Harmonious Society Defined

You see the term "harmonious society" in every piece of propagandist literature put out by the Communist party. This is the first time I've seen them attempt to define it.

The government plans to set up a system that will measure factors that contribute to "building a harmonious society," a senior government official has said.

"The ministry is working together with experts to create an index system judging social harmony," Wang Jinhua, deputy director of the Grassroots Political and Community Development under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said.

Though Wang did not reveal details, he said the satisfaction level of citizens would be the chief criterion.

The idea of "building a harmonious society" was adopted by the Party as a key factor to judge its leadership, since 2004.

A harmonious society is defined as a socialist democracy, with rule of law, social justice, honesty and credibility, balancing human activities and natural resources.

Right now, China looks nothing like a democracy, has virtually no rule of law, very little social justice, no honesty at any level and very little credibility in anything other than its economy. The government doesn't do a particularly good job of balancing human activities and natural resources either. The good news is all the room for improvement. At least we know what the measuring stick is.

Great Moments in Middle School Education

At least someone is earning their pay. Rest assured there will be no physical contact in the school yard when Ms. Sharts is in charge.

"Last year we would see maybe as many as 10 students on one side (of the hallway), 10 on the other and then, going in opposite directions, would sort of have a hug line going on and you could see where that would be a problem," said Victoria Sharts, principal of Oak Park's Percy Julian Middle School.

So this year Sharts decided to draw the line on hug lines by banning all hugging among students within the building.

More Recalls

China's going to be looking for a big apology for this one:

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.

Interviewing Jenna Bush

Here is a tidbit from an inteview of Jenna Bush by Diane Sawyer. The point of the interview was purportedly to discuss Jenna's work with UNICEF, her new book that arose from those experiences and her engagement. But of course, no interview of Jenna Bush is complete without a few questions on the Iraq war including this one:

"You know there've been people — [actor] Matt Damon among them — who have said, 'Should the Bush daughters be fighting in Iraq?'" Sawyer said.

Hum. Perhaps someone should remind Matt Damon that we have an ALL volunteer army.

Her response is pretty good: I'm doing my best to serve my country in other ways.

"Obviously I understand that question and see what, what the point of that question is, for sure," Bush said. "I think there are many ways to serve your country. And I think … what's most appropriate for me to do is to teach or to work in UNICEF and represent our country in Latin America. But you know I don't think it's a practical question. I think if people really thought about it, they know that we would put many people in danger. But I understand the point of it. I hope that I serve by being a teacher."

Katie Distinquishes Herself

If you're a big Katie Couric fan like I am, you'll appreciate this article. She had a few things to say at a National Press Club seminar on "Democracy and the Press" Thursday night.

"Everyone in this room would agree that people in this country were misled in terms of the rationale for this war," Couric said, according to a report in the San Francisco Examiner.

That should tell you something. Everyone in that press club room is assumed to have the same opinion on Iraq.

"I've never understood why [invading Iraq] was so high on the administration's agenda when terrorism was going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan - and that [Iraq] had no true connection with al Qaeda," she said.

Actually, she may have noticed that Iraq came in second to Afghanistan on the hit list. And we cut a deal with Pakistan, for better or for worse, which required, with some success, Pakistan's cooperation.

Prior to going to war with Iraq, Bush laid out his rational and agenda and convinced Congress and the majority of the nation that it was a good idea. It was based on the best information available at the time and was consistent with other intelligence from other countries.

If she wasn't listening to the evidence and rational put forth by the administration in 2002 and 2003, shame on her. The basis of Bush's argument was not that there was a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. This is something that Ms. Couric and her buddies in New York and DC are interested in promoting, but it is sloppy journalism. If you want to refute the decision to invade Iraq, go ahead. There are good arguments. But make them and quit relying on how easily fooled you were.

"The whole culture of wearing flags on our lapel and saying 'we' when referring to the United States and, even the 'shock and awe' of the initial stages, it was just too jubilant and just a little uncomfortable."

This sums up my problem with Katie Couric and may other liberal journalist - the "flags on the lapel" and the "we" when referring to the US was and is a sign of unity in the face of attack by a foreign enemy. What would Ms. Couric and her colleagues have us do under these circumstance? Examine the root causes of the murder of 3000 Americans by a bunch of wealthy Muslim terrorists who were pretty clear about their goals from the outset?

Couric, 50, also accused the Bush Administration of "disbanding the Iraq military, and leaving 100,000 Sunni men feeling marginalized and angry" - and said she'd "feel totally comfortable saying any of that at some point, if required, on television."

If she means the Republican Guard, I believe that was the point. Since then, our armed forces have done their best to train and equip a new army that we hope will be loyal to the country and capable of its defense. I don't remember Couric complaining about Clinton or Carter disbanding our CIA or our millitary and marginalizing them, a complaint that would be better placed.

She also said her former network, NBC, tried to muzzle her after she conducted a combative interview with Condoleezza Rice on the "Today" show.

"I think there was a lot of undercurrent of pressure not to rock the boat for a variety of reasons . . . " she said, without elaborating.

Yes, it's called ratings. The vast unwashed masses don't appreciate a mindless know-it-all ineffectively berating an intelligent accomplished woman.

Couric, whose newscast is mired in third place, also slammed Rather for his "60 Minutes II" report questioning George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard in the 1970s.

The report, which aired just before Bush sought reelection in 2004, was discredited - and led to Rather's eventual ouster from CBS News.

"There were things in there that were quite egregious in terms of how it was reported," Couric said of the report.

"And sloppy work is sloppy work."

I trust her to know it when she sees it.

China Progresses

Here are a few positives out of China of late:

A draft regulation by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) will require drug makers to recover dangerous or deadly medication from consumers within 24 hours of a recall, state media reported. The 24-hour rule will take effect under a three-tier recall system based on international practices indicating the level of health concern of the drug recalled. The draft regulation stipulates SFDA will hold drug makers accountable for health scares triggered by problematic drugs, and drug makers will face fines of up to three times the value of the drugs involved with a possible revocation of their licenses, in addition to bearing the costs of the recalls. Hospitals and retailers of problematic drugs will also be fined US$132 to US$62,393, or have their licenses revoked in serious cases if the drugs continue to be sold after the recall. The final version of the draft regulation will be implemented October 8, after feedback from stakeholders and drug companies, a spokesperson for SFDA said.

And on the edible side of quality:

China's quality and safety watchdog canceled the licenses of 564 food makers, part of stepped-up efforts to crack down on unsafe food. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said more than half the companies failed to reapply after moving, reorganizing or letting their old licenses expire, according to a statement posted on the agency's Web site today. Three companies lost licenses for illegal behavior, the statement said, without giving more details.

China Holds US Banks Hostage

Beijing could allow international investors to take bigger stakes in domestic banks in China if Chinese lenders were given licences to operate in the US, according to the country’s top banking regulator.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, tied greater access for foreign investors in China to US banking licence applications from two banks in particular – the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Merchants Bank.

Here's the problem: Chinese banks are insolvent. They have virtually no internal controls and are by and larged used to prop up state-owned industries. They have no business operating in a free market society. Their non-performing loan list looks like our tax code.

I can't tell if the Chinese government truly believes the US is using this as an excuse to keep them out of the market or whether they are using it as an excuse to keep us out of theirs.

The Journalism Set

Sometimes it's difficult to tell when a comment is a slight or a compliment. These two snotty reporters, the first from the New York Daily News who originally wrote the story and the second from MSNBC's gossip section, pick apart recent comments made by Rachael Smith, Miss USA.

The latest Miss USA, Rachel Smith, recently revealed how much she really doesn’t know at a Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network event, reports the New York Daily News. Speaking about her future plans, the seemingly-superficial Miss Smith said, “I always wanted to be a reporter — maybe some TV. Who knows? Some serious news — but some modeling, too.”

Resolute Rachel, who also described how she danced around in a hot pink Rocawear sweatsuit and her crown the night she won Miss USA, didn’t pontificate on how she intended to mix journalism with modeling. But the News reports that she was able to emphatically state, “I just don’t want to end up like Katie Couric. I want people to take me seriously.”

I happen to agree with the statement about Katie Couric. She was suited for the light-hearted Good Morning America where she was expected to discuss new trends in women's hosiery or whether flourless chocolate cake can go toe to toe with lemon squares. Her ratings were good, and people thought she was cute.

