Friendly with Syria?

Does this set a good example?

Syria left a U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference without a specific promise from Israel to restart stalled talks but with signs the Bush administration is softening its diplomatic hard line against an Arab state that has played a role in past peace efforts.

Syrian delegates received warm handshakes and words of thanks from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose administration has largely shunned Syria since early 2005.

What happened to Bush? Or what has Syria done that I'm not aware of? Has it stopped harboring terrorists all the sudden? Is it taking a hard line against the Palestinians? Perhaps, so. I certainly miss a lot of news. When push comes to shove, Syria would make a nice crater.

Votes Bought

Nice.

Parliamentary candidates in Thailand's upcoming election are trying to buy the votes of elderly men by passing out free Viagra, a local government official said Friday.

Thais head to the polls on December 23 for the first time since the military toppled the elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup last year.

Residents in Prathumthani, on the northern outskirts of Bangkok, reported some of the candidates were passing out doses of the anti-impotence drug in exchange for promised votes, said Sayan Nopkham, a local government official.

"The villagers told me they have been given one or two pills of Viagra by candidates. Then they come to me to ask for more pills, or sometimes coffee, in exchange for voting for my brother, who is also running for a seat," he told AFP.

Words Fit to Eat

Boy did I guess wrong on this one.

The British teacher who let her pupils call a teddy bear Mohammed escaped a flogging yesterday - but must now endure 15 days in a notorious Sudan jail.

Gillian Gibbons will be incarcerated at the squalid Omdurman women's prison in Khartoum, which is massively overcrowded and infested with mosquitoes.
The 54-year-old from Liverpool was said to be "stunned" by the sentence imposed for insulting Islam - after which she will be deported from Sudan.

Last night, her conviction and punishment were furiously condemned and the Foreign Office was criticised for not fighting her case more forcefully.

"The sentence is a mockery of justice and we consider Gillian to be a prisoner of conscience," said Mike Blakemore, of Amnesty International.

The situation is obviously bad because I'm in agreement with Amnesty.

Last night, her son John said the family are struggling to take in the news of her punishment. "It's really difficult at the moment, my head is everywhere," the 25-year-old marketing consultant added.

"I don't want the verdict to lead to any anti feeling towards Muslims. Everyone has been very nice, but one of my fears, and I imagine my mother's also, will be that this results in any sort of resentment towards Muslim people."

A bit late, I'd say. My resentment dates back to 9/11/01. This incident is just one more absurdity in a long list of absurdities.

Sudan's top Muslim clerics had pressed their government to ensure the teacher was punished harshly, comparing her action to author Salman Rushdie's "blasphemies" against the Prophet.

Obviously the Muslim clerics can't read, a testament to the superior quality of madrases. We'll see how the multi-cultural groups spin this. Typically when events are unspinable, they just get ignored.

Chinese Negotiations and the Use of "Yes"

I just returned from an AmCham event on cultural and language barriers in sourcing materials from China. As anyone dealing with Chinese will tell you, "yes" doesn't mean yes. Can you deliver this by Tuesday? Yes. Do you agree that your company is properly valued at $100? Yes. Have you negotiated a distribution agreement before and are you familiar with our form? Yes. Are you capable of manufacturing this type of widgit? Yes.

Never, ever, in China will you hear the word "no" except from a government official. Much of the lecture was directed at these types of communication barriers. The lecturer explained that while Americans tend to get right to the point in negotiations and hit the specifics before getting to the general (after all, if you can't agree on the basic specifics, why bother with the general), Chinese start with the general and work their way to specifics.

A typical negotiation for an acquisition might start like this:

Round 1. One hour plus dinner. Discussion focuses on the weather and on cities that the expat, who just spent US$8,000 to fly over business class plus 5 nights at the Ritz, has visited on his prior trips to China.

Round 2 approx. 1.5 months later. 1.5 hours plus lunch and dinner. Discussion focuses on both executives backgrounds, what companies they've worked for in the past, what positions they held there, types of cuisine that are famous in China, whether the expat prefers spicy Chinese or sweet. Another $8,000 trip plus hotel.

Round 3 approx. 3 months later. 1 day plus two lunches and one dinner. Discussion finally moves to plant capacity, general discussion about average annual revenues in which Chinese executive exerts great liberties, role and vision of western company considering the purchase. Cost of flight is reduced by the amount of frequent flyer miles executive is building up, but hotel bill remains the same.

Round 4 approx. 10 days later. 2 days, 2 dinners, two lunches, one karaoke bar. Another ticket and 10 days at the Westin. Discussion begins to get a little more specific and western executive has performed some due diligence. Capacity is discussed in more detail and the broad outlines of the deal are formulated. All parties agree on the outline and western executive has lawyers draft initial memo of understanding.

Round 5 approx. 4 days later. Western executive returns home, reviews draft of memorandum from attorney and forwards to Chinese counterpart for discussion. Two days after emailing document to Chinese counterpart, he learns through his staff that the Chinese executive has rejected all the basic terms he said yes to in the meeting. Phone call ensues and Chinese executive appears to be mollified after western executive concedes major negotiation point.

Round 6 approx. 3 months later. 3 days, 2 dinners, 3 lunches, one karaoke bar. Another ticket, this one full price and 7 days at Westin. Discussion begins to get specific and Chinese party reneges on at least 1/2 the deal points in the memorandum that he had conceded to over the past 3.5 months. Western executive gets a bit testy, concedes several significant points and pushes for greater information sharing between the parties.

It goes on like this for some time. For the Chinese, the negotiations are never over. Even after the documents are signed. They don't consider anything final.

These types of issues were discussed at tonight's event and during questioning, someone asked why the Chinese uniformly lie when they are asked if they can do something and they can't. Well we don't consider that lying. In some cases we are trying to please the boss and we don't want to lose face. In others, we have to say yes or we wouldn't get the deal. Ummm. Yes, I see your point. But why isn't that lying? If I ask you if you can do something by tomorrow and you look at me and say yes you can knowing full well you can't, why isn't that lying. It's just a cultural difference. One I don't like. And it is lying.

Comrade Hu Jintao's Address to the Party Congress

Can you imagine having to read this stuff everyday?

The People's Daily, the most influential and authoritative newspaper in China, on Monday issues an editorial entitled "Advance courageously under the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics" and it detailed account are as follows:

The Communist Party of China (CPC) now embarks on a new journey to unite and lead the people of all ethnicities nationwide onto a new, protracted march proceeding from the new historic starting point with the victorious conclusion of its 17th National Congress.

The 17th CPC National Congress, a meeting of great significance at a period of vital importance during China's reform and opening to the outside world, approved a report Comrade Hu Jintao delivered on behalf of the CPC 16th Central Committee and the work report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, deliberated and adopted the CPC's Amended Constitution, and elected a new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. So it was a congress of unity, victory and forward advance.

It's chocked full of old Communist lingo.

The Congress highly appraises Hu Jintao's report. The report, holding high the banner the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, conscientiously summing up the Party's work over the past five years since the 16th CPC National Congress and reviewing the great historical process and valuable experience of the reform and opening-up, has made all-round arrangements for the continuous advance of the reform, opening-up and modernization drive and the attainment of the lofty goal for building a relatively prosperous society.

Delegates to the Party Congress unanimously hold that the report depicts the grand blueprint for China's reform and development with a strategic thinking and forward eyesight. So this represent a political manifesto for the CPC to face up to modernization, the world and the future, and a Marxist programmatic document and an action program guiding the people of all ethnicities around China to win new victories in building a relatively prosperous society in an all-round way and opening up a new situation for socialism with Chinese characteristics.

