/12/18/1781s434339.htm (http://english.cri.cn/2946/2008/12/18/1781s434339.htm)
The money quote from the school official:
He confessed the deal was in response to the bank's financial support of the university's expansion project, arguing, "it was reasonable to pay back the bank by registering a large number of credit cards."
Oh, and when a reporter comes sniffing around about the story, detain the reporter.
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200812b.brief.htm (http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200812b.brief.htm) (Page down)
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The news has been around the uni for the last couple of weeks. As soon as the student got back to campus he hit the uni BBS. According to my sources, the 'finance' department has been 'let go' - but there are also calls for the President to be fired.
In return for low interest loans, the uni agreed to ensure that students became ICBC customers - and this is how it was done! ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
The FAO set our accounts with Communications bank so we could be paid via bank deposit - almost 12 months ago. hasn't happened yet - still get paid in cash. Ummm.....
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In return for low interest loans, the uni agreed to ensure that students became ICBC customers
Knowing you are a customer is a pre-requisite to being a customer. ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
I switched campuses last year and now my pay comes from this campus. The first thing they did was tell me I had to open a bank account at China Construction Bank so they could direct deposit my pay there. I didn't want to do that as I have had the same ICBC account for 8 years AND ICBC has the only English language online banking. This was never a problem at the other campus. I gave them my ICBC account details and the pay went into that account.
But I was told here, the Finance department requires all teachers (Chinese and FT) to have a China Construction Bank account and they can only pay into that one. To make matters even more fishy, the account had to be opened at one particular branch office only. If you've had a Chinese bank account, you know that your account is tied to the branch office it's opened at. So if you have problems, such as your ATM card stops working, or you lose it, etc. you must return to the original branch to get things sorted.
So off we went (the FAO assistant and I) in a taxi by-passing at least a dozen CCB branches until 5 km later we arrived at a CCB branch office in the middle of the city. Not a main branch either. I now have a CCB account into which my pay is deposited every month-and no English language online banking so I can easily transfer it to my main account.
Oh, and there's no CCB branch office within walking distance of the campus. I have found only 1 CCB ATM machine on campus, and that at the far end of the campus. In between that 15 minute walk, I pass by a half dozen ATM machines from other banks. The problem? CCB charges a 7 RMB fee per 1000 RMB withdrawal from any other bank's ATM. So if I want to withdraw my pay and deposit it in my main ICBC account, it costs me nearly 50 RMB.
In short, I am a knowing CCB customer, though not happy about it. But at least the corruption here was transparent. ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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The Communications Bank is on campus land - we can walk through the back door to reach it - so it's convenient, but.. still no money in it. ahahahahah
You don't think the uni was being altruistic and helping the students out by doing all the work for them in establishing a credit card account, giving them an opportunity to build up a credit rating, linking them with a major banking institution at an early period in their career???
I thought it was jolly decent of them actually!! Such thoughtful, caring chappies, our admin. ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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accepted notion of eugenics that is taught in Korean public schools, both as a science and as a cultural attribute.
Wasn't Hitler into eugenics too? But then again he was following what America was experimenting with at the time - taking it a step further and on a larger scale. I recall reading that America was into mass sterilisation of ethnic minorities and similar practices including segregation etc etc. all of which appealed to Hitler.
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Wasn't Hitler into eugenics too? But then again he was following what America was experimenting with at the time - taking it a step further and on a larger scale. I recall reading that America was into mass sterilisation of ethnic minorities and similar practices including segregation etc etc. all of which appealed to Hitler.
Hitler definitely was, and the severity of which can easily be observed in history books. However, to claim America - as in the whole nation - was conducting itself with a shared view towards eugenics post civil-war, is wholly inaccurate, and neither Germany nor America at that time (1930s and 40s) - or even today - have had homogeneous societies. America's issues with racism are not necessarily the same as embracing eugenics as a social model, since they are not part of the nation's academic mandate, though many parts of the country once had infrastructure that legalized it and implemented it as a social norm, like the south and state-sanctioned segregation well into the early seventies, for example.
Our history books delivered to our public schools haven't emphasized eugenics since the slave days, and currently do not emphasize eugenics, nor do they in a manner which South Korean textbooks still do today.
I invite you to learn Korean and teach in a public school in South Korea and take a look at some of your elementary students' books. For further reference, check out how they explain the existence of ethnic Koreans in Asia. It's something Hitler probably would have envied had he the information in his day. It should be noted that the South Korean view of eugenics traditionally did not include extermination of other races, nor conquering of them. To the contrary, it was more about embracing isolationism from other races and cultures and sticking to its own, for the most part. That's a distinct difference, and one which places the prevalence of such thinking in Korea in a less dark (but no less disturbing) light when compared to Hitler-era Germany.
I also think bringing up America in this context weakens my point. Check our white house in late January for substantial proof that eugenics are not part of our educational system, nor our social structure beyond what the mouth breathers who read "The Turner Diaries" and wear white cloaks might preach under some rock. However, in South Korea, it's still being taught to children in their public schools.
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Our sense of history diverges, Spag. My reading tells me that ALL Western countries dabbled in eugenics via sterilization back in the 30's. It was considered a humane kindness to eliminate retardation, mental illness and other genetic weaknesses from the gene pool to prevent future misery. This scientific hubris pervaded the spirit of the age.
... until Nazi Germany took it to a whole new level, actually killing people with genetic and even non-genetic traits... then later, as I seem to remember, "purifying" the human race.
In Canada there were a lot of tragedies resulting from a liberal use of sterilization without consent, primary among mental patients.
Did America really sterilize along ethnic lines? I heard rumour of some dark experiment involving castration of black people, but never was able to verify it.
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WHOA! This just 9 minutes ago:
Troops head toward Guinea presidential compound
Buzz UpSendSharePrint
9 mins ago
CONAKRY, Guinea – Three tanks and dozens of armed soldiers are heading toward Guinea's presidential compound.
An Associated Press reporter saw the troops and tanks moving in the direction of the compound, which houses the office of the West African nation's prime minister.
The troops' allegiance was not immediately apparent.
But they appeared less than an hour after Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare announced in a state broadcast that he was inside his office and that his government had not been dissolved.
Junior army officers had announced a coup d'etat earlier Tuesday. They said the government had been dissolved hours after the death of longtime dictator Lansana Conte was announced.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea's prime minister contradicted reports of a military coup Tuesday, saying that his government had not been dissolved following the death of the country's longtime dictator.
Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare said in a state broadcast that he was speaking from his office and that his government "continues to function as it should."
A military-led group earlier announced on state radio and TV that there had been a coup in the West African nation, saying it had dissolved the government and constitution hours after the death of President Lansana Conte.