It's no secret that she's a complete disaster in her role as anchor. She has the lowest ratings of not only the three major networks, but she probably couldn't beat C-Span. She is biased, unprofessional and weak. That's fine. Many comedians can't hold their own in drama and there's no reason to think a good doctor would make an excellent astronaut.

Perhaps the 21 year old Ms. Smith did herself no favors in uttering the comment. But the tone these reporters take is fantastic: "She is way too dumb to be one of us." You've got to be kidding me. On the evolutionary chain, there are nats, then most artists, professors at Ivy League institutions, and next in line you have the majority of journalists battling it out with the Hollywood types.

There is a small core group of accomplished journalists on the left and right: George Will, Thomas Friedman, Christopher Hitchens or Bob Bartley types. Then there are the hacks, made up of folks covering Lindsey Lohan's latest DWI or Miss USA's first interview. Give Ms. Smith 10 years. She'll probably fit right in.

Then there is this little quip:

No problem, honey. According to a Couric representative, “If (Rachel Smith) continues to offer such profound insight, she will not have to worry about anyone taking her seriously.”

The Couric representative had an opportunity to stay above the fray and instead dove right into the pig sty. Wouldn't it have been nice to hear: "We wish Ms. Smith all the luck in her endeavors." Not from this group. Save the sarcasm for the political leaders, the Greenpeace operators and the over 30's. Leave the model/journalist/beauty queen alone for a while.

John Kerry in Training

Democrat Barack Obama says he probably wouldn't have invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University but would be willing as president to meet with the Iranian leader as a way to protect U.S. interests.

I'm not sure I follow that logic, but I'm sure some voters will find it nuanced and brilliant.

"The hateful lies that he may utter about Israel, the Holocaust — the answer is for us to promote the truth and show the world the values and ideals that we hold dear," Obama said Monday. "One of the values we believe in is the value of academic freedom. He has a right to speak."

Hold it there for a minute. The First Amendment right is extended to citizens of the United States. I don't know that it has been extended to people who are not citizens of the US. Second, and this is a big second because a lot of people have trouble with it, it is a restriction on the government. It is not a restriction on Columbia University. Columbia University can deny this bum a platform without running afoul of these rights. It had a choice. It was not Ahmadinejad's right to speak at the University.

If Ahmadinejad knocks on the door to my office and wants to lecture my employees on the evils of Israel, I have every right to tell him to get the (^%&^ out.

Columbia University's Disgrace

Notice to all Left Wing Organizations:

Here is the monster you've invited into your universities, onto your favorite TV shows and down to Ground Zero.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad skirted a question about the treatment of homosexuals in Iran on Monday, saying in a speech at a top US university that there were no gays in Iran.

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," Ahmadinejad said to howls and boos among the Columbia University audience.

"In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don't know who has told you that we have it," he said.

The reason there are no homosexuals in Iran is that the government kills homosexuals.

Ahmadinejad has in the past called for Israel's elimination. But his exact remarks have been disputed. Some translators say he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," but others say that would be better translated as "vanish from the pages of time" - implying Israel would disappear on its own rather than be destroyed.

This distinction is lost on me. "Vanish from the pages of time" is supposed to be morally superior to "wiped off the map"?

Asked by an audience member if Iran sought the destruction of Israel, Ahmadinejad did not answer directly.

"We are friends of all the nations," he said. "We are friends with the Jewish people. There are many Jews in Iran living peacefully with security."

The age old response: I don't have a problem with black people. Some of my best friends are black. Wouldn't you just love a list of all the Jewish people living their long, happy, prosperous lives in Iran.

Thank goodness the NY authorities denied this pig's request to view his people's masterpiece.

Asked why he had asked to visit the World Trade Center site - a request denied by New York authorities - Ahmadinejad said he wanted to express sympathy for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Then he appeared to question whether al-Qaida was responsible, saying more research was needed.

"If the root causes of 9/11 are examined properly - why it happened, what caused it, what were the conditions that led to it, who truly was involved, who was really involved - and put it all together to understand how to prevent the crisis in Iraq, fix the problem in Afghanistan and Iraq combined," Ahmadinejad said.

Aside from the fact that his answer makes no sense, I believe 9/11 has been thoroughly investigated and the root causes are pretty well know: Islamic Fundamentalism.

Asked about Iraq, Ahmadinejad again denied Iran was providing advanced weapons to Shiite extremists to use against US troops.

"We think, in fact, the (US) military should seek an answer to its defeat in Iraq elsewhere," he said, insisting Tehran wanted a stable Iraq on its border.

Whoooaa there terrorist thug. We haven't been defeated in Iraq, and we will not be despite your best efforts. Last I heard, your horse wasn't doing so well.

The president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, ought to be fired. He gave a self-professed enemy of the United States a platform in what turned out to be an opportune time for Mr. Bollinger to grandstand and hold himself as the white horse in a dark forest.

"Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad, accusing him of brutal crackdowns on the country's academics and homosexuals.

"Why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens expressing their opinions for change?" he asked, challenging the leader of the Islamic republic to explain his comments downplaying the Holocaust.

I wonder if Mr. Bollinger's decision would be the same if he were not permitted to speak during the performance?

Chinese Navy Arrives in France

Chinese hoist flag as French surrender to Chinese Navy.

Most Chinese Don't Need Social Security

Here is a wonderful thing about China: families take care of each other and people save money for retirement.

According to a joint survey conducted by the Social Investigation Center of China Youth Daily and Sina.com, most Chinese will support themselves when they are old instead of depending on the government.

Most of the respondents say they will rely on commercial insurance or the savings deposit of their own. They will also get the help from their children. Only 20.2% think that they will partly depend on the government in their old age.

“We are supposed to support ourselves when we become old, aren’t we?” said 49.7% of the respondents.

Mooncake Madness

It is mooncake season and I have to tell you that these are the worst tasting things you've ever called "dessert".

Mooncakes, a traditional delicacy gifted to families and friends during the Mid-Autumn Festival, have become an important ingredient in maintaining business and work relations.

With the festival falling tomorrow, the reception areas of almost every office building are overflowing with boxes of mooncakes.

The traditional festival has become a Chinese Christmas of sorts, topping other occasions for giving or receiving gifts.

"We send presents to our clients during the Mid-Autumn Festival, rather than the Spring Festival," said Elsa Wang, who works for a public relations firm in Beijing. The company started budgeting months earlier and has been delivering mooncakes as early as a month ago.

"It doesn't matter how much a package costs.... Mooncakes are the best way to say: Let us keep in touch."

Starbucks Replaced in Forbidden City

Boy, bet this will be a hit. I'd be willing to wager that this place doesn't last two years (and two years because the government will prop up a losing enterprise for a long time) before they have to bring in another foreign vendor.

A new coffee shop opened last week inside the Palace Museum, located exactly at the same place where a controversial Starbucks coffee shop had situated for seven years.

With wooden tables, wooden chairs and pictures featuring Chinese culture, the "Forbidden City Cafe" serves not only coffee, but also traditional Chinese beverage such as tea.

"Different from the Starbucks coffee shop, the Palace Museum is the managerial authority of the cafe," Beijing Daily quoted Li Wenru, deputy curator of the Forbidden City, as saying.

In a separate interview with the Beijing Youth Daily, the deputy curator emphasized that the "Forbidden City Cafe" is only part of a store which mainly sells souvenirs to tourists.

"We want to provide tourists with a package of products relating to imperial palace and Chinese culture," Li said.

The crazy thing is, this area is filled with tacky tourists shops selling some of the worst looking junk you can imagine. Starbucks upgraded the place.

Thanks Debrowski

See if you can stomach this from the Op/Ed page of one of the Chinese rags:

The apology finally came from Mattel for the damage its repeated recalls of Chinese-made toys has done to the reputation of the Made-in-China label.

Thomas Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice-president for worldwide operations, admitted on Friday that the vast majority of the 21 million Chinese-made toys recalled were pulled off shelves because of a flaw in Mattel's design, not as a result of the work of Chinese manufacturers.

The apology, though delayed, should help dispel the suspicion American customers harbor against Chinese-made products and clean up the stain the recalls left on the innocent Chinese workers who make a living doing honest labor.

Telling the truth about flawed products and keeping customers well informed should transcend any other concern whenever a quality problem occurs. This is a basic professional ethic that any business must abide by.

As a matter of fact, no party benefits from withholding the truth.