It continues in this vein for what seems like decades.

The Chinese Opinion Piece

I love opinion pieces in English Chinese newspapers. This one is a perfect example, beginning with the headline.

How can "press freedom" be misused indiscriminately?
+ - 17:00, November 13, 2007

On august 27, German's "Mirror" weekly had on its cover the reflection of China's national flag in a curtain-shape with a Chinese female face peeping out from behind. The cover story is titled "Yellow Spy", which implies that China has something to do with a lot of industrial espionages in the country over recent years.

I don't read the Mirror, but I believe it is a German rag and treated as such. Perhaps the term "Yellow Spy" is a bit insensitive, however, the weekly isn't particularly kind to the US either.

The "Mirror" weekly has released quite a lot of false, negative reports about China in recent two years, among which there were a cover article filed in September 2006, titled "Intrusion from Far East -- for a rich world war" and Chinese Trojan Horse (or hackers) Infects Computers in German Chancellor's Office". These conjecture reports have tarnished the very image of China and inflicted grave harassments upon its nationals residing in Germany. And a few Chinese students at Chmnitz Tech University, too, were charged with "espionage" and their photos printed inside the weekly, which subsequently turned down requests of local Chinese nationals to clarify the false accusation.

I'm sure they were spies. Yet to suggest that the Mirror has "tarnished the very image of China and inflicted grave harassments" upon its nation is theatrical garbage. Shut up and get over it.

Facing protests of the Chinese nationals residing in Germany, the "Mirror" spokesperson quibbled, citing the title of "Yellow Spy" merely as an innuendo, and his explanation, however, did not hold water. As a matter of fact, the word "yellow" the weekly invokes has apparent hallmarks of the race and its use here is obviously discriminatory. In accordance with German law, racism and racial discrimination have to be rigidly prohibited, and the "Mirror" weekly misused the term "press freedom" indiscriminately and violated the taboo.

Well if they've "misused the term 'press freedom' indiscriminately", then you probably have a cause of action against them.

The whining continues:

Nationals of the Chinese origin constitutes a disadvantageous minority ethnic group in Germany, which should have deserved meticulous care and attention. The "Mirror" weekly, on the contrarily, stirred up distorted views in society based on hearsay to attempt for their persecution. This one-sided, unilateral "press freedom" is almost tantamount to inciting opinions against them. So people cannot but think of a social tragedy which had occurred in German history.

Being a disadvantageous minority ethnic group in China, I too would like meticulous care and attention. I don't get it. Tough. And being that your students were permitted to organize and demonstrate against the paper and print a rebuttal if you could find someone to publish it, your unilateral "press freedom" argument is significantly weakened. Try demonstrating in China.

Meanwhile, the "Mirror" weekly has groundlessly distorted and played down the Chinese culture, and smeared it as a culture with the infringement of intellectual property. Such a notion in violation of the basic values of the modern civilization is precisely a sort of typical cultural chauvinism, which poses a prelude of the rise of such remaining cultural or social dregs as racism and colonialism and, therefore, is the very thing to brewage all social tragedies in modern times.

First, anybody feeling sorry for you up to this point started chuckling with they read the part about smearing your culture with accusations of IP infringement. That's incredibly disingenuous as you're aware. Second, I think we should discuss racism and colonialism. The Chinese are about as racist as a culture gets. And last time I checked the papers, Taiwan was none too excited about its big brother next door. But colonialism doesn't even belong in this article and has nothing to do with your complaint.

Some Western nations have stirred up wave upon waves of the so-called "Chinese spies" over recent years, and such practice has brought untold harms to all those accused. Behind the scene, nevertheless, there is an intrinsic mentality of belittling or despising China. In other words, the Chinese nation, according to the mentality, has neither the capacity nor the right to obtain its economic progress and development. If the nation has scored some successes, it is certain that it has have "stolen from others" and, in the words of the "Mirror", it could be an "intrusion."

This is the most enlightening paragraph because it gives you a view of the Chinese psyche. This is how China assumes all nations and people perceive it and is one of the causes of its ego issues. I think it's why China is so defensive toward criticism and whiney when cornered.

All nations are equal before the right to development, and an aspiration for the pursuit of affluence is common for all humanity and, therefore, it is innate and endowed by the nature. So it can be only natural that China, too, should enjoy this right. Hence, China's development cannot be halted by the surmise of "those who presume others as suspects for having stolen the axe," as a popular classic Chinese saying goes.

How did we go from complaining about yellow spies to arguing that China has the right to develop? And what the heck does that Chinese classic saying mean?

More Humor

Bar Scene Also Tired Of Area Bachelor

Arguing that area bachelor Gary Tate, 34, is "becoming too old for this lifestyle," hundreds of representatives from the New York bar scene told reporters Monday that they are just as tired of Tate as he is of them. "Every night it's the same old thing," said bartender Keith Sampson, who called Tate loud, obnoxious, and always stinking of cigarettes. "The only way we can tolerate this guy is if all of us are completely wasted. It's just not worth the effort anymore." Sampson added that the bar scene is willing to give Tate one last chance, in hopes that he will be "awesome and fun" like he was that one night seven years ago.

From the Onion.

Scrappleface II

Bush Welcomes Gore with Low-Carbon Ceremony

by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace

(2007-11-26) — President George Bush today demonstrated that he can be gracious to his defeated opponents by welcoming former presidential rival Al Gore to the White House with a low-carbon ceremony to celebrate Mr. Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize for publicizing man-made global warming.

The day’s events began when the White House sent an ox cart to pick up Mr. Gore at his hotel, where he had arrived by S.U.V. motorcade last night following a charter jet flight to Washington D.C.

All lights had been extinguished at the White House, and the thermostats set to zero, in preparation for the former vice president’s arrival. The fireplaces were cool and devoid of logs. A Bush aide gave Mr. Gore a pair of official White House ear muffs, and guided him to the Oval Office, through the darkened hallways, with the help of a hand-cranked flashlight.

The president invited Mr. Gore to sit in his own chair, where Mr. Bush said, “You would have sat as you signed the Kyoto protocols.”

The two men sipped cold tea and nibbled organically-grown raw carrots before the official ceremony recognizing Mr. Gore’s accomplishment.

Since cameras, lights and recording equipment use electricity, the production of which is rapidly destroying the planet, TV and radio reporters were forced to abandon their gear before entering the White House.

Fantastic.

Scrappleface on France's Problems

After Riots, French Ask: Why Do Youths Hate Us?

After a night of rage and fire, during which rioting youths left 77 police officers injured in a predominantly-Muslim housing project in suburban Paris, the people of France awakened this morning to the obvious question: Why do youths hate us?

Overnight news reports from the neighborhood of Villiers-le-Bel described no common bond among the rioters, other than their age. In 2005, bands of youths rioted for three weeks, each night setting the Paris skyline aglow with flaming automobiles.

“We need to find out what it is about us that makes youths riot, burn cars, torch libraries and fire shotguns at police,” said an unnamed youth scholar at the University of Paris. “Is it a reaction to the historical oppression of youths by their elders? Is it the fact that our police have occupied youth lands, establishing stations and patrols and thus humiliating them?”

“Once we understand what we’ve done to set them off,” she added, “we can change our behavior and then, if they are willing, negotiate peace.”

It's been a long time since I've read Scrappleface. I'll have to rectify that; Scott Ott is pretty funny.