The mineral-rich but impoverished country of 10 million has been ruled by only two men since it gained independence from France a half-century ago, and it had long been predicted that a military coup would follow Conte's death.
Conte, who took power in a military coup after the death of his predecessor in 1984, died Monday night, the country's National Assembly president announced at about 2 a.m.
At around 7:30 a.m., a uniformed spokesman for a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy began broadcasting its announcement of the takeover on state-run radio and TV. A TV reporter identified the man as Capt. Moussa Camara. It was not clear if he was a leader of the coup or only a spokesman.
"The constitution is dissolved," said Camara. "The government is dissolved. The institutions of the republic are dissolved. ... From this moment on, the council is taking charge of the destiny of the Guinean people."
He said presidential elections will be organized shortly, but did not elaborate.
Camara ordered citizens to stay home. He also ordered the heads of the various branches of government to go immediately to the Alpha Yaya Diallo barracks for a meeting. Camara is believed to be an army captain stationed at the Alpha Yaya camp, which has been the seat of army mutinies against Conte's rule.
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Our sense of history diverges, Spag. My reading tells me that ALL Western countries dabbled in eugenics via sterilization back in the 30's. It was considered a humane kindness to eliminate retardation, mental illness and other genetic weaknesses from the gene pool to prevent future misery. This scientific hubris pervaded the spirit of the age.
Now we're talking about eugenics beyond race and ethnicity and into malformaties and retardation. I definitely concede that.
I was missing the forest for the trees regarding eugenics as a whole, and focused on the racial and ethnic aspects that pervades Korean society. I was not referring to eugenics in relation to medical disorders.
... until Nazi Germany took it to a whole new level, actually killing people with genetic and even non-genetic traits... then later, as I seem to remember, "purifying" the human race.
Yes, indeed. Then there's the nefarious activities of the Haerbin 731 squadron of Japanese scientists during WWII that did things right out of the Mengele playbook. Sickening and all true.
In Canada there were a lot of tragedies resulting from a liberal use of sterilization without consent, primary among mental patients.
Disturbing and fascinating.
Did America really sterilize along ethnic lines? I heard rumour of some dark experiment involving castration of black people, but never was able to verify it.
Perhaps during the slave days. It would not surprise me.
Now there's the court-ordered chemical castration of pedophiles in some American states. That's one of those, "I see both sides of the argument" situations, in favor of and being against it. I definitely don't fall on the "liberal" side of how pedophiles should be dealt with legally. That may be the only issue where I fall in line with conservatives.
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Quake Pig China's Animal of the Year (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24833568-25837,00.html)
December 22, 2008
Article from: Agence France-Presse
A CELEBRITY pig that survived for 36 days buried beneath rubble in quake-hit southwest China has been named the nation's animal of the year, state press reports.
The pig won the award in an online vote after his ordeal earned him celebrity status and a plush life as the top attraction at an earthquake museum, the China Daily said in a weekend report.
The pig, known as "Zhu Jianqiang'' which means "Strong Pig'', shot to fame after he was discovered alive beneath rubble, 36 days after the magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12.
According to the Red Net forum, the website that held the online vote, the two-year-old pig "vividly illustrated the spirit of never giving up'' and has become a model for Chinese entrepreneurs'' amid the current economic downturn.
The pig survived on rainwater and a bag of charcoal during his ordeal and was sold to the Jianchuan Museum, which agreed to nurture him for the rest of his life as a reminder of the nation's resilience in disaster.
Now free from the worry of the slaughterhouse, the pig enjoys a cushy life at the museum, the report said.
"It's gotten fatter and lazier by the day,'' the paper quoted a museum staff member as saying.
"We used to take it out for a walk every morning and afternoon, but now it's too lazy, and too fat, to do it. So we're feeding it only twice a day.''
Four legs good.
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Quake pig....
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Quake pig....
Shaken, not stirred. ahahahahah
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And so determined to live for the harmonious society as an inspirational symbol. Can't help but be moved!!
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I wonder if my brother-in-law is serving ham for Christmas dinner? uuuuuuuuuu
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Serves them right, damn child-killing bastards!
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Sanlu Group, the company at the center of China's tainted infant formula scandal, has filed for bankruptcy.
Markets withdrew Sanlu milk powder in September after melamine was found as an additive.
A court in Shijiazhuang, China, where the company is based, told CNN Wednesday it has received the bankruptcy application.
Baby formula produced by Sanlu -- previously one of China's leading dairy producers -- was first flagged in the scandal when it recalled about 700 tons of the powdered milk in September after discovering the product was contaminated with melamine.
The poisonings killed six babies and sickened 290,000 others, according to China's Xinhua news agency.
Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level.
Melamine is the same industrial contaminant from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.
Health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition.
Sanlu could be taken over by Beijing Sanyuan Food Company or Wandashan Dairy, Xinhua reported.
Chinese investigators found melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies, according to then-quality control official Li Changjiang, who was forced to resign.
Thousands of tons of tainted milk powder were recalled, including pullbacks by Mengniu Dairy Group, China's largest milk producer, and Sanlu.
In addition to Li's ouster, the fallout from the scandal led to arrest of at least 18 people in September and new government safety measures.
New Zealand-based Fonterra, which owns a 43 percent stake in Sanlu, said the Shijiazhuang court issued the bankruptcy order against the Chinese company in response to a creditor's petition.
Under the court order, according to Fonterra, a court-appointed receiver will manage Sanlu and assume responsibility "for an orderly sale of the company's assets and payment of creditors" within six months.
"This bankruptcy order is not a surprise to us," Andrew Ferrier, Fonterra's CEO, said in statement. "We were aware that Sanlu was in a very difficult situation and faced mounting debts as a result of the melamine contamination crisis."
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The People's Republic Of Australia? I know there's some strict film censorship down under, but a GFW, too?
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081226/ap_on_hi_te/tec_australia_internet_filter
SYDNEY, Australia - A proposed Internet filter dubbed the "Great Aussie Firewall" is promising to make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries.
Consumers, civil-rights activists, engineers, Internet providers and politicians from opposition parties are among the critics of a mandatory Internet filter that would block at least 1,300 Web sites prohibited by the government — mostly child pornography, excessive violence, instructions in crime or drug use and advocacy of terrorism.
Hundreds protested in state capitals earlier this month.
"This is obviously censorship," said Justin Pearson Smith, 29, organizer of protests in Melbourne and an officer of one of a dozen Facebook groups against the filter.
The list of prohibited sites, which the government isn't making public, is arbitrary and not subject to legal scrutiny, Smith said, leaving it to the government or lawmakers to pursue their own online agendas.
"I think the money would be better spent in investing in law enforcement and targeting producers of child porn," he said.