Everybody knows that the American people have benefited a great deal from Chinese-made products. Telling them only part of the truth about the recalls has infringed upon their right to know the whole story. Because they were unable to make informed judgments, they might have been deprived of otherwise good options when deciding what to buy.

The impact on the innocent Chinese workers who have been made to pay for other's mistakes has been even more deleterious.

Nor has any of this been good for Mattel, either. Its reputation will be impaired when the whole truth about the recalls is finally made public.

However, it is not too late to mend the fence even though the sheep has escaped. It was wise for Mattel to make the apology. Frankness from all sides will pave the way for further cooperation.

Lessons learned in the past can guide us in the future. Transparency about product quality is important to customers, not only for Chinese-made products, but also for those made elsewhere.

The effort Chinese quality control authorities have made to deal with even the small portion of problematic products that were exported reflects the importance the Chinese government attaches to product quality, both for domestic and overseas consumers.

Truth: Your stuff is still crap. We're going to have to read this garbage for the next 6 months because of that pathetic public castigation.

Government Shows Tolerance for Other Races

The Chinese are horribly racist. We have sent a number of our Chinese employees to the United States, and they are terrified of black people. They think blacks are all murders, druggies and thieves.

About 30 men, mostly African or Caribbean, were detained and beaten during an apparently racially targeted anti-drug operation by Beijing police, the South China Morning Post reported. Among the men were students, tourists and the 22-year-old son of the Grenadian ambassador to China. Uniformed police and security guards swept through Beijing's nightlife district, Sanlitun, apparently targeting only black men. Policemen and guards detained and beat black men who eyewitnesses say were not resisting arrest. Some of the men were later released without charge. The Grenadian ambassador's son was sent to hospital with a concussion. "Obviously I'm very angry," the ambassador said. "My son was arrested and beaten for no reason whatsoever. I will be taking this up with the authorities and looking into the matter." A police officer at Sanlitun station said that the incident was part of an anti-drug operation.

One of our engineers was approached by a black man on the street near our office building downtown (in the US), and the engineer just took off running. What did he say that scared you? I don't know what he was saying, but he was black. Well OK then.

More Disfunctional Made In China Products

NOT OUR FAULT:

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Simplicity, a baby furniture manufacturer, would recall about 1 million cribs made in China, Xinhua reported (in Chinese). The cribs have a design flaw that has caused at least two infant deaths from suffocation, said a CPSC official, who added that the recall was due entirely to design defects and is unrelated to the Chinese manufacturer. A series of recall affairs occurred in toy industry recently, some were caused by Chinese company's improper operation but most of them are caused by design problem of the US company and has nothing to do with Chinese manufacturers, said US industry insiders.

I don't watch other countries' return rates, but US importers either send Chinese manufacturers an inordinant amount of flawed plans or other countries are better at catching design flaws. Not sure.

Freedom of Religion with Chinese Characteristics

More evidence of that respect for religious freedom:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the Dalai Lama in Berlin on Sunday, voicing her support for Tibetan cultural autonomy, AFP reported. ................ The Dalai Lama no longer demands full independence from China for Tibet, instead seeking religious and cultural autonomy for the region. Before the meeting, China denounced the Dalai Lama as a separatist and warned Germany to retract its invitation to him. On Sunday, Chinese officials called off a meeting with German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries in Munich in apparent retaliation.

American Uninsureds

Mark Steyn takes a swipe at Hillary-Care:

Our theme for today comes from George W Bush: “Freedom is the desire of every human heart.”
When the president uses the phrase, he’s invariably applying it to various benighted parts of the Muslim world. There would seem to be quite a bit of evidence to suggest that freedom is not the principal desire of every human heart in, say, Gaza or Waziristan. But why start there? If you look in, say, Brussels or London or New Orleans, do you come away with the overwhelming impression that “freedom is the desire of every human heart”? A year ago, I wrote that “the story of the Western world since 1945 is that, invited to choose between freedom and government ‘security,’ large numbers of people vote to dump freedom – the freedom to make your own decisions about health care, education, property rights, seat belts and a ton of other stuff.”
Last week freedom took another hit. Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled her new health care plan. Unlike her old health care plan, which took longer to read than most cancers take to kill you, this one’s instant and painless – just a spoonful of government sugar to help the medicine go down. From now on, everyone in America will have to have health insurance.
Hooray!
And, if you don’t, it will be illegal for you to hold a job.
Er, hang on, where’s that in the Constitution? It’s perfectly fine to employ legions of the undocumented from Mexico, but if you employ a fit 26-year-old American with no health insurance either you or he or both of you will be breaking the law?

CBS Has Special Guest on 60 Minutes

What was Rather saying about CBS being in bed with the White House? All things considered, I doubt the White House had much to say about this.

A Perspective Lacking Teen Contemplates Navel

LGF carries the story of a self-absorbed teen pondering the bigger picture in the Central Connecticutt State College newspaper:

As of late, if you were to bring up the president in a discussion you would find that many Americans disapprove of the decisions he has made. At the same time, Osama bin Laden presents many good arguments against the president and many of his reasons for disapproving of Bush are similar to those of anti-Bush Americans. Would it be wrong to assume that there is some kind of connection between feelings of the American people and those of Osama bin Laden? As I would love to make this connection, I ultimately cannot because of the actions of our president. If I were to say I agree with bin Laden, that would mean that I agree with a terrorist; under the Patriot Act, I could be labeled a potential terrorist and my phone could be tapped, and every move I make could be watched and analyzed.

Don't kid yourself; you aren't that important.

Next he asks and answers the question: Who is scarier, Osama bin Laden or President Bush? Guess which one he picks? Given what they are teaching in college these days, is it any wonder?

Freedom of Speech

The kids at Colorado State University provide a lesson in free speech. Kids, everyone knows you are allowed to print 4 letter words. It just depends on how you want to align your newspaper. Should it stand beside Hustler and Penthouse Magazines or are you aiming higher.

The Rocky Mountain Collegian published an editorial on page 4 of the paper Friday which read "Taser this ... F*** Bush."

The expletive was spelled out.

"I think they went over the line a little bit, but it's free speech and they're allowed to write what they want," one student told 7NEWS.

Collegian Editor David McSwane said a group of seven student editors discussed the statement for several hours before agreeing to publish it.

"We felt it illustrated our point about freedom of speech," McSwane told 7NEWS. "I think we could write 250 words and ramble on and I don't think anyone would pay attention."

Ok, the real issue. They were too lazy and untalented to draft something that someone would actually want to read, so they printed the four letter word instead.

Can you imagine editors of the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times saying "I don't think anyone is going to read this George Will or Thomas Friedman article. It is really just too long and boring. How about this little attention grabber instead? That'll look great on your resumes.

Not Helping the Problem

In a brilliant "if we can't beat 'um join 'um" move, New York removes the citizenship requirement for driver's licenses.

They were celebrating outside the governor's office Friday as Eliot Spitzer handed a landmark victory to a half-million illegal immigrants.

The state will no longer require proof of citizenship for driver's licenses.

"We're changing our policy with respect to getting more people out of shadows and into the system so people don't hide they're here," Spitzer said.

He said the current restrictions on non-citizens have filled the roads with unlicensed drivers five times more likely to get into accidents.

But the also called it a matter of justice.

"As long as I'm governor we won't pretend they don't exist, cut them off from society," Spitzer said.

But the action triggered a bitter response from some 9/11 family members, who said the governor would be providing identification for potential terrorists.

But hey, at least they can drive themselves to the airport now without the fear of getting pulled over.

No Surprise Here

The dean of Columbia University would invite Hitler to speak. At least he's on the record.

DVD Infringement

Wasn't feeling all that well tonight so I decided to make it a stay at home movie night. Which pirated DVD did I select? Wall Street. I haven't seen that movie in ages. The opening scene is full of images of the Twin Towers. They were symbols of New York, and to Oliver Stone, symbols of the greed associated with New York.

Unfortunately I didn't make it past the opening scene because my $1.00 DVD was dubbed in Chinese. This is the price you pay in China for not springing for the $1.20 A-rated version.

It is amazing how little pitty people feel for Hollywood. Even my colleague, an IP attorney who shuns all forms of infringement, doesn't cry too loudly for the Hollywood gang. He won't buy the DVDs or watch them to his credit, but his sympathies are reserved for more deserving victims. People at all levels of business in China buy them and watch them. The GM folks, Caterpiller, you name it.

News From Home

How would you like to see this in your inbox?