With Chinese Characteristics

Fan Xiaojian, the director of the State Council Poverty-Elimination Office, said that in the last 30 years, China has made headway in its poverty alleviation programs. He explained China's poverty elimination project at the China-ASEAN Social Development and Poverty Shake-Off Forum. In the countryside, the population in absolute poverty dropped to 21.5 million in the year 2006 from 250 million in 1978. The poverty visibility rate has fallen from 30.7% to 2.3%. The low-income population decreased to 35.5 million in the year 2006 from 62.1 million in 2000; and now accounts for 3.7% of the rural population (previously 6.7%). In 6 years, China has reduced the number of its poor by 10.5 million at an average of 1.8 million per year.

The good news is that China is making headway in reducing poverty. That started when China opened its borders and welcomed trade and industry. No big surprise there.

But what is this?

Fan also said that the way to shake off poverty with Chinese characteristics lies within the leadership of the government, social involvement, self-reliance, poverty elimination by development, and all-around development.

Poverty with Chinese characteristics? What exactly does that mean? Is that type of poverty worse than say, poverty in the Middle East? Africa?

The government is always attaching "with Chinese characteristics" to everything. Socialism with Chinese characteristics; development with Chinese characteristics; health care with Chinese characteristics. Generally it denotes an inferior quality. Expats use this phrase in its derogatory form whenever possible. Tianamen Square was democracy with Chinese characteristics, etc.

Toys for Tots

Of course this is appalling. If it weren't it wouldn't have made the news.

Cellphones, laptops, digital cameras and MP3 music players are among the hottest gift items this year. For preschoolers.

Toy makers and retailers are filling shelves with new tech devices for children ages 3 and up, and sometimes even down. They say they are catering to junior consumers who want to emulate their parents and are not satisfied with fake gadgets.

I can see giving a cell to a high school kid when the kid goes out at night. There is no other reason. And I like how the article says that junior consumers are "not satisfied with fake gadgets." Perfect. Saves on Christmas presents. You get nothing this year.

“If you give kids an old toy camera, they look at you like you’re crazy,” said Reyne Rice, a toy trends specialist for the Toy Industry Association. Children “are role-playing what they see in society,” she added.

That seems to be the case even when youngsters are not old enough to have any clue how to use actual gadgets.

Yunice Kotake, of San Bruno, Calif., recently purchased a Fisher-Price Knows Your Name Dora Cell Phone for her twin year-old daughters. But a few days later, she returned the play phone to a local Toys “R” Us, after she found that the girls seemed to prefer their parents’ actual phones.

“They know what a real cellphone is, and they don’t want a fake one,” Ms. Kotake said.

We need to revisit Ms. Kotake's twin girls in 6 years. They will be monsters. I wanted the cutting knife in my mother's hand when I was 2, but she wouldn't let me have it.

Parents give presents all the time that never get played with. Somethings will be a hit, others not. The fact that Ms. Kotake took the phones back to the store for a refund after she'd given them to her children to play with is grounds for bonus points.

Start with this list of preapproved toys: a soccer ball, a baseball mitt, books, bicycles, tricycles, a play house, swings, books, clothing, jungle gyms, books, barbies, books. Is it obvious that I don't have children?

More From Sudan

This is getting to be a problem:

A British teacher has been charged with insulting religion and inciting hatred after allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Gillian Gibbons faces 40 lashes - and the British Government has shown its anger by summoning the Sudanese ambassador in London as a "matter of urgency".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "We are surprised and disappointed by this development."

Diplomatically put! The court's options are lashes, a fine or 6 months in prison.

"There is a suggestion here that President Bashir himself may pardon her at some stage - this is just coming through from one of his advisers," he said.

"It suggests that the Sudanese Government had to go this far in charging her - but is not happy with the potential embarrassment this may cause."

She won't be lashed or thrown in prison. Possibly fined. That is an easy way out - something nominal. And the government should be embarrassed, although I wasn't aware they were capable of embarrassment.

Hotels for Sale

China Post Group, operator of the country's postal system, will auction off 60 hotels with an estimated worth of at least 4 billion yuan ($540 million), as the government urges state companies to shed non-core businesses. China Post said on Wednesday it was selling the hotels through an auction at the China Beijing Equity Exchange, a site for trade in unlisted assets. "We will put up more hotels for sale in the future and completely exit the hotel business by the end of 2008," said Xiao Wenyan, a spokeswoman at China Post, which owns about 400 hotels. She did not give an estimate for how much the company expected to raise from the auction. An exchange official, however, said the assets, ranging from guest houses to four-star hotels and located in 24 provinces across China, would be worth at least 4 billion yuan but would be subject to further valuation. China Post put 30 hotels up for sale earlier this year in an auction in Shanghai and 24 have been sold, Xiao said.

The Chinese clean their hotels as well as they clean their airplanes. And they don't perform maintenance. Within a year or two, a brand new hotel looks like a 40 year old Holiday Inn. Dirty carpets, tiles popping off bathroom walls, dirty overstuffed furniture. I guarantee these state owned hotels are among the worst.

RMB Exchange Rate

No big surprises here.

The Chinese government would further allow the market to determine the RMB exchange rate and more flexibility to the RMB band, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday. Wen made the remarks during a speech at the fourth EU-China Business Summit held here, which attracted about 500 entrepreneurs from China and the European Union (EU). However, the premier also emphasized China would improve the RMB exchange rate regime "in a proactive, manageable and gradual manner," with a view to gradually enabling capital account convertibility.

Bad Manners on Display

The US Navy objected to China's decision to deny an American aircraft carrier group and other vessels access to the Hong Kong port, Reuters reported. The American commander of the US Pacific Command, which is responsible for all US military activities in the Pacific region, said China's action showed it was not meeting its obligations as a "responsible nation." China denied entry to Hong Kon g to the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and eight accompanying ships it for a Thanksgiving holiday visit. Separately, access was also denied to the USS Guardian and USS Patriot, which were seeking shelter from a storm. According to the US, China has not explained its actions. American military officials said Hong Kong remained a reliable port for US ships, although more cooperation between the two countries was required.

I was in Hong Kong the day after this occurred, and everyone was speculating why the government did it. Most people felt the Dali Lama's visit was one instigator. Everyone was angry, not only for the refusal itself, but for the effect the decision had on local merchants/vendors.

As I understand it, China initially denied entry to the ships and they turned around and sailed out. Then the Chinese reversed their positions but the ships were not about to return. Hopefully someone at some level of the US government understands the message that China was trying to send; otherwise, the effort by the Chinese was entirely wasted.

The denial to the two ships seeking shelter for the storm was inexcusable and that point needs to be made.

Because Kyoto Worked So Well . . .

China and India should have lower emissions targets than developed nations, a new United Nations report recommended, according to the Financial Times. The report by the UN Development Program sets the agenda for a summit in Bali next week to decide a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. The UNDP report says China and India should reduce their emissions by 20% by 2050, but industrialized nations must reduce emissions by 80% in the same time frame. The report found that the world needs to spend 1.6% of GDP annually until 2030 to prevent emissions rising to dangerous levels, and said that industrialized countries should reduce their emissions by 20% by 2020. The US has said that it will not participate in any agreement that doesn't include China and other rapidly developing countries. The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

The US knows that China will never sign on. China's position has been: western nations are responsible for most emissions. Now that China is climbing out of Third World status you want us to bear the brunt of emissions reduction effectively sending us back to Third World status and guarantying that we stay there. No.

Work

Everyone gets a bit frustrated with their clients on occasion. I've mentioned one of ours, a particularly large MNC, that entered into a disastrous joint venture some years ago. We have been trying to get out of it for some time now and little by little, they are making progress. They have given their joint venture partner, a BVI company owned by a Hong Kongnese gentlemen, the shirts off their backs, despite the fact that our client is much larger and much more sophisticated as a general rule. I say general rule, because our client is not more sophisticated in China unfortunately.