Internet providers say a filter could slow browsing speeds, and many question whether it would achieve its intended goals. Illegal material such as child pornography is often traded on peer-to-peer networks or chats, which would not be covered by the filter.
There's a disturbing trend amongst western governments to use kiddie pron as a justification for widespread censorship. It cheapens the severity of the issue by using it as the reason to justify plain old Big Brotherism. I find it despicable when people use children or claims of concern for their safety as the ruse for their desire to censor. It's not nearly as grotesque as the very real crime of pedophilia, but it's still profoundly disturbing in its own, right.
England has recently engaged in this, and there is a push for it in America, too, but it hasn't yet reached the stages of internet firewalling the PRC, England and now, apparently Australia have enacted or are about to. The common justification behind this is the same, but I suspect it has more to do with wanting to crack down on civil liberties than in preventing crimes against humanity.
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So when your students tell you China NEVER uses it's military:
China navy mission makes neighbours nervous
December 27, 2008
Article from: The Australian
GUANGZHOU: A Chinese navy anti-piracy task force set sail for Africa yesterday in the nation's first potential combat mission beyond its territorial waters in centuries.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24845277-2703,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24845277-2703,00.html)
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The US Navy already announced that they are more than happy to have the Chinese Navy join the party. agagagagag
Chinese destroyers vs. Somali pirates. That should be a lot of fun to watch - for about 5 minutes.
bcbcbcbcbc bzbzbzbzbz
Sounds like the pirates are about to sleep with the fishes.
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Hate to keep ragging on about sanlu, but this caught my eye in the paper this moring:
The dairy company Sanlu, based in Shijiazhuang, confirmed earlier this week that it was bankrupt.
Xinhua reported Thursday that Sanlu has 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million U.S.) of net debt and that a branch of the Shijiazhuang City Commercial Bank was the creditor that applied to a court to have Sanlu declared bankrupt.
It said the intermediate court in Shijiazhuang had accepted the filing. Xinhua said Sanlu owes a creditor 902 million yuan ($132 million U.S.) it borrowed earlier this month to pay for the medical treatment of children sickened after drinking the company's infant formula and for compensation of the babies' families.
Wang Jianguo, spokesman for the Shijiazhuang city government, said the money was given to the China Dairy Industry Association for medical care and compensation fees for victims, according to a transcript of a news conference he gave Thursday.
A woman who answered the phone Friday at the association refused to answer any questions.
The issue of compensation for the families of the children sickened or killed has become a sensitive one, with courts so far not accepting any lawsuits filed by the families.
Aside from the usual qualms about small fish being punished while the big sharks swim away scot-free, I get this nagging doubt about the compensation money. They put the company into a huge hole to get the compensation money, then where does the money go to? Looks like these guys have been studying American banking.
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So China and the West are cooperating to stamp out a growing threat of piracy...fascinating...last time that happened was 400 years ago. Those pirates are goners!
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Will the Chinese claim it was their superiority that enabled the West to finally stop the scourge of the sea? Clearly it hasn't been able to be achieved without them!! kkkkkkkkkk kkkkkkkkkk ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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China's joining a fairly large party.
Canadian frigate: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/08/06/somalia.piracy/index.html
Indians, though they seem to need better target identification:
http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd-update-mother-ship-shrimp-boat-either-way-it%E2%80%99s-puree/
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Sanlu bankrupt? F'ing A! axaxaxaxax The moral of the story: don't poison babies.
The world banding together to fight pirates? F'ing A! Moral: don't hijack ships. bcbcbcbcbc bababababa bzbzbzbzbz
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Looks like these guys have been studying American banking.
Given how much gold and currency China has invested in, we go full circle, because the American bankers certainly learned how to fudge the books like the Chinese.
The government should compensate the families, because their system let Sanlu go on with the abuse. Of course, there are people in Sichuan still waiting for compensation and ah and up since May...
Justice in China is similar to the easter bunny in the west. Pleasant idea, but it's not a reality.
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Sanlu bankrupt? F'ing A! axaxaxaxax The moral of the story: don't poison babies.
Bankruptcy is often the first step towards extinction, but it isn't always the case. Are the filing for protection?
Don't break open the champagne until Sanlu is actually extinct.
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Read the fine print (and weep), folks. The company isn't going under because they poisoned children, but because they borrowed tons of money to pay for treatment and to settle claims by families that lost children to their callous disregard for safety (and common sense). And now that money seems to have disappeared. Sorry folks. Them that has, gets. Them that hasn't, gets sick kiddies. The bankruptcy just wipes a brush over their tracks.
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aaaaaaaaaa
This calls for assassins.
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TRULY SICK MAKING!!!
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24878783-601,00.html (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24878783-601,00.html)
"man of steel" ?????????
aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa
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It could have been worse. He could have given one to Pauline Hanson, too. ahahahahah ahahahahah ahahahahah
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" The secret is out. The man who kept US president-elect Barack Obama out of Blair House - the security home near the White House - was none other than former Australian prime minister John Howard.
Last month the Obamas asked the Bush administration if they could move into Blair House a fortnight early to get their daughters settled at their new schools.
But the word came back that it was not possible because foreign dignitaries had been booked in.
Now the Washington Post has revealed that the only dignitary staying overnight on January 12 is Mr Howard."
Scumbags!......both of them!
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Need an quick way to lose some of those really bad ESL books???
*******
Indian teachers burn books to keep warm: report
Tue Jan 6, 3:24 pm ET
NEW DELHI (AFP) – A group of teachers in eastern India used books meant for poor children to light a bonfire to keep them warm, a report said Tuesday.
The teachers at a school in Bihar state sent students home over the weekend, citing the cold weather, and set light to the books, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Police have registered a case against the school principal and 16 others, the report said.
The cold weather has caused many schools in India to extend their winter break by at least a week.
Dozens of international and domestic flights to and from New Delhi were cancelled, delayed or diverted on Tuesday due to thick fog, while Indian railways said at least a dozen services had been cancelled.
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naughty naughty ....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7821747.stm
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Mind your workplace manners -- it pays
Thu Jan 15, 9:48 am ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Manners maketh the businessman, with a global survey finding Americans and Britons to be the most easily insulted by lack of workplace etiquette, while Australians are among the most offensive.
The survey, by Australian-based international office space provider Servcorp, listed the top five most offensive workplace behaviors as not saying hello or good morning, not offering office guests a beverage, speaking loudly across the room, using swear words and taking calls on mobile phones.
The use of stationery without permission and asking colleagues about their personal lives were also deemed insulting.
The poll then revealed the United States and Britain to be the most sensitive nations in the world, despite 60 percent of respondents believing Japan has the strictest work etiquette.