Dear [Name of University Here] Community,

With a month's experience as president, I continue to be impressed with the caliber of young women and men who call our campus home. While every tough transition has its issues, we at [Name of University] are enthusiastic about the student body, the vibrancy of the campus, and the large increase in interest from prospective students.

There are detractors, however, and I want to update you on issues you may be reading or hearing about, especially with respect to [Name of University]'s accreditation status, artwork, and ongoing litigation.

WHAT? That doesn't sound good. How is he going to spin this?

[Name of University] is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS placed [Name of University] on warning last December for failing to comply completely with a core requirement related to financial stability. The warning is not directed in any way toward our academic program. In fact, SACS affirmed [Name of University]'s offering degrees at the master's level at the same time it issued the warning.

The SACS warning pertains principally to [Name of University]'s high tuition discount rate and operating deficit. SACS' findings were consistent with those of the Board of Trustees whose analysis of enrollment trends and likely long-term financial challenges contributed to [Name of University]'s decision to [insert drastic change that ^%&ed everyone off] and implement a new strategic plan.

[Name of University] has taken the SACS warning seriously and instituted a number of measures, including reducing staff and cutting expenses. [Name of University] has budgeted a more moderate endowment spending rate for 2007-08 and achieved a lower tuition discount with the current first year class. These are strong, positive steps.

Neither [Name of University]'s operating deficit nor the SACS financial warning is an immediate threat to our existence as an accredited university. [Name of University] has an endowment of $153 million, which is large for a university of its size, but it needs an additional capital infusion to lower the endowment spending rate until [Name of University] can increase its enrollment and lower its tuition discount. The Board's difficult decision to share or sell selected pieces of [Name of University]'s artwork, a decision which has stimulated a spate of media attention, was taken to accomplish this goal.

In other news, we learned this week that the [insert State where University is located] Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of two lawsuits filed against
[Name of University] and dismissed in the lower court. This is one more step in a litigation process that has been ongoing for almost a year. We will abide by the court processes, and we are confident that the decision will be in our favor.

The litigation to which he refers was brought by alumni who were less than pleased with the school's drastic decision I mentioned above. I'm not part of that lawsuit because I can spot a losing horse a mile away, and I really don't care that much.

Meanwhile, this does not alter [Name of University]'s [current] status. We have bright, energetic students, and we have experienced a surge in interest and inquiries from prospective students. [I bet. - ed.] In fact, our domestic inquiries to date have already outpaced what we typically received during a total year [before drastic decision which [^%$%ed everyone off].

We are committed to ensuring the success of [New Name of University which alumni hate], and we will continue to take the positive steps necessary for the future of [Name of University] and its students.

Sincerely,



[Lousy President of University]

My university is very small. It would seem like $153 million alone would suffice even if each of the students pays $1 tuition. While I haven't paid much attention, I believe lawsuit was brought by alumni to get their alumni contributions back and reverse the decision that was made by the board of trustees.

An Overachiever - That's Me

There has been much rumbling from old college friends recently about the state of affairs with our alma mater. It seems the school has run low on funds and is seeking a face lift. Part of that lift is to lighten the art gallery's load by about half.

My university ranked particularly high in two areas: the cafeteria and the art collection. I'm not sure why they didn't sell off the cafeteria first; I always thought that rank was a bit undeserved. But it seems they could do better by starting with the art collection.

My high school (which was also my middle and primary school) closed the year after I graduated. It now services 3-year old kindergarten through 8th grade. At this rate, the university were I obtained my graduate degree should be closing its doors within the next three years.

It's going to be much more difficult to complete my resume. Or perhaps not. Perhaps my GPA just went from a 2.27 to a 3.95, and I was president of the student body my senior year. Between my role as student body president, sir, and the two graduate level courses I was asked to teach my junior year, I don't know how I found time to work as a consultant to Bill Bennett's CFO.

I need to take the glass half full approach and use this as an opportunity to "spruce up" my credentials.

Must of Scared the Hell Out of the French

Chinese naval fleet visits France

Republicans Attack Again

Here's the Mapes article that Tim Blair was referring to:

What was different in our case was the brand new and bruising power of the conservative blogosphere, particularly the extremists among them. They formed a tightly knit community of keyboard assault artists who saw themselves as avenging angels of the right, determined to root out and decimate anything they believed to be disruptive to their worldview.

To them, the fact that the president wimped out on his National Guard duty during the Vietnam War -- and then covered it up -- was no big deal. Our having the temerity to say it on national TV was unforgivable and we had to be destroyed. They organized, with the help of longtime well-connected Republican activists, and began their assault.

It must be difficult for democrats always being out manuevered by the vast right-wing conspiracy. Just when they think they have us figured out, we morph and attack from another angle. Kinda makes you question the conclusions of that NYU study, doesn't it?

Interview with Cate Blanchett

I keep bumping into this interview every place I go on the net. I don't agree with her positions, but I think it's great that she practices what she preaches.

Green before it was hip—she cites Al Gore and David de Rothschild as heroes and believes that leaf blowers “sum up everything that is wrong with the human race”—the couple are trying to make the ecological footprint of the home as small as possible, installing solar panels and even a filtration system that will allow them to drink their own wastewater.

If I were going to point to something that signifies the low point of humanity it would have to be Columbia University darling of the moment Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his cronies. Leaf blowers wouldn't figure in. Possibly because I was too lazy to use one when I had the chance. God put the leaves there for a reason, and it wasn't to watch me rake them up.

Columbia University to Host Ahmadinejad

There are no words.

Columbia University said it does not plan to call off a speech by Iran's president despite pressure from critics including the City Council speaker, who said the Ivy League school was providing a forum for "hate-mongering vitriol."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling to New York to address the United Nations' General Assembly. He was to appear Monday at a question-and- answer session with Columbia faculty and students as part of the school's World Leaders Forum.

The State Department calls Iran a state sponsor of terror, and Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust "a myth" and urged for Israel to be destroyed.

City Council speaker Christine Quinn called Thursday for the university to rescind the invitation, saying "the idea of Ahmadinejad as an honored guest anywhere in our city is offensive to all New Yorkers."

Why would anyone pay money for their child to attend a place like this? Do the administrators at that fine institution not realize that this guy is advocating their death. That if he gets his way, there will be no Columbia University. Morons.

Sour Grapes

Dan Rather said Thursday that the undue influence of the government and large corporations over newsrooms spurred his decision to file a $70 million lawsuit against CBS and its former parent company.

"Somebody, sometime has got to take a stand and say democracy cannot survive, much less thrive with the level of big corporate and big government interference and intimidation in news," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live."

Why can't this guy just go away quitely?

In the suit, filed a day earlier in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Rather claimed CBS and Viacom Inc. (VIAB) used him as a "scapegoat" and intentionally botched the aftermath of a discredited story about President Bush's military service to curry favor with the White House. He was removed from his "CBS Evening News" post in March 2005.

I think there is plenty of evidence around that CBS is not in bed with the White House. Rather was the perfect scapegoat because he was in charge of a very large story designed to take the President out of politics and the evidence Rather relied on was false. There was plenty to suggest that his evidence wouldn't hold water and he blatently ignored it. Rather could very easily be the prosecutor in the Duke rape case for all the red flags he ignored in producing that story.

"They sacrificed support for independent journalism for corporate financial gain, and in so doing, I think they undermined a lot at CBS News," he told King.

If you mean they threw Rather to the wolves to save what was left of their reputation as well as dodging a very expensive, nasty lawsuit, then yes, they were after financial gain. And as I recall, they kept the old buzzard around after removing him from the news desk. Wasn't he on 60 Minutes for a while, along with a few other cameo performances.

Rather didn't mention other instances in which he believed news organizations bowed to corporate and government pressure.

These egocentric old crows can't stand being in the shadows. Cronkite was equally bad. Shut up and go away.

Environmental System with Chinese Characteristics

According to the State Environment Protection Administration website, SEPA has held a meeting on the creation of industrial environmental protection economic policy and has expressed its willingness to cooperate with industrial associations on the policy making. A representative from SEPA said SEPA would strengthen its cooperation with the industrial associations to jointly provide more advisable and practical suggestions to China's State Council and the concerned economic departments so as to promote the establishment of an environmental and economic policy system with Chinese characteristics.

To its credit, China has been consistently open to ideas and assistance in the environmental department. Why they have to come up with an environmental and economic policy system with "Chinese characteristics" is a mystery. How about one that works instead?