We are negotiating to swap our remaining interests, ours in one company for an equal amount in another company. Our client agreed to take all the crap while its partner gets everything of value. Why? Apparently the CEO has a "good relationship" with the owner of the other company and wants to maintain good relations. Anyone observing this on the outside would immediate reach the correct conclusion that my client's CEO was taken to the cleaners and it is about time he gives up the notion that he has a good friend.

The snakes on the other side of the deal have proposed one final major screw and a few minor ones as a going away present. I'm seething after seeing the proposal, and yet, it isn't my deal. It affects my life in absolutely no way at all. And given the size of the client, it's pennies at the end of the day.

The maddening thing is that I'm quite certain the client will cave into the snakes' demands. I want nothing more than to get on the phone and calmly tell the other side to go to hell.

I once had a colleague tell me the best way to engage in negotiation is to not care about the outcome. If the other side believes you are willing to kill the deal over a point because you'd rather be home brushing your teeth, it is less likely to push the envelop. Having witnessed him practice this technique, I will say that it's quite effective. He was negotiating against a much larger company that held most of the cards. The negotiator for the other company was the high energy hot-tempered type and a very effective negotiator in most circumstances. He couldn't compete with the calm collected negotiator who didn't care about the outcome of the deal when push came to shove.

Obviously you have to care enough to work through all the issues you can work through, but there are always those leftovers that are black and white. That one guy is going to win and the other is going to lose.

So back to anger management. Given that this is not my call and I don't have to live with the results of the decision, my anger is absurd. I have no dog in this fight. But I'd sure like to make that call anyway.

Obama In Trouble

File under who gives a %^$#:

Marie Osmond has been all but consumed by “Dancing With the Stars,” but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been paying attention to current events — namely the upcoming presidential election.

“She’s leaning very heavily toward Mitt Romney,” says a source very close to Osmond. “Just because she brought her 90-or-so Mormon relatives on the Oprah show, it doesn’t mean she’s backing exactly who Oprah is backing. She’s interested in seeing a Mormon become president.”

Sudan to Fill Open Seat on Human Rights Commission

MSNBC's headline for this story is "Teacher Quizzed Over Teddy Bear Name". Makes the whole thing sound silly.

Sudanese authorities began questioning a British teacher on Tuesday, one day after she was arrested for insulting Islam after her young students named a teddy bear "Mohammad."

No good deed goes unpunished. For those of you in the missionary business thinking that Khartoum would be a good place to teach, keep Ms. Gibbons in mind.

Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher at the Unity High School in Khartoum, was arrested on Sunday after complaints from parents.

"She has been transferred for questioning," said one police official in the station where she was being held.

If convicted of insulting Islam, she could be sentenced to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine, lawyers said.

The punishment should definitely fit the crime.

Teachers at the school said Gibbons had asked her class of 7-year-olds to choose their favorite name for the teddy bear and 20 of the 23 had voted for Mohammad.

Unity director Robert Boulos had said the school would be closed until January because he was afraid of reprisals in mainly Muslim Khartoum.

Better that the kids remain ignorant like their parents.

In 2005 a Sudanese paper was closed for three months and its editor arrested for reprinting articles questioning the roots of the Prophet Mohammad, a move which prompted angry protests.

Al-Wifaq editor Mohamed Taha was later abducted from his home by armed men and beheaded.

Again, an entirely understandable response given the gravity of the situation. Ms. Gibbons, I'd catch a plane.

A British embassy official said Gibbons was in good spirits and school officials said they were optimistic she would be released.

Sudan's justice minister declined to immediately comment.

She's in good spirits because she's British, and the British embassy isn't going to let the Sudanese government touch her. I suspect the American and Aussie governments would have a thing or two to say if Sudan pushes it.

The Sudanese justice minister isn't talking because he's desperately seeking a way to spin this political nightmare as a defeat for Ms. Gibbons and the Brits. He has no interest in looking like he's soft on Muslim infractions and a pawn of the west. Tough spot to be in.

Animal Nuts

Here are a few people with too much time on their hands:

Madonna stands accused of a fashion don’t by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The pop icon’s latest British Vogue photo shoot, which features a flock of dyed sheep on the singer’s estate, “sends out the wrong message about how to use animals,” an RSPCA spokesperson recently told the Sun. “Even if the dye is safe for the animals, others might copy it with an unsafe dye.”

Could they extrapolate further?

And what message should she be sending out regarding the use of "sheep"? I'd recommend a nice Escada jacket after which you can serve the remainder roasted with a little mint jelly on the side.

Have French Passport, Will Travel

For more on France's Algerian experiment:

The rituals and acts of rage have an eerie sameness to them: roving gangs of angry youths clashing with the riot police in France's edgy suburbs, the government appealing for calm, local officials and residents complaining that their problems are ignored.

"Angry youths"? We started with "Muslim terrorists" and then went to "men of Middle Eastern dissent" after Reuters announced that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". Now the acronym is "youths". You have to read down to the 8th paragraph to learn - if you weren't familiar with the new lingo and the situation - that the gangs of young French people are the "offspring of Arab and African immigrants".

Two years after an orgy of violence in which rioters in more than 300 suburbs and towns torched cars, trashed businesses and ambushed the riot police and firefighters, Villiers-le-Bel and several nearby suburbs of Paris similarly have erupted in violence and destruction.

In one sense, the unrest seems to be more menacing than during the early days of the three weeks of rioting in 2005. Then, the youth seemed disorganized, their destruction largely caused by rock-throwing and arson and aimed at the closest and easiest targets, like cars. This time, hunting shotguns, as well as gasoline bombs and rocks, have been turned on the police.

This is one war that France should try to win, or else the Mona Lisa will be wearing a burka.

"From what our colleagues on the scene tell us, this is a situation that is a lot worse than what we saw in 2005," Patrice Ribeiro, a police officer and senior union official, told RTL radio Tuesday. He added, "A line was crossed last night, that is to say, they used weapons, they used weapons and fired on the police. This is a real guerrilla war."

Ribeiro warned that the police, who have struggled to avoid excessive force, would not be fired upon indefinitely without responding.

That would be a break with history. This is a perfect time for excessive force. France should consider another Rainbow Warrior move.

More than 80 police officers already have been wounded the clashes, several of them seriously, Ribeiro said later by telephone. Thirty of them were hit with pellets from shotguns, and one of the wounded was hit with a type of bullet used to kill large game, he added. It is legal to own a shotgun in France - as long as the owner has a license - and police circles were swirling with rumors that the bands of youth were procuring more shotguns.

Only in France would the police not return fire when they're dropping like flies.

It is impossible to predict whether the violence will continue and spread to the much larger cluster of Parisian suburbs around the town of Seine-Saint-Denis, the area where violence was concentrated in 2005, or to the rest of the country.

I would like to go on record as predicting that it will continue and spread.

But the events of the past three days make clear that the underlying causes of frustration and anger - particularly among unemployed, undereducated youth, mostly the offspring of Arab and African immigrants - remain the same.

"We have heard promise after promise, but nothing has been done in the suburbs since the last riots, nothing," said François Pupponi, the Socialist mayor of Sarcelles, which has been struck by violence. "The suburbs are like tinderboxes. You have people in terrible social circumstances, plus all the rage, plus all the hate, plus all the rumors and all you need is one spark to set them on fire."