English and American businessmen were also more easily offended than their colleagues in the Middle East, Japan and China, nations with cultural traditions spanning centuries.
Almost 25 percent of Australians, however, thought it was perfectly acceptable to swear -- something the majority of Japanese and Middle Easterners found deeply offensive.
Nearly all Australians polled also said they would not think twice about addressing their boss by their first name, something Chinese business people found very rude.
Australians also regularly talk loudly at work, take personal calls and ask too many personal questions, the survey showed.
"Being aware of potentially offensive behavior is a key factor to Australian business success abroad," Taine Moufarrige, Servcorp's executive director, said in a statement.
"Australians are very natural in their business style, perhaps more so than any other country in the world," she said, adding that the survey, which was sent to some 700 businesspeople in 13 countries, was commissioned to help Australians.
The survey found that although they are not easily offended, Australians were more ticked off than their international colleagues by business people who don't buy drinks and who don't offer guests beverages.
(Writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by David Fox)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090115/lf_nm_life/us_jobs_manners (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090115/lf_nm_life/us_jobs_manners)
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Does this mean the system works?
China catches 1,000 cheaters during state exams
By CHI-CHI ZHANG, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jan 18, 11:57 pm ET
BEIJING – Nearly 1,000 people have been caught cheating on China's notoriously competitive civil service entrance exams, some with high-tech listening devices in their ears, state media reported Monday.
The official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial the number caught cheating was the largest ever for the exam.
Cheating during tests is common in the country of 1.3 billion people, where pressure to pass competitive national exams for entrance to universities and civil service jobs is intense. About 9.5 million young people take college entrance exams each year, but only one in four are eligible for college enrollment.
The cheaters had people feeding them information through wireless mini earplugs, and bought standard answers for the exams from outside companies, the official Xinhua News Agency cited the State Administration of Civil Service as saying.
About 775,000 people took the competitive civil servant exam last year to fill just 13,500 available positions. In some cases thousands were competing for more coveted positions, such as a ministry or a department with travel prospects, Xinhua reported.
Calls to the State Administration of Civil Service rang unanswered Monday.
There are no specific rules in dealing with cheaters in regards to civil servant exams, but they should face the harshest punishment, the China Daily said.
"Those who cheat in examinations for civil servants fall into the category of worst offenders and deserve the severest punishment," the editorial said. It said civil servants should be role models in moral integrity.
An earlier Xinhua report warning the public not to buy exam answers, said exam papers were state secrets and those caught leaking them faced three to seven years in prison.
China's civil service exam has been in place from imperial times and has long been seen as a stepping stone to social status and financial stability.
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Nice to see justice dished out to certain people who richly deserved it. Some harsh prison terms (including some life sentences) and 2 people up against the wall. bababababa
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28787126
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Newspaper claims suspect transformed into a goat
Fri Jan 23, 6:07 pm ET
LAGOS, Nigeria – One of Nigeria's biggest daily newspapers reported that police implicated a goat in an attempted automobile theft. In a front-page article on Friday, the Vanguard newspaper said that two men tried to steal a Mazda car two days earlier in Kwara State, with one suspect transforming himself into a goat as vigilantes cornered him.
The paper quoted police spokesman Tunde Mohammed as saying that while one suspect escaped, the other transformed into a goat as he was about to be apprehended.
The newspaper reported that police paraded the goat before journalists, and published a picture of the animal.
Police in the state couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Belief in black magic is widespread in Nigeria, particularly in far-flung rural areas.
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That wouldn't work in China. They'd just cook and eat the suspect. ahahahahah
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Smoking is becoming even more difficult in Canada. mmmmmmmmmm
Ontario law banning smoking in cars with children takes effect Wednesday
Keith Leslie, THE CANADIAN PRESS
20/01/2009 8:59:00 PM
TORONTO - It will be illegal in Ontario to smoke in a vehicle with a child present starting on Weedless Wednesday as the province joins Nova Scotia and several American states that have similar bans in place.
However, Ontario Provincial Police have said the ban won't be difficult to enforce because they already inspect vehicles for seatbelts and child car seats.
The Wednesday of National Non-Smoking Week is dubbed Weedless Wednesday and has been since government anti-smoking initiatives started in 1977.
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Stop smoking in cars with children? Good idea.
Still, Ontario is the PC capitol of the world- well, finalists along with Singapore. You have to wonder how much harder they can push people before the public has enough.
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They're a bit gullible in Denmark!
Woman exchanges Monopoly money for Danish kroner
Published: 26 Jan 09 10:15 CET
A woman in Denmark played a high stakes game last week when she successfully convinced a bank to exchange bills worth two thousand "kronor" in Swedish Monopoly money for a quantity of real Danish money
http://www.thelocal.se/17154.html (http://www.thelocal.se/17154.html)
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Great China earthquake may have been man-made
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=great-china-earthquake-may-have-bee-2009-02-03 (http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=great-china-earthquake-may-have-bee-2009-02-03)
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indeed, but I think I'd be looking more at the HAARP project than dams i.e. earthquakes in Turkey, Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines etc etc.
http://www.haarp.net/
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And now, a mutant Chinese version of the old 419 scam.
http://www.danwei.org/front_page_of_the_day/98-year-old_con_suspect_on_tri.php
http://shanghaiist.com/2009/02/04/99-year-old_becomes_oldest_beijinge.php
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Exploding mobile phone kills man in China
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4452360/Exploding-mobile-phone-kills-man-in-China.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4452360/Exploding-mobile-phone-kills-man-in-China.html)
A man has died after his mobile phone exploded, bursting an artery in his neck, it has been reported.
Local reports said that this was the ninth recorded cellphone explosion in China since 2002.
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Dang!
I had a brill video from YouTube with kiddies using cellphones to pop popcorn!! Danged if I can find the thing.
It was a total hoax of course.........
Funny what we'll fall for eh?
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China arrests man linked to deadly diabetes drug
The Associated Press
February 06, 2009
Police in China have arrested a man accused of distributing a shoddy diabetes drug blamed for at least two deaths, a state news agency said Saturday.
The medicine contained six times the normal amount of a chemical ingredient used to lower blood sugar.
It is blamed for killing two people and sickening nine others in the far western region of Xinjiang. The drug is believed to have been widely distributed throughout the country, though only Xinjiang reported problems.
Police have said Li Dong is the chief suspect in the case, Xinhua News Agency reported without giving details. He was arrested in northeastern Liaoning province early Saturday, Xinhua said, adding that Li's brother and another suspect were detained earlier.
A man who answered the phone at the criminal investigation department of the Liaoning police would not comment, saying he was not authorized to speak to the media. The phone rang unanswered at the Liaoning Public Security Bureau's propaganda department.