Chinese Quality: GlaxoSmithKline

More evidence that China thinks this whole quality issue is just a PR problem:

China went on a charm offensive on Wednesday to convince a skeptical world its products are safe, as a new poll in the United States found 78 percent of Americans were worried about the safety of Chinese goods.

If there is one thing China doesn't do well it is charm. Having said that, I'm impressed that 22% of the US population aren't worried about Chinese products. Who are these people and why don't they read the newspaper?

The State Council, or cabinet, took a group of reporters on a carefully choreographed visit to sparkling pharmaceutical plants in Beijing's neighboring city of Tianjin, led by smiling, relaxed officials unusually happy to answer questions. "We hope that by inviting the foreign media here, you can use your own hands, mouths and eyes to represent what's really going on," said Yan Jiangying, deputy head of the State Food and Drug Administration's policy and regulations department.

Obviously Ms. Yan hasn't dealt with the foreign media before.

"So you can spread the message that you can believe in made-in-China. That's what we want," she told Reuters after a tour of a GlaxoSmithKline factory that exports to Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.

Excellent PR move. Take reporters to the foreign-owned GlaxoSmithKline factory in order to demonstrate quality and safety. Ms. Yan, I think the quality concerns are related to Chinese factories. This is equivalent to President Ahmadinejad taking reporters to a plant in Syria and saying "see, we have no nuclear weapons in Iran".

Religious Freedom in China

China performs its "you hit me!" routine for the world again. It seems that the only person with any testostrone in the whole country is Mr. Li, who just gave the world's weakest CEO a ration of &*%^ for buying crummy toys from Chinese manufacturers.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on Thursday slashed a U.S. religious report criticizing China's religious situation, saying "China is strongly resentful of and resolutely opposes the report which runs counter to the fundamental principles of international relations and openly interferes in China's internal affairs." Commenting on the International Religious Freedom Report 2007 released by the US State Department, Jiang said the report's China section has thrown stones at the country's religious and ethnic policies for no reasons as before by trampling on the norms of international relations, and has interfered in China's internal affairs.

Let's make this simple. How about: US, this is none of your business. Period.

Jiang said that all ethnic groups and people across China enjoy the freedom of belief fully as entitled by the law, and the Chinese government has taken it a long-term policy to respect and protect religious freedom of its citizens.

That's a great statement. Everyone enjoys the freedom of belief entitled by law and the law says you get no religious freedom. The second phrase is of course a total lie. Who could have missed the government's recent pronouncement that the Dali Lama could not seek reincarnation without permission of the Chinese government. OK.

There are some churches in Shanghai, but they are mainly for the westerners and Chinese citizens aren't permitted to attend. The few that are for Chinese citizens are heavily regulated in content, and then there are underground churches. Religion isn't popular in China, so there aren't too many affected by these edicts.

She said China demands the U.S. side stop using issues such as religion to intervene in China's internal affairs, and do more to promote mutual understanding and trust between the two countries instead.

More whining.

And I Apologize Again to [Fill in Blank]

This guy just can't flog himself enough. Now he is apologizing to the Chinese because the Chinese sold him crappy toys. How does that work?

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.

Is this guy French?

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.

Is he going to apologize to Mr. Li for the rape of Nanking too? Mr. Debrowski's obligation is the the American public, and to whomever else Mattel sells this stuff. I'd be asking Mr. Li for an apology and do my best to grow some balls while I wait for his response.

Li reminded Debrowski that "a large part of your annual profit ... comes from your factories in China. "This shows that our cooperation is in the interests of Mattel, and both parties should value our cooperation. I really hope that Mattel can learn lessons and gain experience from these incidents," Li said, adding that Mattel should "improve their control measures."

Can you even imagine the self restraint that Mr. Debrowski must have exercised while getting this lecture from Mr. Li? How about this: Mr. Li, let me remind you that Mattel single handedly keeps 15 of your crappiest, dingiest, poorest cities afloat so that you and your buddies in Beijing don't have a mass riot by a hundred thousand or so hungry peasants. And while we're at it, can you imagine the revenues your government would be receiving if those factories paid their taxes like the western companies in China do? So for the record, the next time I hear you open your mouth about our standards, we will move our standards to Vietnam along with our money. Just a thought.

The Media One-Sided?

House China Working Group co-chair Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill) – criticized the media for taking a one-side view of US trade relations with China. Speaking at the Center for American Progress, they said that the media is far too happy to point to the giant bilateral trade imbalance, without taking note of rapidly increases US exports to China. Much of those exports are assembled in final products which return to the United States.

Why is there any surprise that the media is one-sided on the China issue? Have Messieurs Larsen and Kirk been following the War on Terror coverage? How about Global Warming? The Palestinian/Israeli predicament? Reaching back a bit, how about the Vietnam War?

The media members cover one side of things because they all come from one party. The party of Harvard, Yale, Tulane, MIT, UCLA professors.

See washingtontradedaily.com for link

Subcommitte on Consumer Safety

C-SPAN is brilliant concept because it allows regular Americans to feel good about their own cognitive abilities. Congressmen and women are permitted to show case their absolute lack of understanding on every topic from securities law to illegal immigrants. Subcommittees, often shown on C-SPAN, serve a similar function: Americans can watch the experts - presumably they have some elevated knowledge on a particular topic if they are serving on a subcommittee - in their element. Today was the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection (link at www.uschina.org):

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a two-part hearing on Wednesday and Thursday that focused on lead in imported children's products. Similar to last week's Senate hearing on the same issue, members expressed doubt and dissatisfaction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) ability to inspect and ensure the safety of imported toys.

It is a bit absurd to think that CPSC is capable of inspecting imported toys and keeping our kids safe. Their job should be setting standards and determining whether particular categories are safe rather than individual goods in a category. I don't want CPSC testing 20% of all imported "Hoola-Hoop Barbie" hair to make sure the dye is consistent and lead free. They should promulgate standards such as "children's toys cannot have more than __% of lead on the surface of the toy," and "boxes containing toys for ages 1 to 3 should not contain guns and ammunition" for the few brainy parents - and judges - too slow to think for themselves.

The only way we will end up with safe products is if we place the burden on companies to meet certain standards and require them to provide proof of inspection by a third party prior to entry of the goods in the country.

Subcommittee members continually pressed Nord and Moore on whether CPSC needs greater resources to increase its staff and improve its facilities and whether CPSC should have the ability to perform inspections at the origin of a product, specifically China.

That our congressmen and women think the solution to every problem is to increase the size of the federal government says a lot. It should be the solution of last resort.

Nord and Moore differed in opinion; Nord said she felt the job could be done with the current staff, and Moore said he would like 500 additional staffers. In lieu of increasing staff, Nord suggested that private companies be responsible for certifying their products through independent third-party organizations.

Promote this lady!

Nord also rejected suggestions that CPSC have representatives in China or other countries to carry out inspections at the point of production. This would require a complete restructuring of the agency, according to Nord, raising it to a level similar to that of the US Food and Drug Administration.

I didn't know that the FDA had the right to inspect goods on foreign soil. I'm curious what the trade off is with foreign governments? If you don't allow American inspectors in your country we will not permit imported food and drugs. It sounds like something the WTO would ban. If I were China, I would extract a pound of flesh for that concession after I told the US to pound sand.

Nord clarified many of the misconceptions of what CPSC can and cannot do. For instance, the CPSC does not have the authority to send US inspectors to China and cannot conduct pre-market inspections. She stated that for CPSC to make pre-market inspections, the agency would have to be larger, more robust, and Congress would need to pass new legislation to give it new authority. As an alternative to sending inspectors into China, Nord pointed to last week's joint product safety summit as an example of productive cooperation between the PRC and US governments.

I agree with Nord 100%, so of course I think she is a genius.

More on Rather

Tim Blair weighs in the the Rather/Mapes drama with "Sour Mapes".

Blue Skies

We had blue skies this morning. No major storms.

A friend reminded me that the image I'd concocted of being in a hurricane would soon be eclipsed by the reality of 24 million people running around the city without electricity, water and phone. Good point.

Socialist Morality

This is fantastic Communist mumbojumbo:

The development of a socialist morality should be stressed and strengthened during the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way and the advancement of the socialist modernization drive, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Tuesday.

Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks when he met 53 newly selected national "moral models" at the Great Hall of the People.