The underlying causes remain the same because France didn't do anything about them the first time around. Try this (it's working OK in the US): you are welcome in this country so long as you attend local schools, not madrases, get jobs, assimilate and don't cause trouble. Otherwise, we will send you back to that great sanddoon that you came from. Possibly in a pine box.

Indeed, after the unrest in 2005, the government of then-President Jacques Chirac - with Nicolas Sarkozy, now president, as the tough law-and-order interior minister - announced measures to improve life in the suburbs, including extra money for housing, schools and neighborhood associations and counseling and job training for unemployed youths. None has gone very far.

Handouts generally don't.

Next the article explains that while France's new president, Sarkozy, is busy creating jobs, his junior minister is holding town meetings to create a "Marshall Plan" which appears, unfortunately, to focus on additional handouts.

I love this little sympathetic account of the death of two teens preceded by the electrocution of two other teens who "according to some accounts, were running away from police." Those were probably police "accounts" and they were probably accurate.

It was there that on Sunday afternoon the deaths of two teenagers identified as Moushin, 15, and Larimi, 16, occurred, the event that sparked the latest unrest. The teenagers were riding without helmets in a mini-motorbike that crashed into a police car on Sunday.

The accident was reminiscent of the electrocution deaths of two teenagers in another Paris suburb in October 2005, who, according to some accounts, were running away from the police. That event triggered the worst civil unrest in France in four decades.

But Sarkozy, still reeling from massive transit strikes and student protests this month throughout France, is unlikely to use the current unrest as a vehicle to turn introspective or vent his rage too loudly at those he once called "thugs."

"Thugs" is a fairly accurate description I'd say.

In 2005, he vowed to clean out young troublemakers from one Paris suburb with a Kärcher, the brand name of a high-powered hose used to wash off graffiti; when he pledged in one suburb that year to rid poor suburban neighborhoods of their "thugs," he was pelted with bottles and rocks.

The high-powered hose would be a good start. A plane ticket would be a better one.

UPDATE: Tim Blair jumps into the fray -

It’s car-b-q time again:

"Rioting broke in one of Paris’s tinder box suburban housing estates last night after two young boys were killed when their moped collided with a police car.

Molotov cocktails were thrown, and cars and plastic bins set on fire ... One police station was set alight and another, in a neighbouring suburb, was ransacked after youths threw cocktails, and set bins alight and upturned cars."

The rioters are described as ... well, just “rioters”, although Presbyterianism is suspected. According to one witness, certain national stereotypes were observed:

"There were four police cars here, but they’ve retreated. They were charged by the rioters. Some rioters are climbing up to electric cables to try and break them and put the whole district into darkness.”

Zogby

With a year to go, I don't put much stock in this. . . . however, it brings a little joy to my heart.

Zogby's results as of 11/26/2007

Clinton
38%

McCain
42%

_____

Clinton
40%

Giuliani
43%

_____

Clinton
40%

Romney
43%

_____
Clinton
39%

Huckabee
44%

_____

Clinton
40%

Thompson
44%

Hillary's Followers

Here's the kiss of death for Hillary. In a statement clearly crafted by Hillary's campaign team (see Streisand's own commentary for comparison), she croons:

Barbra Streisand, who hedged her bets months ago with donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, has settled on one presidential candidate.
It's Hillary.

"Madame President of the United States ... it's an extraordinary thought. We truly are in a momentous time, where a woman's potential has no limitations," Streisand said in a statement released Tuesday by the Clinton campaign. "Hillary Clinton has already proven to a generation of women that there are no limits for success."

She hasn't succeeded yet.

The Oscar-winning actress and singer is a FOB—Friend of Bill Clinton—and the endorsement is hardly surprising. In Hollywood, as in politics, timing is everything, and Streisand's endorsement comes one day after another entertainment superstar, Oprah Winfrey, announced she would campaign for Clinton rival Barack Obama.

"Hillary is a powerful voice for change as we find our country at an important crossroads. Under her leadership, our country will regain its respect within the global community. She will prioritize issues of global climate change, universal health care and rebuilding a strong economy. After eight long years, the public will once again have faith in their government," said Streisand, a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates.

Part of the fear is that Hillary will do just that: prioritize issues of global climate change, universal health care and tampering with the economy. Global climate change is a waste of time, universal health care will bankrupt our economy, and I'd rather hope she'd keep her grubby little hands off the economy.

In the statement, Hillary Clinton said she was honored for the support.

"Barbra has used her immense talent to be an advocate for truth, justice, and fairness and I deeply appreciate her confidence in my candidacy as we work together to change the direction of our nation," Clinton said.

I'd love to see the dynamic between these two women. Clinton is about as sharp as they come. Barbra is the polar opposite under the unfortunate impression that they are intellectual equals. I'm sure Barbra would love to sleep with Bill too, if she hasn't already.

So here is Hillary having to talk down to this imbecile who wants Bill, so that she can get money and support. G_d, I couldn't do it.

Macroeconomics II

China's banking regulator has told commercial banks it will penalize them if they don't evenly spread out next year's lending, in the latest sign that the government considers administrative controls important in keeping the economy from overheating.

I've jumped on this topic before. China has a bit of a problem because its banks are insolvent. And not a little insolvent, very insolvent. Chinese banks bare little resemblance to western banks. They are used to keep state owned industries afload and to print money for the Chinese government. There is no Fed.

So when the government talks about limiting lending, it isn't suggesting that state owned industries find another source of money (like revenue generation) or go belly-up. It's restricting lending directed at the private sector for investment.

Not that Chinese banks are good at risk assessment in the private sector either, but they stand a far better chance of getting repaid.

Again, this isn't a move designed to boost revenues at banks; the government is seeking crude ways to tinker in macroeconomics.

Airline Consolidation

Shanghai Airlines is a likely focus for further consolidation of Chinese commercial aviation as larger carriers, especially Air China, look for greater access to the country’s biggest city.

An Air China takeover of the second-level carrier would be a big step toward creating the balanced nationwide operator that China still lacks in any of its big-three airlines—China Southern, Air China and China Eastern. With a domestic network operated by 59 aircraft, Shanghai Airlines has also caught the eye of China Eastern.

In Shanghai’s airports China Eastern serves nearly 40% of travelers. Shanghai Airlines comes second, with 18%. Air China, a mere 12%. Air China needs a stronger presence in southern mainland China, as well as Shanghai, but in that part of the country it already has a foothold, a 25% stake in Shenzhen Airlines.

Not to be negative, but the last thing that Air China "needs" is another flight. It needs to vaccum and clean its planes. They are disgusting.

In fairness to Shanghai Airlines, I've only flown a small commuter flight to Xiamen with it, but I have nothing nice to say there either. The plane didn't crash. I guess that's a plus.

Luckily, I've managed to avoid Shenzhen Airlines.

The Chinese need to be given a tour of several western planes. Someone needs to point out that dirt and spit are regularly cleaned off the carpets and walls of the planes, and they don't smell.

The staff should be prohibited from having any contact with western flight attendants, however, because this is one area where the Chinese clearly excel. There are no fat, rude flight attendants on the Chinese airlines. As a general rule, they seem to be more service-oriented than most Chinese enterprises and don't give off the impression that they'd rather not have you there.

Chinese Macroeconomics

Amid mounting pressure from rising domestic prices, the Chinese central authorities said Tuesday it would put both overheating hazards and inflation risks at the top of its macro control targets next year. Endeavor will be made to prevent the national economy from overheating and at the same time to avoid the evolvement of real inflation on the back of current price hikes, according to a conference of the Political Bureau of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. The conference was presided over by Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

The new goal comes in reaction to soaring prices in the second half of the year. The latest monetary policy report published by the central bank said excessive growth in investment, ballooning trade surplus and credit remained the prominent problems of the Chinese economy.