China has been hit by a string of cases highlighting its poor record in food and drug safety. Last year, at least six babies died and nearly 300,000 were sickened by infant formula contaminated with an industrial chemical that can cause kidney failure.
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A step in the right direction.
Did anybody kiss a bullet yet for the starving baby tragedy a few years back?
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The CCTV building in Beijing went on fire tonight. There's pictures of it on youtube/youku and it is completely engulfed in flames. Can anyone say what happened?
There has to be a good chance it's firework related.
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Ooops! A little late.
Downtown Beijing to ban fireworks as of midnight Monday
Beijingers have been told to stop igniting and selling fireworks in the downtown areas as of midnight Monday, or face arrests, city authorities said.
The explosives will be banned within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road that encircles the urban areas, Beijing Fireworks Administration Office said in a statement Monday.
The office predicted this year's last "big bang" will last for two to three hours Monday night as citizens mark the traditional Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Beijing Public Security Bureau said it would tighten patrol after midnight and citizens who were caught lighting fireworks would be arrested and their names would be published on local newspapers.
In their last attempts to sell off leftovers, many firework vendors are offering "buy two, get one for free" or discounting original prices by 50 to 60 percent off.
Beijing's three fireworks wholesalers will collect vendors' unsold fireworks on Tuesday, but a handling fee about 20 percent of their market price is applicable, said Beijing Fireworks Co. Ltd. on its Web site.
It said the recollection of all fireworks would be completed within four days.
Meanwhile, citizens are encouraged to swap their leftover fireworks for fluffy toys, washing powder or other gifts at collection centers in their communities, the company said.
Fireworks are part of traditional celebrations marking the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which lasts until the Lantern Festival.
Total fireworks sales of this year have not been published. Yet on Jan. 26, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, sanitation workers collected 2,268 tonnes of fireworks debris in downtown Beijing.
Source: Xinhua
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Banned permanently or just until next fireworks time??
Apparently it was the building just around the corner from teh CCTV building.
Hotel adjacent to Beijing's new CCTV headquarters on fire
www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-09 22:12:26 Print
BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A hotel adjacent to the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters in Beijing caught fire Monday night, witnesses said, and the blaze was still spreading after 10 p.m.
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That's a pretty big lantern:
Beijing Mandarin Oriental Hotel (via NYT)
[attachment removed for space reason by admin]
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No building is more vulnerable to fire than one halfway through construction. A few years ago in my hometown, a new downtown development caught fire, and tore through the unfinshed interior walls. The fire was so hot that firefighters had to cordon off the area and let 5 or 6 city blicks burn themselves out. A lot of people lost their new homes.
I've heard some theories about terrorism, arson for insurance and firebugs, bug I'll bet a fiver it was just a dumb accident.
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Looks like Con wins that fiver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gsUgcHi1mA&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNzB8vT64GY&NR=1
It looks like it was fireworks.
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The building was still under construction and sheathed in that green mesh stuff they use ubiquitously here on construction sites. "To conceal the dragon" is how I've heard it explained to me.
Well, that stuff is flammable...as I guess they just learned. Watch the videos as the fire from the roof peels down the sides of the building.
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Old34, let me get this straight: they wrapped a half-built skyscraper in flammable plastic?
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You never seen this Con? In China, I've never seen an unfinished large building that wasn't covered in the green.
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That's a pretty big lantern:
http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=92.0;attach=419;image
Beijing Mandarin Oriental Hotel (via NYT)
"Project Mayhem is going according to plan."
ahahahahah
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You never seen this Con? In China, I've never seen an unfinished large building that wasn't covered in the green.
Yes, but I never thought of it as kindling. Some plastics don't readily burn...
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Those plastics are expensive. The flammable ones aren't bibibibibi agagagagag
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Sad economic news for the er nai. The lesson here is, don't get in the car with the loser of a best mistress contest. kkkkkkkkkk
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200902/20090217/article_391306.htm
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I just read that story to my g/f. She said everyone is stupid and got what they deserve. I can't be so callous. I can't even think of something flipint to say either. This schmuck just ruined countless lives, and ended one.
I hope nobody comes down too hard on the girls.
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C-Matt, here is the updated version of the story.
Best-teacher contest takes fatal turn at its finish
THE loser of a bizarre talent contest drove her former employer and the man's four other foreign teachers off a cliff in eastern China's Shandong Province in an apparent fit of anger, killing herself and injuring the others.
The survivors told police the crash was an accident, but a letter left by the dead woman revealed the details of an unusual competition gone awry. According to the document, the businessman was going to lay off four of his five foreign teachers due to financial trouble. The foreigners were allowed to vie for the remaining position by competing on their looks, their singing and speaking and their ability to drink alcohol, the Qingdao-based Peninsula Metropolis Daily newspaper reported yesterday.
The case dates back to December 6, when police in Qingdao received a report that a car had crashed through the guardrail of a mountain highway and plummeted into a deep valley. The female driver died at the scene while five others, including a man, were sent to a hospital.
Police thought at first it was simply a traffic accident involving friends on a leisure trip. But the parents of the dead woman, identified as a 29-year-old named Sweet Fanny Adams, told police that a man surnamed Fan was to blame.
Fanny Adams left behind a letter that claimed she and the four other foreigners were teachers at Fan's language academy. Fan met Adams in 2000 in a Qingdao restaurant where he mistook her for a waitress, the report said. The States-side native speaker reportedly became Fan's kindergarten teacher shortly thereafter and lived with him in a two-room apartment bought by the man.
Fan, a married entrepreneur, also kept another four foreign teachers - two of whom were his employees and two his former clients, the report said.
Fan introduced the five to each other, but none chose to break up with him, as each reportedly received 5,000 yuan (US$733) a month plus a rent-free apartment.
But business began to go bad, and Fan decided to lay off all but one teacher to save money, according to the newspaper report. To select the best one, he reportedly staged a talent show in a hotel last May, even inviting an instructor from a local modeling agency to be a judge, although Fan did not reveal his true purpose.
Adams was knocked out in the first round based on her looks, and a Ms Goldie Locks eventually took the crown after she won the drinking contest.
When Fan told Adams she had lost her position and he was selling her apartment, she decided to take revenge, the newspaper said.
The crash happened after Adams invited Fan and the other four women to tour Laoshan Mountain, a scenic site in Qingdao, before she returned to her home country.
Fan shut down his company after the crash, and his wife demanded a divorce after learning about his affairs. Fan later paid 580 yuan to Adam's family as compensation for her death. And the other four teachers went off on their own.
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A westerner named "Sweet Fanny Adams"?!? kkkkkkkkkk....to my understanding that's calling her "Sweet F**k All" aoaoaoaoao....only a bit more politely :wtf:
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East South West North debunked the "er nai" contest article as a fraud.