There is a lot of talk about "socialist morality"; however, it is never defined. I would argue that there is no such thing as "socialist morality". Individually, the Chinese are wonderful people as long as you aren't doing business with them. But there is no concept of "love thy brother". The nonprofits in this country were started by westerners. You won't find anyone interested in helping the less advantaged.

He said the campaign to select these role models, launched by the Civilization Office of the CPC Central Committee, All China Federation of Trade Unions, Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League and All China Women's Federation on Sept. 1, will significantly improve the moral standards of Chinese citizens.

The "Civilization Office". Only in China.

Morality is a key factor to the country's development, social harmony and the people's happiness, Hu said.

"It's part of the building of a socialist spiritual civilization that a social environment, in which men and women are equal, the elderly respected, the young protected and the poor supported, and people are tolerant to each other, should be established," he noted.

This is not a spiritual society. By a longshot. If that is what they are hoping to accomplish, they need to start with another country. Maybe Iran.

People aren't particularly tolerant of one another and no one is going to support someone else outside of his/her family if he/she can help it. Equality isn't too much of a problem, and people generally respect the elderly in their families.

Quality Control on Imported Food Products

The country's largest food suppliers, including Kraft Foods, H.J. Heinz and Dole Food, facing congressional food-safety proposals that could cost them millions of dollars a year, proposed yesterday to grant the government more oversight of the industry.

The plan, offered by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, covers imported food, the subject of increasing attention from Congress. It would require all importers to develop a plan for assuring the quality of imported foods and give the Food and Drug Administration the power to enforce it. Most companies already have such plans, but the FDA does not have authority over them, according to the group.

I'm all for this. I don't want to see growth in the federal government to accomplish quality control in goods coming from overseas, and this seems like a reasonable way to avoid that. Congress was also proposing a fee (ie tax) levied on imports which would amount to $20 per container. That also sounds reasonable.

Frivolous Lawsuit

The owners of a dry cleaner who were sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants have closed and sold the shop involved in the dispute, their attorney said Wednesday.

Keep in mind it was a judge who sued; and he lost. This is a prime example of when a frivolous lawsuit charge is appropriate and attorneys' fees for the defendant awarded. That judge should be forced to pay all of their professional fees in defending this nonsense. He should be disbarred and ostracized. And then shot.

DListed

One of my friends told me to hop on this website: pretty entertaining. Some foul language, but worth the offense. Here's a few little ditties I thought were humorous:

Angelina Jolie told Cosmopolitan that she's only *^%&$# 4 dudes in her entire life and married two of them. The 4 dudes are Brad Pitt, Billy Bob Thornton, Johnny Lee Miller and some other dude. I'm guessing her brother.

On Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's separate bedrooms:

The source claims they've always had this arrangement. “At first, it was because Katie was Catholic and single, and they were only dating. It was the proper thing to do. Now that they are married, they don’t feel the need to alter the arrangement. Tom has his master bedroom, and Katie has hers.”

Katie also wanted her own suite so she could design it how she wanted. "Over the course of several months, Katie created a larger space to have as her own. In the end, she designed the room of her dreams, a very feminine room painted in pastel colors, with a small carousel and filled with many stuffed animals.”

Um...that sounds more like Tom's room.

On Suri's work as a model:

Suri Cruise is only 16-months old and she's already being put to work! Suri has reportedly landed a contract to front Baby Gap's new ad campaign. The contract is said to be "lucrative."

She already has a job! She doesn't need two. Her main job is to keep Tom Cruise looking like a "straight family man." She has the hardest gig in Hollywood.

Still Here

For those of you who were hoping I can't swim, I hate to disappoint. Absolutely nothing exciting has happened here yet. It has rained for two days, and not an exciting rain at that. What little we get in the way of news here is vague. It was supposed to hit last night (early Wed. morning); then it was supposed to hit this afternoon; then at 8:00 this evening.

It appears that my big chance for a typhoon has come and gone with much ado about nothing.

Selective Enforcement

China environmental watch dogs are going after foreign firms for environment violations. Fine, no problem with that. But the vast amount of pollution does not come from foreign firms which are typically sensitive to bad press and environmental issues.

A senior official at the environment watchdog yesterday vowed to mete out equally harsh punishments to domestic and foreign-funded firms that violate environmental laws.

Translation: we are going after foreign firms.

Ren Longjiang, an official with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said all enterprises must obey environmental laws and regulations.

Translation: all foreign enterprises, that is.

He made the marks after Unilever China and the China branch of Hitachi Construction Machinery Co, the only two foreign-funded companies targeted in a random inspection by the environmental watchdog earlier this year, were found discharging more wastewater than permitted.

We were surprised to find both companies had pollution problems as they were the only two foreign companies selected at random for the inspection," Ren said.

Isn't it strange that the only two foreign firms they randomly tested were in violation of the law? Which Chinese companies did they randomly test?

"Environmental pollution caused by foreign-funded companies has come to the attention of SEPA, and we will strengthen our supervision," Ren told the Xinhua News Agency.

The rest of the quote reads: "with the intent to embarrass America and Europe for challenging the "Made in China" label and using the UN to place pressure on us for our pollution problems".

On May 24, a SEPA inspection team found that Unilever's plant in Hefei, Anhui Province, had discharged wastewater with a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 379 mg per liter. The legal limit for this measure of organic pollutants is 330 mg/l. The company is part of a multinational group that produces soap, shampoo and other cleaners.

If they are polluting in violation of the legal limit, they should be punished; but I'd sure like to hear from Unilever. But I think it is crutial to tell us which Chinese firms were tested and what were the results.

The company was fined 100,000 yuan (US$13,000) and ordered to scale back production to discharge less wastewater. Unilever has also paid fees of 47,136 yuan for excessive discharges.

I would normally assume by the size of the fine that the amount of pollution was so close to the permitted levels that a nominal fine will suffice. I can't make those assumptions in China. If you are going to curb pollution, the size of the fine should be sufficient to discourage future disdeeds. US$ 13,000 isn't sufficient.

Weather Update

Nothin'.

UPDATE 11:10 a.m.

All the consulates in our building (US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Ireland, etc) have closed their offices. I'm feeling like a bit of an ogre so I told my people to go home at noon.

Excitement Mounts, Weather Does Nothing

Nothing new on the typhoon yet which is good since I left my office window open and have to walk back to work and close it. Not sure what prompted that stroke of genious.

There are cars out, a slight drizzle and no people. Shop keepers and street vendors folded everything up, put their medle doors down and went home. It is a strange sight. Usually there is activity on the street until 1:00 to 2:00 in the morning.

There is a slight breeze and low clouds which obscure the tops of buildings. Since all the buildings are lit up like Christmas trees and generally have some tacky neon feature on top, the result is a bit ominous. No doubt the storm will miss us altogether given my excitement.

One of my colleagues who is in town for a month and a half is staying with me (he recently finished a year's stint in Shanghai and moved to our DC office with his fiance), and he announced he isn't setting his alarm for morning. There is an expectation that business will be closed, and we'll all get a snow day.

Typhoon Watch

Just WALKED into work. Still a drizzle and not much wind. Everyone is bracing - the Ritz has sandbags outside some doors. Reports read that it has hit, but it hasn't hit here. If anything more exciting happens, I'll let you know.

Good Luck With That

For the first time ever, a group of women in the only country that bans female drivers have formed a committee to lobby for the right to get behind the wheel, and they plan to petition King Abdullah in the next few days for the privilege.

The government is unlikely to respond because the issue remains so highly sensitive and divisive. But committee members say their petition will highlight what many Saudis — both men and women — consider a “stolen” right.

Shocking

Turns out that China and Russia are spying on us:

“China and Russia’s foreign intelligence services are among the most aggressive in collecting against sensitive and protected U.S. systems, facilities and development projects, and their efforts are approaching Cold War levels,” McConnell says in his testimony. “Foreign intelligence information concerning the plans, activities and intentions of foreign powers and their agents is critical to protect the nation and preserve our security.”

I would expect no less. I hope we are returning the favor.

Shanghai Storm

Selfishly, I am pretty psyched about this, provided that it doesn't kill anyone.

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 270 miles southeast of the former foreign treaty port of Wenzhou in Zhejiang at 3 a.m. GMT. With gusts of up to 123 miles per hour, it was moving northwest at 12 miles 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.

I missed a big one in August of 2005 and there hasn't been another significant one. I love a big storm. Shanghai is inland so these storms typically break before they hit us.

Everything has been canceled for the remainder of the week. School for the kids, AmCham events, etc.