These problems would be easier to deal with if they had control of the yuan. Instead they pass bad and ineffective legislation that attempts to make investments in real estate and the stock market less attractive. Having said that, I don't believe the government will risk a collapse in the yuan by making aggressive changes to break free of the dollar. Given my knowledge and understanding of macroeconomics, I should stop here.

I Wish They'd Put in a Restaurant

DHL, the world's leading express and logistics company, inked a deal with the Shanghai Airport Authority on Monday to invest 175 million U.S. dollars on a new north Asia cargo hub at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The move followed the announcement UPS to establish an international cargo hub at the airport on April 12 this year. Pudong airport is to be the first airport in the world with two international cargo hubs, said sources with the airport. "The investment of DHL signals that Shanghai has become an international center for cargo transportation," said Wu Nianzu, board chairman of the Shanghai Airport Authority. "After both hubs go into operation, the Pudong airport might become the world's top three in terms of cargo transportation," he said.

Singapore Air to the Rescue

China Eastern Airlines Corp.'s shareholders are scheduled to vote in Shanghai on Jan. 8 on the company's plan to sell a 24% stake to Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. The Chinese airline said Sunday that holders of shares listed in Hong Kong Shanghai will vote at the same time.

If you travel in China, or if you plan to travel in China, keep your fingers crossed on this one. Singapore Airlines is one of the best airlines, if not the best, in the world. China Eastern is not. It would be at the other end of the scale, perhaps a little ahead of Botswana Northern or something. This could only be positive for China Eastern.

Drink More New Zealand Milk

The average production price of milk in the main dairy-producing areas in northern China has risen 14.3% from last October to US$0.16 per kilogram, Shanghai Securities News reported (in Chinese). The main causes of the increase are the price of feed grains such as corn, higher milk transportation costs and a short supply of cattle due to the rising breeding costs. Retail prices from China's main dairies have diverged, as Sanyuan has raised the price of its fresh milk 10%, while competitors Mengniu and Yili have so far left their prices unchanged. However, Mengniu and Yili will have to raise retail prices sooner or later to cover costs, which have increased three times this year, said an analyst cited by the newspaper.

I don't really care too much. It's still cheap.

But I spoke with two gentlemen, both of whom at one time or another were senior in Danone Group's disasterous JV. Both of whom now work for much larger MNCs. Both independently confirmed that the last thing you want to put into your mouth in China is milk. I would have said bugs or mice, but apparently the cows are loaded with so much penicillin that the drug will be completely useless in China before too long. This is part of the fear of the "super bug" in China.

One of the two also told of a confirmed case of hoof and mouth disease at a large milk factory next to Danone Group's. He said the decision was made not to alert the public and to distribute the milk despite the confirmed tests. One of their major clients was a local elementary school. These gentlemen are the chief execs for the Asian operations of the MNCs. I have no reason to doubt their sincerity.

I just wish they'd told me that 2 years ago. I down a tremendous amount of milk in China, almost all of it Chinese.

EU Vs. China

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told Chinese officials on Monday that the recent spate of product safety scandals has put the country's reputation at risk, Reuters reported. "While product safety is not a problem restricted to China, it will nevertheless be central to the global perception of China's growing weight at a manufacturer," Mandelson said, referring to recalls of Chinese-made goods ranging from toys to toothpaste. Speaking at a meeting on food safety in Beijing, he stressed that more must be done to tackle the problem, arguing that claims from Chinese officials that 99% of goods exported were safe was not good enough. Mandelson added that counterfeit goods - another of Europe's major gripes with China - only added to the safety risk. Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, who is responsible for product safety, said she was "extremely dissatisfied" with Mandelson's remarks.

I question whether 99% of China's products are safe. Safe by what standards?

And I thought Vice Premier Wu retired. She is an incredibly powerful woman in China and they gave her the crap work of dealing with quality issues.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton trails five top Republican presidential contenders in general election match-ups, a drop in support from this summer, according to a poll released on Monday.

Clinton's top Democratic rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, still lead Republicans in hypothetical match-ups ahead of the November 4, 2008, presidential election, the survey by Zogby Interactive showed.

Clinton, a New York senator who has been at the top of the Democratic pack in national polls in the 2008 race, trails Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mike Huckabee by three to five percentage points in the direct matches.

My thoughts are, of course, GOOD, but I'll probably have to eat those words when she wins.

All the expats in China that I've met, without exception, are Obama people. I'm told that Obama leads all candidates with worldwide expats, which isn't that surprising. His campaign has been very active in China - conference calls for those disposed to donation from Obama's wife.

I don't know that expats are indicative of the general population. By and large they seem to be liberal and the preferred conversation is how embarrassing it is that everyone hates us and that the Bush has trashed the word America abroad.

I disagree wholeheartedly. No one in China seems to care about Bush; visa applications in China alone have been increasing at a rate of 30% per year over the past 5 years. Worldwide visa applications have increased (I'm too lazy to do the minimal amount of research it would take to confirm the percentage). None of this suggests that respect for America or Americans has greatly diminished under Bush's watch. Perhaps world leaders think less of us, but other than Howard, whose demise caught me completely off guard, I don't really care.

Why would anyone worry about what the leadership of Italy or Bhutan thinks of us? Iran, Syria? I hope they are scared ^%$@#less of us, which they won't be if we pull out of Iraq.

I don't have a feel for how Clinton would conduct her foreign policy. But we can only hope she'd be better than her husband.

Kenyan Vacation For Grandma

Bethan, 56, lives in southern England on the same street as best friend Allie, 64.

Hard figures are difficult to come by, but local people on the coast estimate that as many as one in five single women visiting from rich countries are in search of sex.

Given that Allie's ex-husband, Frank, left her ten years ago for a 20 year old Thai girl, I'm not sure what we are squabbling over. Bethan isn't sure what happened to Gerry. He disappeared right after the birth of the third child and is presumed dead although there are rumors he's been spotted in Siem Reap.

"It's not evil," said Jake Grieves-Cook, chairman of the Kenya Tourist Board, when asked about the practice of older rich women traveling for sex with young Kenyan men.

"But it's certainly something we frown upon."

Also, the health risks are stark in a country with an AIDS prevalence of 6.9 percent. Although condom use can only be guessed at, Julia Davidson, an academic at Nottingham University who writes on sex tourism, said that in the course of her research she had met women who shunned condoms -- finding them too "businesslike" for their exotic fantasies.

AIDS is all the discouragement I'd need on either side of the fence.

They are on their first holiday to Kenya, a country they say is "just full of big young boys who like us older girls."

The white beaches of the Indian Ocean coast stretched before the friends as they both walked arm-in-arm with young African men, Allie resting her white haired-head on the shoulder of her companion, a six-foot-four 23-year-old from the Maasai tribe.

It's difficult to understand why anyone would take comfort in being with someone only interested in their money. And yes, I'm thinking of you 65 year old man with the partially bald head, scraggly ponytail and gut with the 23 year old Asian beauty. When she finds out that the teaching position you have at the modest Chinese high school is not as lucrative as she imagined, she's going to walk.

He wore new sunglasses he said were a gift from her.

"We both get something we want -- where's the negative?" Allie asked in a bar later, nursing a strong, golden cocktail.

She was still wearing her bikini top, having just pulled on a pair of jeans and a necklace of traditional African beads.