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Amonk, that was my own little joke. I saw the 5,000 rmb and apartment and thought, "That's what we're supposed to be happy with. Now I know how the standard was set." In their scale of values, we're about as important (and expendable) as one of their mistresses. I also found the game-show style of evaluation remarkably similar to what I've experienced in China's schools. Surely I'm not the only one?
Given the context of my parody, I think SFA fits nicely. I just wish I had the presence of mind to change Fan to Mafan.
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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-02/25/content_7512659.htm
there's something about Beijing and fires as of late... can't be a coincidence.. kkkkkkkkkk kkkkkkkkkk
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They're Doors fans. bpbpbpbpbp
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Christopher Hitchens: Balls of Steel
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/02/christopher-hit.php
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Zhao C must change his name
http://tinyurl.com/ajrama
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Preimplantation genetics anyone?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7918296.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7918296.stm)
offering would-be parents the chance to select traits like the eye and hair colour of their offspring.
But others might just want a boy with blonde hair.
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Good Lord. Good news for some. hhhhhhhhhh
I hope the government lands on them with both feet. May they all die in car crashes before this practice spreads.
A lesser outrage: a mother can designate the father in the UK? The father is whomever she says it is? Men's rights take a direct hit. If it's biologically mine, can the law deny it?
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Ugghhh...shudder... aaaaaaaaaa
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9msn.com.au
Zimbabwean PM's wife dies in car crash 20:47 AEST Sat Mar 7 2009
Zimbabwe PM Morgan Tsvangirai has been injured and his wife Susan killed in a car accident.
More world news: Thai FM meets UN on Rohingya refugeesDalai wants 'Greater T': ChinaObama vows end to irresponsible budgetsRussia agrees to progress on disarmamentPalestinian PM Salam Fayyad resigns Car bomb kills 11 in Pakistan: policeTwo dead in Afghan suicide attackAfghanistan vote set for August 20Sri Lanka fighting kills 32 rebelsObama to reverse stem cell restrictions
Two daughters living in Australia of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will fly to their injured father's side after their mother was killed in a collision with a truck.
Susan Tsvangirai, 50, died on Friday when the car in which she and her husband were travelling collided with a truck carrying US aid on the outskirts of the capital of Harare on a decrepit road notorious for accidents.
The Tsvangirais' elder daughter, Vimbai, believed to be in her mid-20s, has reportedly been working for Sydney City Council.
Their second daughter Rumbidzai, aged about 23, an economics graduate of Perth's Murdoch University, appeared last year at a Perth rally in support of her father before Zimbabwe's elections.
Mr Tsvangirai may be released from hospital on Saturday or Sunday, said Dr Douglas Gwatidzo, head of casualty at the Harare hospital where the prime minister was being treated.
He said the prime minister had head injuries and chest pains, but was in stable condition.
State television showed pictures of Tsvangirai in a neck brace, which Gwatidzo said was being used to keep him comfortable.
"We might release him today or tomorrow," Gwatidzo said.
The Tsvangirais had six children in their 31-year marriage.
It has been reported their teenage twins, Millicent and Vincent, and a son Edwin, aged about 31, live in South Africa, while another son Garikai, aged about 28, lives in Canada.
Ian Makone, a secretary to the prime minister, said Tsvangirai was "very devastated by the death of his wife".
He said her children were flying to Zimbabwe from Australia and South Africa and funeral arrangements were being made.
Tsvangirai's party wants an independent probe of the car crash, a lawmaker said on Saturday.
"We will not get involved in any speculations until a full investigation has been conducted. Right now can't draw any speculations," said Eddie Cross, an MP from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
"The party will insist on an independent investigation."
A US Embassy official said the truck involved was transporting medicine for AIDS patients donated by the US government.
State-run newspaper The Herald reported on Saturday that the two other people in Tsvangirai's car - the driver and a bodyguard - were also injured.
Mrs Tsvangirai was pronounced dead soon after arrival at a clinic about 40km from Harare, Makone said.
Britain and the United States, both supporters of Tsvangirai, sent condolences.
President Robert Mugabe spent about an hour at the hospital late Friday.
Tsvangirai, who turns 57 next week, was sworn in on February 11 as Zimbabwe's prime minister in a power-sharing deal meant to end almost a year of deadly stalemate with Mugabe.
The unity government was formed under pressure from neighbouring leaders who wanted Zimbabwean leaders to turn their attention to a growing humanitarian and economic crisis after years of rivalry between Tsvangirai and Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980.
Tsvangirai formed his Movement for Democratic Change a decade ago.
As it emerged as a serious political challenger, Tsvangirai repeatedly faced the wrath of Mugabe's ZANU-PF. He has been beaten and was once nearly thrown from a 10th floor window by suspected government thugs.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest official inflation rate, a hunger crisis that has left most of its people dependent on foreign handouts and a cholera epidemic blamed on the collapse of a once-enviable health and sanitation system.
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50: way too young.
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oh boy... must have been a slow news days and a big baijiu lunch:
Best mistress competition in Qingdao was a fake story?
Remember that incredibly entertaining (if somewhat morbid) story about a woman who lost a best mistress contest and then drove her lover and his four other mistresses off a cliff? Well, apparently it might have been complete fiction! Damn it!......
http://shanghaiist.com/2009/02/20/best_mistress_competition_in_qingda.php
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Yeah, I made mention of it being bogus but failed to link to the debunking. It think Zhao Benshan needs to make this into a movie. get the Crazy Stone folks to lens it.
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Check out the readers' comments!
How did the Qingdao reader know it was fake?
<My answer? She was one of the other passengers in the car>
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Why does steam come out of my vagina?? ??!? (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsxC4OdxquW3DT8LUR5r68LZxQt.;_ylv=3?qid=20090308204705AAwAMF1&show=3)
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.....because you're a RED HOT Mama?!? ...... :wtf: Sorry, I just couldn't resist.....
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Check out this pun, its certainly got some backs up here in China.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12beast.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Any one know where i can buy one??
There is a herd of Grass Mud Horses*
In the wild and beautiful Ma Le Desert**
They are lively and intelligent
they are fun-loving and nimble
They live freely in the Ma Le Desert
They are courageous, tenacious, and overcome the difficult environment
Oh lying down Grass Mud Horse
Oh running wild Grass Mud Horse
They defeated river crabs*** in order to protect their grass land
River crabs forever disappeared from Ma Le Desert
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Apparently the toys are available. If you find out where, please let me know.
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Yes i would like one too, will have to have a look in the markets...