Big News

This is quite shocking - there must be something in the water out there in California.

The ridiculous, frivolous lawsuit against Caterpillar, Inc., by the parents of ISM terror-supporter Rachel Corrie has been dismissed (PDF file) by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Twice in one day I read that the 9th Circuit has made a wise decision.

Yes, He is This Stupid

Barry Manilow, promoting his new album, "Greatest Songs of the Seventies", refused to perform on the View because of Elizabeth Hasselbeck's conservative proclivities.

In an exclusive statement to TMZ, Barry says "I strongly disagree with her views. I think she's dangerous and offensive. I will not be on the same stage as her."

Chinese Companies Not All They're Cracked Up To Be

The stock market in China has been going bang busters, and people are making money hand over fist. It is all knew to the Chinese, and they have no sense of valuing companies (not that we are so great at it - dotcoms). Their accounting system is non-existent (just like their legal system and their quality control system) and unlike the US, it is very difficult to determine how highly leveraged a company is. China lacks a sophisticated recording system present in most western countries.

Management is a new concept (thank you Mao) as are private companies. Given all that, this is no surprise.

Top Chinese companies listed in New York have poor quality earnings, argues a research report highly critical of the New York Stock Exchange for allowing the listings.

RateFinancials, an independent research firm, studied the 10 largest Chinese companies with total market capitalisation of about $750bn and an average price/earnings multiple of 24.7 that implies they will generate strong earnings growth.

Studying the publicly available accounts of the 10, the analysts found a range of problems, differing by company. No rules were being broken, but poor earnings quality implies the outlook may be less rosy than investors expect.

The NYSE declined to comment, but sources close to the exchange said its criteria for listings remained stricter than any other exchange’s.

There were different problems at the companies including insufficient cash flow to fund cash needs and a history of negative working capital, a condition that exists when a company grows rapidly, but which is unsustainable in the long run. The study found signs of possible earnings management with low allowances for bad debt and other provisions not keeping pace with inventory growth. That may mean so-called “cookie jar” accounting – where companies lower reserves and use excess cash to boost revenues.

“These companies are government-controlled enterprises masquerading as independent public companies and it is virtually impossible to assess their financial condition given their poor level of disclosures,” said Victor Germack, founder and president of RateFinancials.

The 10 companies, listed through American Depositary Shares, are: PetroChina, China Mobile, China Petroleum & Chemical, China Telecom, China Life Insurance, China Unicom, Huaneng Power International, Yanzhou Coal Mining, Suntech Power Holdings and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical.

"Fake" Water?

This is why western enterprises do not bring their R & D centers to China:

China will attach electronic identification labels to every barrel of drinking water in its capital, state media said on Monday, after a report that almost half of water used in coolers across Beijing could be tainted.

China is trying to fight a series of health safety scandals ahead of next year's Beijing Olympics ranging from products as diverse as toys and toothpaste to tires, drugs and food.

The Beijing Times said in July that almost half the barreled water sold in the capital, host of the 2008 Olympics, could be "fake", or not as pure as its manufacturers claim.

The 9th Circuit Gets One Right

Coodoes to the federal court in California for actually providing a ruling which is not patently absurd and likely to be overturned by the Supreme Court. This very well may be a first.

A U.S. federal judge tossed out a lawsuit by California's attorney general on Monday seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from six automakers for damaging the state with climate-changing greenhouse gases.

Martin Jenkins, a federal judge in the Northern District of California, said the issue of global warming should be decided in the political rather than legal arena.

This distinction between the political and legal arenas usually doesn't hinder California courts.

Tough Talk From France

France ups ante in war of words with Iran

France took the first steps Monday to set up a European sanctions regime against the Islamic government in Tehran, after warning that Iran's failure to renounce nuclear weapons could lead to war.

The tough talk from Paris came as the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany prepared to discuss new UN sanctions on Iran, which has failed to respond to demands to stop enriching uranium.

"I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."

More Global Warming Nonsense

It smells like mammoth dung," he says.

This is more than just another symptom of global warming.

For millennia, layers of animal waste and other organic matter left behind by the creatures that used to roam the Arctic tundra have been sealed inside the frozen permafrost. Now climate change is thawing the permafrost and lifting this prehistoric ooze from suspended animation.

But Zimov, a scientist who for almost 30 years has studied climate change in Russia's Arctic, believes that as this organic matter becomes exposed to the air it will accelerate global warming faster than even some of the most pessimistic forecasts.

"This will lead to a type of global warming which will be impossible to stop," he said.

Wow. Who honestly believes the earth is so fragile that it cannot withstand exposure to mammoth dung? Step back for a minute and consider the immplications of this theory.

Presumably dinosaurs defacated too. I think it is fair to assume that the piles were much larger. Yet global warming didn't take them out.

Immigration: Round II

I think Republicans have it right this time on immigration. During the last round, both sides took positions that were at odds with the vast majority of Americans.

Three months after Congress failed to pass a broad immigration overhaul, lawmakers are quietly returning to the hot-button issue, discussing narrower measures that address illegal immigrants and low-skilled laborers.

Already, critics are promising fireworks.

As early as this week, Democratic senators are set to introduce an amendment that would give conditional legal status to young illegal immigrants.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) hopes to bring up a visa program that eventually would allow farmhands to gain citizenship, whereas Republican senators are discussing a short-term guest worker program for low-skilled laborers.

Republicans also are considering a bill that would overhaul visas for high-skilled foreigners.

If you are going to start passing out citizenship liberally, why wouldn't you start with the best and the brightest from other cultures: China, India, Europe, or at least consider those in search of political asylum.

World's Smallest Violin

Here's a nice little ditty about the Palestinian civil war and the harsh exactions Hamas has taken on the people of Gaza. How about this: Don't vote for them next time.

Like the party it supported, the bikini crowd has disappeared, leaving the trash-flecked beach and murky swimming pool to Bassem al-Khodori and a half-dozen other Hamas supporters, who now have jobs at the resort.

Facing money shortages, a shrinking private sector and growing political resistance, Hamas leaders are increasingly imposing harsh interpretations of Islamic law and using brute force to bolster their isolated administration, which remains illegitimate in the view of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and his U.S.-backed government in the West Bank.

To their credit, there are only a few pot shots at Israel for closing the borders.

The Peaceful Religion

Several months ago the Times ran an article in which 3 or 4 Muslims explained their peaceful religion's tolerance for other religions and freedom of speech. The article was a white wash job and disingenuous at best.

"We are calling for the assassination of cartoonist Lars Vilks who dared insult our Prophet, peace be upon him, and we announce a reward during this generous month of Ramadan of $100,000 for the one who kills this criminal," the transcript on the Web site said.

The al-Qaida leader upped the reward for Vilks' death to $150,000 if he was "slaughtered like a lamb" and offered $50,000 for the killing of the editor of Nerikes Allehanda, the Swedish paper that printed Vilks' cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog's body on Aug. 19.

And to those of you knuckleheads who claim: "this type of talk was brought on by Amerikan actions in Iraq and Afghanistan", that is BS.

The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a “Civilization-Jihadist” process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all religions.

It's from a memo labeled "Strategy Goal" for North American operations, and it's from 1991.

More Questions About NYU Study

Folks are starting to jump on the buttom pushing test by NYU researchers.

Liberal Interpretation
Rigging a study to make conservatives look stupid.
By William Saletan

........................

In other words, complexity and ambiguity weren't tested; they were excluded. The study was designed to prevent them—and conscious thought in general—because, for the authors' purposes, such lifelike complications would have made the results less interesting. Personally, I'd be more interested in a study that invited such complications—examining, for instance, whether conservatives, having resisted doubts about the wisdom of the status quo, are more likely than liberals to doubt the wisdom of change.

......................

In fact, that's exactly what you've done in this study: You've manufactured a tiny world of letters, half-seconds, and button-pushing, so you can catch us in clear errors and keep out the part of life where our tendencies correct yours. And now you feel great about yourselves. Congratulations. You haven't told us much about our way of thinking. But you've told us a lot about yours.

Management Job Available

Business has been going well. We have added three people to the staff in the last few months. Two professionals and an engineer. The optimistic side of me says business is growing and with three new people, revenues should increase. The pessimistic side says I hope to g_d we have enough work to keep them busy.