Ouch. No doubt she had her thinning grey hair cornrowed by the ladies on the beach for just slightly over market. It will look great with that bikini. Who knows what the appropriate age is the clean out the closet and get rid of those things reserved for the young, but she's missed it exponentially if she's 65 and still sporting the bikini.

In truth as long as I don't have to pay any part of Allie or Bethan's health care costs when they get AIDS or some other form of VD, I could care less who they are shagging. It doesn't sound like the rest of the economy is missing these two bucks they've managed to latch on to, so what is the harm. You go girls!

Back to the US

One of our most talented Chinese employees leaves Wednesday for the US. She will spend a year working out of our office there. This is great for her, much less great for me at the moment. She's a wonderful person, exceptionally good at her job, and very outgoing which is unusual for the Chinese.

I'm very dissappointed that I couldn't time a trip so that I'd be there when she arrives to help her get settled. She'll be fine.

She's spending Christmas with my folks who are thrilled about the chance to host. They sign up for every hosting opportunity to keep a stead flow of people through their home. Golfers on the junior tours trying to make it big; Koreans through Rotary; random people through the church or whatever.

Heresy

A gent in the San Fran area questions the city's consideration of a bill that bans fireplaces.

Happy Thanksgiving To Family and Friends

Expats all over Shanghai are scrambling to meet up with other expats at expat hangouts: Malone's is a favorite; I'm heading to KABB; and all the western hotels are serving Thanksgiving something. Best to everyone and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Doomsday is Here

That bastion of intellectualism, the United Nations, has just reiterated that the sky is in fact falling.

In its final and most powerful report, a United Nations panel of scientists meeting here describes the mounting risks of climate change in language that is both more specific and forceful than its previous assessments, according to scientists here.

Hopefully Spielberg will do a movie on this.

As a sign of the deepening urgency surrounding the climate change issue, the report, which was being printed Friday night, will be officially released by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

“This document goes further than any of the previous efforts,” said Hans Verolme, director of the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Climate Change Program. “The pressure has been palpable — people know they are delivering a document that will be cited for years to come and will define policy.”

Is it too much to ask that the policy defined is the elimination of the UN?

Even though the synthesis report is more alarming than its predecessors, some researchers believe that it still understates the trajectory of global warming and its impact. The I.P.C.C.’s scientific process, which takes five years of study and writing from start to finish, cannot take into account the very latest data on climate change or economic trends, which show larger than predicted development and energy use in China.

“The world is already at or above the worst case scenarios in terms of emissions,” said Gernot Klepper, of the Kiel Institute for World Economy in Kiel, Germany. “In terms of emissions, we are moving past the most pessimistic estimates of the I.P.C.C., and by some estimates we are above that red line.”

Oh, I bet we can do a lot worse by emissions that our present output. Environmentalism is a reasonable concept to discuss. All things considered, China is a cesspool that needs to be cleaned up. Not because the ozone can't handle it, but because people can't. And it's nice to have clean air and clean water.

Why do we have to give credence to a bunch of nuts from 130 countries when we can have a civilized conversation about how to make things better. Why would anyone listen to anything Sudan and Pakistan have to say about anything, much less the environment. I can't believe the madrassas excel in the sciences.

Likewise, a recent International Energy Agency report looking at the unexpectedly rapid emissions growth in China and India estimated that if current policies were not changed the world would warm six degrees by 2030, a disastrous increase far higher than the panel’s estimates of one to four degrees by the end of the century.

Because 4 degrees wasn't enough to get everyone to sign on to Kyoto, they have to ramp it up to 6 degrees. At that point, Mt. Everest will be underwater.

"In my view that would make it not just difficult, but impossible to adapt successfully, some of my colleagues would say catastrophic,” said Dr. Oppenheimer. “If they say that it’s possible that melting could occur in centuries leading to meters of change, that’s a headline.”

This final report also puts more emphasis on the ripple effect of small degrees of temperature change, some of which are already being seen, such as species extinctions and loss of biodiversity.

“A relatively modest degree of warming — one to three degrees — spells a lot of trouble and I think that was not clear in the previous report,” Dr. Oppenheimer said. He said part of the reason for the lack of clarity was that governments had “messed around” with the language and structure of the report during the approval process.

This time around, the consequences of different degrees of climate change will be better laid out so that the ministers who meet in Bali next month will understand the options and the consequences of inaction. “This should light a fire under policy makers,” Dr. Oppenheimer said.

I doubt it. If you think 98% of those 130 countries' policymakers will do anything more than complain about the US, you are in for a surprise. That's the only thing that comes out of these "summits". One or two stupid countries sign on (see New Zealand) and go broke trying to make it work and the rest of them point their fingers at us. At least it will give Gore something to crow about for a while.

Horse Already Out of Barn

China and Singapore will build an "eco-city" in Tianjin using a new joint venture between firms from both countries, with Singapore's Keppel Corporation playing a lead role, AFP reported. The project will use advanced energy-saving and environmental technologies in hopes of turning Tianjin into a model "green" city. Singapore government officials said the project's management, technology, and policy aspects will serve as a reference for other Chinese cities. The announcement was made during Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's five-day visit to Singapore, the first visit by a Chinese premier in eight years. Bilateral trade between China and Singapore totaled US$59 billion last year, up from US$44 billion in 2005.

Tianjin is a fairly large city - 12 million or so. And it looks like every other Chinese city from a pollution standpoint. It's a laudable goal to clean it up, but any expectations that it will be a model "green" city in the next 10 years are misplaced.

I believe Tianjin is the second largest port city, second to Shanghai. Its development zone, TEDA, supports a great deal of heavy manufacturing. We have a number of clients in the zone.

If they are going to set their sights as high as Tianjin, I wish they'd shoot for Shanghai. There's nothing "green" in the city at the moment, so they'd be starting at ground zero.

Increasing the Cost of Doing Business

All this means is that foreign companies will be taxed at a higher rate. Chinese companies don't pay taxes, so it is absurd to whine about how the tax laws penalize the Chinese.

China has drafted executive regulations for a new corporate income tax law that will harmonize the domestic and foreign rates, and the final draft has been submitted to the State Council for approval, the China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday, citing an expert close to the issue.

The income tax rate for foreign companies in special bonded zones, which previously enjoyed a preferential rate of 15 percent, will rise in stages to 18 percent, 20 percent, 22 percent, 24 percent and finally 25 percent, the same as domestic companies, over five years, according to the draft.

One critical factor to consider when deciding whether to locate to China is the cost structure of the typical Chinese company vs. the typical western company. Should you buy a plant or continue to source?

Chinese manufacturers don't pay taxes (assuming they aren't massive and can fly slightly under the radar); they don't pay for software (at least 80% of software in China is pirated); they don't pay social insurance and taxes on their employees; they don't have an environmental compliance program; they don't pay for IP; and their factories probably aren't safe (meaning that if there is a fire, everyone will go down with the ship).

What does that mean for you, the western company who has to comply with all these requirements? From the outset, the Chinese company has a cost advantage and is operating under a different cost structure. If you are selling a commodity product, you're dead. They will win.

You have to provide quality and/or service that isn't yet available in the Chinese market place (and you have to know that the service is considered valuable enough to the consumer to cover the cost differential). You have be to innovative: the Chinese are smart folks, and they can modernize quickly.

Considering acquiring your Chinese supplier? Understand that the initial period following acquisition will be expensive as you move to remedy these irregularities. The Chinese management team, assuming you've kept them, will strongly resist your attempts. It will be beyond their comprehension that you'd be looking for ways to drive up costs.