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They're all over taobao. Just llama toys.
http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail-0db1-05d0cf792e9f6a4fc835a91af0d31ab4.jhtml?pm1=1 (http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail-0db1-05d0cf792e9f6a4fc835a91af0d31ab4.jhtml?pm1=1)
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Just walk into your local market and ask "Cao Ni Ma?"
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Um... Pass lol
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Okies Beware!!
"TULSA, OK -- The world's deadliest spider found in a Tulsa grocery store. An employee at Whole Foods Market at 1401 East 41st Street found a Brazilian Wandering Spider wandering around in their produce section."
http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=10025233 (http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=10025233)
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Bra padding mistaken for pneumonia on X-ray
A careless doctor told a woman she had pneumonia after an X-ray exam revealed a shadow that later turned out be just the padding in her bra.
The woman went to a doctor in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, after she caught a cold and started to cough. She also felt pain in her chest.
A doctor concluded she suffered from pneumonia after he saw the shadow in the lower part of her right lung.
After receiving a drip, however, she kept coughing acutely. Her boyfriend asked another doctor to give her another examination.
The second doctor saw the same ring shadow but realized it was not pneumonia. It turned out she just had a normal cold and the shadow was only the padding she added to the right side of the bra to make her breasts look even.
(Yangtze Evening News)
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Suzhou Creek becomes big barge gridlock
About 400 boats are stuck along the 3.7-kilometer Huajiang Road section of Suzhou Creek in Jiading District yesterday (20th March). The congestion was caused by Shanghai's increasing demand for infrastructure construction materials and rainy weather.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk287/messon08/20090321_394974_01.jpg)
Photograph byChina Foto Press
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200903/20090321/article_394974.htm
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Are you sure Con had nothing to do with it??
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PF, that picture would make a good avatar-of-the-month.
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I like PF's avatar. Every time there is a post with that sniggering dog I always think it's laughing at the content. Like there is some private joke and we're all missing it.
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I like PF's avatar. Every time there is a post with that sniggering dog I always think it's laughing at the content. Like there is some private joke and we're all missing it.
I like Georges dancing Chicken!
I could change my Avatar and use this Donald duck Avatar??
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk287/messon08/emoticon-cartoon-022.gif)
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I like PF's avatar. Every time there is a post with that sniggering dog I always think it's laughing at the content. Like there is some private joke and we're all missing it.
His name is Muttley. He flew with a bunch of villains trying to shoot down a messenger pigeon.
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wasn't that from penelope pitstop??
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Naw, the villain there was Snively Whiplash, voiced by Paul Linde.
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wasn't that from penelope pitstop??
Dastardly_and_Muttley_in_Their_Flying_Machines . Penelope Pitstop was written by one of the writers of Dastardly.....
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I realize this news report will seem a tad offtopic ....
NASA halts test of space station urine recycler
*Locking pin installed upside down on last spacewalk
*Urine recycling system shuts down during test run
bibibibibi
http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKB59730 (http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKB59730)
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Ringleader of major pyramid scam gets 15 years
By Jane Chen | 2009-3-24
THE mastermind behind Beijing's biggest pyramid scheme was sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday for swindling 1.68 billion yuan (US$246 million) from more than 22,000 victims by promising high returns on an investment in trees.
Ringleader Zhao Pengyun, 39, was also fined 300.3 million yuan, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ruled yesterday.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=395284&type=National
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Nah, leave us Muttley. Wasn't there a character in Top Cat called Muttley. I seem to remember him sniggering a lot too.
... promising high returns on an investment in trees.
I hear trees are not a good place to store one's investments.
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Here we go again... this time over medicine??? kkkkkkkkkk kkkkkkkkkk
Welcome to the big red monster where a good deal can cost you your life or your limbs
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/23/content_7604931.htm
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Appeal in Sanlu milk scandal rejected
A court in north China's Hebei Province today dismissed appeals by a brother and sister involved in the Sanlu milk scandal, upholding a death sentence for one and an eight-year jail term for the other.
In the appeal trial this morning, the Hebei High People's Court upheld the original verdict that charged Geng Jinping and Geng Jinzhu, brother and sister, with producing and selling poisoned food.
Geng Jinping was sentenced to death and deprived of political rights, and his personal property would all be confiscated.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200903/20090326/article_395542.htm
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Beware of the BaiJiu jjjjjjjjjj
4 dead, more than 10 sick after drinking liquor in Hubei
PROBLEMATIC liquor in central China's Hubei Province had new victims, with one more died Tuesday night, bringing the death toll from three to four, local police said today.
Meanwhile, more than 10 others have been hospitalized as of Wednesday morning, up from five Tuesday.
These people drank bulk Baijiu, a grain alcohol, Monday and yesterday in Wufeng County. Preliminary tests showed the alcohol they drank contained a larger than normal amount of methanol.
The county government has issued a notice telling local residents not to drink bulk Baijiu and launched an investigation into the case.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=395428&type=National
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See I thought it was ALWAYS a good idea not to drink baijiu. aaaaaaaaaa
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cccccccccc Freedom of Expression! cccccccccc
http://markmossasj.blogspot.com/2006/02/freedom-of-expression.html (http://markmossasj.blogspot.com/2006/02/freedom-of-expression.html)
cccccccccc cccccccccc cccccccccc
Mooning Deemed 'Disgusting' but No Crime in Md.
By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 4, 2006; B01
Acquitting a Germantown man who exposed his buttocks during an argument with a neighbor, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that mooning, while distasteful, is not illegal in Maryland.
"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty," Judge John W. Debelius III said after the bench trial, reversing the ruling of a District Court judge.
Debelius made clear his disdain for the defendant, calling the alleged act "disgusting" and "demeaning." The outcome could have been different, he suggested, if the man had been on trial for "being a jerk." Freedom of Expression?
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Now, that's just silly. Look at way most youngster dress these days. It looks like they are genetically opposed to pulling up their pants. He mooned a neighbour and he took him to court??? In Denmark, that would have resulted in a quick kick up the backside....some people are just plain odd...
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Jail for exam scam organizers
EIGHT parents and teachers in east China who sent examination answers to their children through secret radio earphones have been imprisoned.
The Sanmen County Court in Zhejiang Province on Tuesday sentenced the eight to prison for between six months and three years for conspiring to cheat in the national college entrance examination in 2007, the Legal Daily reported today.
The eight were charged with illegally obtaining state secrets.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=396348&type=National
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Whoa, harsh.
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Here we go again......with a slight twist!!
Fireworks chemical found in baby formula
Posted 4 hours 22 minutes ago
A US study has found that a chemical used in fireworks and rocket fuel has been found in 15 different brands of powdered baby milk formula.
The report by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that the fuel oxidiser perchlorate was discovered in formula marketed by leading US brands.
The non-profit Environmental Working Group says the chemical is a potent thyroid toxin that may interfere with foetal and infant brain development.