In hiring, I discriminate in favor of women. They work hard, and they tend to stick around. Men are often in the uneviable position of having to support too many family and extended family members. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents,etc. are all on the dole of the more successful male family member, and men will leave you for an extra $15 per month if someone is willing to pay it. My girls finally spoke up: We want a few more men. So I hired one. We'll see how long he stays.

The upside of the Chinese is that they generally don't complain much. This is also the downside. If something is not going well, they will leave rather than bring it up. In our group we have one gal who is willing to lighten her load and everyone elses. It is a good thing to have the opportunity to divert disaster. On the other hand, once you are aware of a problem, you are compelled to act.

With all the new hires, I was a bit behind in taking the newbies out to dinner. Our token male hasn't started yet, so I took the women out. And I got an earful.

Our employees take themselves and their jobs seriously. They signed on to be professionals and other than some fairly flagrant dresscode violations, they are. Accordingly, they expect to be treated professionally.

A colleague has been using the staff for personal arrangements. To some degree, we rely on them for things we cannot do ourselves. Landlords, workmen, repairmen, drivers and the like do not often speak English. We frequently rely upon our employees for survival and convenience, but there are limits and there is a pale, and this colleague has placed himself beyond those limits and outside the pale.

In addition to these infringements, he has managed to isolate the professional staff by firmly planting himself between the professionals and our clients and taking credit for their accomplishments. Our professionals have independently managed their own workloads for years. When they are instructed to refrain from client contact but to continue to do all the work, it doesn't sit well.

I am happy to say I have been completely unaware of these issues for months. Now this is my problem, and I'm pissed.

More Glory for Algore

Former Vice President Al Gore took home an Emmy Sunday night for creative achievement in interactive television for Current TV, his youth-oriented television channel.

"We are trying to open up the television medium so that viewers can help them make television and join the conversation of democracy and reclaim American democracy by talking about the choices we have to make," Gore said as he accepted the award.

Current TV reaches about 40 million homes in the United States.

Earlier this year, Gore received an Oscar for his global-warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

What is it with liberals? They try to establish boundaries and social norms that apply to everyone but themselves. Whether it is Algore and his 20 room energy guzzling mansion (vs. Bush's eco conscious residence) or Barbara's call on everyone to line dry their laundry (obviously that doesn't apply to Mrs. Streisand).

Blogspot Back Open - Somewhat

I received the news that China has lifted the ban on blogspot, so I immediately rushed home to see if I could get on my website. Nope. Apparently, the government only lifted the ban on some sites. They must not like mine.

Expats in China

I was speaking with an acquaintance yesterday and the subject of my undergraduate grades came up. I'm not sure what it is with undergraduate grades. They seem important for about 5 years after you graduate. It has been more than 5 years since I graduated. I'm sure my thinking would be different if the answer was Yale, 3.8.

My undergraduate institution recently renamed itself (the mark of any good university) and my friend retorted, "alumni would be far less concerned it they rename it Harvard".

It's like high school. Where did you go to high school is a frequently asked question in my most recent home in the States. Hum. I can't imagine why that is relevant.

My undergraduate grades: 2.27. Impressive, I know. I was rock bottom of the bell curve of my incoming graduate class. Graduate school was impressed too; so impressed they struggled for several months about whether to let me in. I guess you could say I'm a late starter.

Which gets me to the expats in China. There are two classes: the exceptionally bright, super-charged CEO types who are over here because they are capable of adding a few zeros behind their Fortune 100 MNC's net profits, and there are the misfits. The slow-starters, the no-starters, the individuals who might blossom "in the right environment". Very few fall in between these two categories.

The two classes are easily distinguishable. The misfits often have difficulty describing exactly what it is they do for a living. "I bring companies together and I have a HUGE deal going on right now and I've got to get to this meeting." Huh? You're wearing cut-off sweats and you have an earring through your eyebrow. "I teach English right now, but I'm talking to a couple of guys about starting a new company here". Dead giveaway.

The older misfits are "Mr. China" and speak fluent Chinese. They can't wait to tell you what it was like in the good ole' days and how Shanghai isn't really China and how China is set to take over the US and the world within the next 5 years. Of course they haven't left China in the last 20 years, so they aren't aware that people in the US have microwaves and cell phones.

The folks in the CEO/CFO class don't say much of anything. When asked, they respond "I work for _____ (fill in Coke, Pepsi, GM, whatever). If pressed you might get their title. They are personable, they are involved in business and community events (instead of the bar scene) and they all know each other. They are low key, but they drive this place and they are typically down to earth.

It is not terribly surprising how either group managed to find its way over here.

Uhrrrrrr

Chinese product safety authorities said on Wednesday the latest lab tests in China have shown that toys recalled by Mattel Inc. for a third time are up to the Chinese and European standards and are safe for children around the world.

The problem was that the United States imposes a different measurement of lead content from other countries, the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) said in a report.

No issues here folks, move right along.

China requires the lead release should be kept under 90 mg per kilogram, which is in line with the international standard (ISO8124-3) and the European standard (EN 71-3). But the United States adds an extra standard to limit the lead content to 600 mg per kilogram, the administration said.

This is absurd. The idea that China tests any product for sale in China is a farce (other than some recent interest in blood and pharmaceuticals).

Difference in standards was a main reason why the country's exports to some countries were frequently alleged to be problematic in quality, said the watchdog.

Yes. Some countries have standards.

China vs. Taiwan

Beijing Wednesday warned Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian of serious consequences for his reckless push for "independence" and condemned him as a "schemer" and "national traitor".

"If Chen Shui-bian obstinately and recklessly makes dangerous moves regardless of warnings and denouncements of the international community, he must shoulder 'all serious consequences' arising from this," said Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Li told a regular press conference that Chen is "an out-and-out schemer" and "a destroyer" who will not hesitate to ruin peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and in the Asia-Pacific region.

His criticism came in response to Taipei's intensified push for UN membership.

Taiwan is pushing hard now because it thinks Beijing is worried about the Olympics and the World's Fair so it won't react. Taiwan is very wrong. Beijing officials would throw away the Olympics and the WF in a heart beat if necessary to "keep" Taiwan. In many areas, the Chinese are not forward thinkers. On this topic, they won't budge.

China is not likely to take agressive action toward Taiwan unless is feels trapped. I would be surprised if China forceably attempted to take over Taiwan's government. Chinese leaders have much on their plates and they aren't anxious to increase that load.

The Wisdom of Leftist Intellectuals

Tim Blair notes:

Leftists aren’t embarrassed by Osama bin Laden’s identification with their various causes. In fact, Michael Dickinson is delighted:

"It’s unlikely that many, if any, American TV channels or popular newspapers will present their listeners and readers with the most urgent part of Bin Laden’s message. God forbid! It might make sense to them. It might make even them think.

After examining the transcribed text of Osama’s address, I found much of what he said made sense to me."

Well, it would.

It's that anterior cingulate cortex working over-time. Mr. Dickinson would do well on the button pushing test.

China's Biggest Threat is China

I don't agree with this:

China's public security minister, Zhou Yongkang, called terrorism "the biggest threat" to next year's Beijing Olympics, state media reported. "Although the general security situation for the Beijing Olympics remains stable, we still face the challenges of terrorism, separatism and extremism," said Zhou. "Terrorism, in particular, poses the biggest threat."

As you may have noticed, China is not caught up in being politically correct or in casual niceties. I suspect it will cooperate with Western countries (to the extent Western countries have their acts together to provide assistance) in determining potential threats and I suspect that China will not think twice about denying visas. Given that China is in bed with any Middle Eastern dictator thug with oil, I bet you won't hear a peep about this from Iran, Kuwait or any African countries. They need China.

On the other hand, China has to worry about Beijing's response to anything it doesn't anticipate. This includes media issues, demonstrators, Western criticism, environmental issues and the like. That is where the real threat exists. I'm not sure Beijing realizes it.

China Whines

As usual, everyone is out to get China:

China has suffered "massive" losses of state secrets through the Internet, a senior official said, as China faces reports that it has raided the computer networks of Western powers. Vice Minister of Information Industry Lou Qinjian said his country was the target of a campaign of computer infiltration and subversion and proposed a raft of counter-measures including toughened censorship, new security bodies and commercial controls. He did not address recent Western allegations of cyber-spying against China.

The government response to any issue is child-like: we are the victims here. Quit saying bad things about us. I keep thinking: Stand up. Be a man. If you got caught spying, do what everyone else does - deny it boldly. The whining on every subject from quality issues to pollution to the internet grates on the ole nerves after the 10,000th time.