The group says perchlorate is also found in the drinking water of more than half of the states in the US.
The two most tainted brands had a nearly 90 per cent share of the US powdered baby milk market in 2000, EWG cited the CDC researchers as saying.
- AFP
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And also German NUK baby powder under investigation in China
BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The NUK baby powder, which allegedly contains forbidden ingredient, is under investigation and off shelf, said The General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) here Sunday.
It is reported that the Korean authorities tested 30 baby powders and found 12 contained carcinogen asbestos, including the well-known NUK baby powder of German.
Suzhou Debao Baby Supplies Co., Ltd., NUK's general agent in China, imported 11.6 tons of semi-finished product from its Korean manufacturer, Boryung Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd., from March 2008 to March 2009, said the quality supervisor.
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A US study has found that a chemical used in fireworks and rocket fuel has been found in 15 different brands of powdered baby milk formula.
A word of caution,just don't stand behind the babies when they break wind. aoaoaoaoao
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On a brighter and more reassuring note: you can all sleep peacefully now. The new Secretary-General of NATO is Danish...yes, ladies and gentlemen, from the land of cgcgcgcgcg, small mermaids and Carlsberg beer. The world is safe, completely safe agagagagag
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Musical Road...........http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-sedan/videos.aspx (http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-sedan/videos.aspx)
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Tire marks lead police to bike thief
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-09 10:26
Police tracked down a bike thief by following tire marks on the ground that lead directly to the man's building.
The thief, in Jining, Shandong province, dragged the electric bike on the ground because he was unable to break the lock.
Police traced the tire trail to his hostel and arrested him the following morning while he was still in bed. He confessed to the crime.
(Qilu Evening News)
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Mutant piglet has two mouths, three eyes
Friday, April 3 2009
A Chinese farmer has told of his shock after one of his sows gave birth to a piglet with two mouths and three eyes.
The animal was among a litter of eight born at Liu Dingsheng's farm in Chongren County in Zhejiang province.
A local vet said that the extra facial features could have been caused by a genetic mutation or feed pollution.
"We were shocked to see such a weird looking creature. I don't really know what to do with it," Dingsheng told People's Daily.
(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk287/messon08/160x120_mutant_piglet.jpg)
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hmmm........snout to brag about..........("s'nowt".......in Nottm dialect!).
Nice one, Paddy!!
agagagagag
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On a brighter and more reassuring note: you can all sleep peacefully now. The new Secretary-General of NATO is Danish...yes, ladies and gentlemen, from the land of cgcgcgcgcg, small mermaids and Carlsberg beer. The world is safe, completely safe agagagagag
Ah, Eric...........this big blue marble world of ours now cradles itself in your nation's capable hands. I sleep now, safely in my soft little bed, knowing that thou reposeth upon thy rock!
(in other words, folks - his bed is likened to a brick!.......mine is as soft as down!......ain't I the lucky one!! LOL!!). Read and weep, Eric, my Danish Devil friend!!
Pace, in omnipotens.....from Negotiums permabulans in Tenebris.....
figure that out, and I'll stand you dinner! LOL!! bhbhbhbhbh bhbhbhbhbh
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Now, that's just silly. Look at way most youngster dress these days. It looks like they are genetically opposed to pulling up their pants. He mooned a neighbour and he took him to court??? In Denmark, that would have resulted in a quick kick up the backside....some people are just plain odd...
Ja!!.......we're ALL odd, Eric!! (otherwise we wouldn't be here!!) LOL!!
IMHO - a swift kick in the pants never hurt anyone!
And don't we all weep for the days of the old British 'Bobby' that would swat you upside the head with his gloves, and tell you "gerrout of it!".......?
Where the hell did respect and discipline go??
kkkkkkkkkk bfbfbfbfbf
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I was hoping the Canadian guy would get the nod. He's one of the few prominent conservatives that I respect and trust.
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It's taking place in lunchrooms, playgrounds and classrooms across the tri-state area.
It may even be happening in your own home --
aoaoaoaoao kids smoking candy! aoaoaoaoao
ababababab "Eventually, as I got better at it, you know, it was just a cool thing to do," ababababab
http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/smoking.candy.smarties.2.982419.html (http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/smoking.candy.smarties.2.982419.html)
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Please take note.....these are American "Smarties" kkkkkkkkkk hard and powdery......NOT the true "Smarties" ababababab from the UK/Nestle's
And what the big deal, anyway. We had candy cigarettes when I was little :wtf:
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Child Rapist and Pornographer Gets 50 Years (Dude hid in China)
http://tinyurl.com/cox945
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Not the perv I knew here. Icky nonetheless.
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BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/14/content_11184581.htm (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/14/content_11184581.htm)
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So that's why they were training all those men in dolphin suits last month... ahahahahah
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From CNN's website:
China's economy grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, down from 6.8 percent last quarter and from 10.6 percent year-on-year, state media reported on Thursday.
It is the slowest rate of growth for the Asian nation in nearly a decade, Xinhua reported.
The economic data was announced at a news conference by Ma Jiantang, director of the National Bureau of Statistics.
Gross domestic product reached 6.6 trillion yuan (about $939 billion) during the quarter, according to government-run news agency Xinhua.
Meanwhile, industrial output grew 5.1 percent for the quarter and showed signs of improvement -- climbing 8.3 percent in March.
China's consumer price index and producer price index -- two major indicators of inflation -- fell 1.2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, while retail sales grew 15 percent.
Other bright spots were a rise of fixed-asset investment to 28.8 percent, compared with last year, to $411 billion.
Foreign direct investment declined 20.6 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year, with investments totaling $21.8 billion.
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But at what rate does China's economy need to grow just to stay even with population growth? After all, a positive growth rate may bean a negative per-capita national income change if population grows faster than GDP.
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Taxis scam with dodgy meters
SOME taxis have installed devices in their cabs that make the meter tick faster or increase the distance traveled, local quality authorities warned yesterday.
The Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Inspection's taxi meter test office said it had found nearly 80 such devices in taxis in January and February, mostly targeting foreigners and tourists from other provinces at airports and railway stations.
Officials said even taxis from reputable companies were involved.
It's hard for passengers, especially those in the backseat, to know what's happening because drivers can control the devices by remote control or with a thin wire hidden under the gear stick.
Ren Yushi, a middle-school teacher, told Shanghai Daily it usually cost him about 30 yuan (US$4.40) to travel home from school, but one day he had to pay 40 yuan when the traffic wasn't bad. He didn't find out what was wrong until he compared the receipt with the one from the previous day.
"For the very same route, the receipt showed 3 kilometers more than usual," he said.
So now as well as taking the longest route the taxi drivers are finding new ways to "