If you're sourcing sufficient volume from China, consider establishing or acquiring a manufacturing facility that can fulfill a faction of your production requirements. This (a) gives you legitimacy with your clients (if Wal-Mart or Coke discovers you're a third party middleman with no production capabilities, they will cut you out of the chain); and (b) provides leverage against other suppliers to keep costs down. If you have multiple suppliers including your own plant, you can assert greater pressure on your suppliers.

As an aside, you should have a noncompete agreement with your suppliers that prohibits them from selling directly to your customers for a period of years. Understand that there are often practical difficulties to enforcement. If you have a larger relationship with Wal-Mart in a different location (US), you might be reluctant to enforce the noncompete against your supplier in China and cloud your larger relationship with Wal-Mart.

Nothing Says Love Like LV

Pets in pirated Louis Vutton and Burberry. I see it all the time and if I had my druthers, I'd never see those designer labels again. Diapers, underwear, hats, swimsuits. Burberry is the Chinese national fabric just as plaids represent Ireland.

Chengdu resident Zhu Xiaozhu loves her dogs so much she has tailored clothes for them to match her own wardrobe.

When not running the family business with her husband, the 27-year-old also decks out her beloved companions in jewelry.

Zhu started making the clothes for her dogs last year and now even has a shop to cater to other owners who want to do the same.

Ninety percent of her customers are from outside Chengdu.

Most Chinese have smaller dogs for obvious reasons and most have their dogs clothed in some fashion. Some have their dogs hair dyed in colors that range from pink to brown. It's a mystery.

Sex in the States

This is nice.

More than 1 million cases of chlamydia were reported in the United States last year -- the most ever reported for a sexually transmitted disease, federal health officials said Tuesday. "A new US record," said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr. of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More bad news: Gonorrhea rates are jumping again after hitting a record low, and an increasing number of cases are caused by a "superbug" version resistant to common antibiotics, federal officials said Tuesday.

Syphilis is rising, too. The rate of congenital syphilis -- which can deform or kill babies -- rose for the first time in 15 years.

When the Chinese think of American culture, they think of Sex In the City. Most have never been to the States, obviously, so they rely on our movies and tv shows for background. Sex is where all my female employees learned most of the foul language. I say most, because what they didn't learn there, they've learned from my colleagues. These statistics certainly reinforce that view.

In fairness to the US, we aren't capable of comparing those statistics with say . . . China, because China would never honestly report something like this.

Disney Shanghai

Disneyland Shanghai is a great idea. The Chinese love Disney. Everyone wants to go to Hong Kong to the park, which doesn't have sufficient capacity for the Chinese market and has suffered some PR disasters as a result.

The authorities have confirmed that the previously suspended plan to build a Disneyland theme park in this city has been revived and preparations are going ahead full steam.

Qian Weizhong, director of the economy committee of Nanhui district, said residents had moved off the land targeted for Shanghai Disneyland, in suburban Chuansha town.

The planned theme park will occupy 6 sq km, which is about 4.7 times the size of Hong Kong's Disneyland, according to the original plan.

No Girls

The Roe v. Wade effect hits China. Sorry guys.

The number of males in China at marriage age is 18 million more than that of females due to a long period of high sex birth ratio since the 1980s, according to the country's family planning authorities.

The sex ratio at birth in rural areas is 122.85:100, higher than the national average of 119.58:100, as compared with the normal sex ratio of 103 to 107:100, according to Zhang Weiqing, National Population and Family Planning Commission director.

By 2020, males aged between 20 and 45 are forecast to be 30 million more than females in the country, he said at a rural population and family planning conference in the Henan Province capital.

International Relations

The Chinese and their good friends the Iranians:

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Tuesday that China supports a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations.

"China stands for the maintenance of the international non-proliferation system and supports a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations," Yang said during his meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

China believes that Iran has the rights to peacefully use nuclear power and appreciates Iran's repeated declaration of no intention to develop nuclear weapons and its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yang said.

First, everyone hopes for a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue. And China, like Iran, believes in international non-profliferation so long as it doesn't apply to China. Don't blame them considering their good friends are North Korea and Iran. I'd want nukes too.

Good News for China

While China may be getting most of the attention -- and the blame -- for a rash of recent toy recalls, the majority of problematic toys in fact come from other countries, according to a new Canadian study.

Toys made in countries other than China had a higher rate of recalls, on a proportional basis, according to the study by Paul Beamish, a professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario, and Hari Bapuji and Andre Laplume with the Asper School of Business in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

So while Chinese-made toys dominate the global marketplace, accounting for 86 percent of those imported by the United States in 2006, the study found they were no more a danger than toys made elsewhere.

Another surprising finding of the study was that design-related problems, such as the use of detachable parts, outpaced defects attributed to manufacturing issues such as the use of lead paint or toxic chemicals.

This gets back to the whole PR issue. It doesn't really surprise me that other third world countries make crappy products too, but people don't have the same association issues with Mexico and Vietnam. You don't look at a Made in Vietnam label on a pair of pjs and automatically think: fire hazard.

This government has never needed a PR machine in China the way you would find in a western democracy. Elections aren't a problem for obvious reasons and if the government doesn't want something printed in the papers, it doesn't get printed.

Western leaders have to sell their ideas to the public to garner support for whatever it is they are promoting. This concept is completely foreign to the Chinese, and they rebel against it.

Chinese Diet

I occasionally wonder how the Chinese stay so thin. Yes, they are generally more active. Yes, the typical Chinese diet omits dairy. But a new thought occurred to me after my secretary dumped a pile of boiled Chestnuts on my desk. Almost all their snacks are a real pain in the ^&%*% to eat. You have to gnaw, crack, peel and struggle to get the most measly amount of food out of whatever it is that's in front of you.

She has never come in with a can of deshelled nuts and said "have at". Instead, you get shells, skins, whatever that you have to fight your way through. By the time you get to the edible part, you're so tired you can barely chew. And in my case, I generally need a bath, because I'm covered in whatever it was that protected the food. I'm also sweating because I attach the exterior with the intensity of a starving Ethiopian child. It's as if I'm afraid the food will have spoiled by the time I reach it. All of it. Whatever is in front of me. The more there is the bigger the challenge.

More Headline News

Wow. Here is an astonishing fact:

China will become New Zealand's third largest market in terms of inbound tourists after Britain and Australia by 2013, said Ed Sims, group general manager of Air New Zealand.

To meet growing demand, Air New Zealand would increase the number of its aircraft flying to the Chinese mainland to four by 2013, including two Boeing 777s and two 787s, said Sims.

You can see why the Chinese newspapers are a "must read."

Tricycle Vs. Train

This is not funny, BUT I can just see the 9 people on the back of a tricycle or "farming vehicle." The tricycle is used to transport everything from people to construction materials to beer. And they are everywhere. I have a number of pictures on an earlier post showing the flexibility of these things.

Six people were killed and three were critically injured after a farming vehicle they rode collided with a train at a railway crossing in northwest China on Sunday.

The accident occurred around 9 am Sunday at an unguarded railway crossing in Heyang County in Shaanxi Province, when a farming tricycle with nine people aboard crashed with a passing train, according to local railway authorities.

Four of the nine were killed at the scene and two others died in hospital. The other three, who were seriously injured, are still receiving emergency treatment in hospital.

The cause of the accident is still being investigated.

Unguarded railway crossings are common in China, posing a threat to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

I'm not sure we need to spend a lot of time on the cause of the accident. Take that money and put in some signals.

Toys Found to Have a Few Problems

Koodoos for AQSIQ, but get ready for a retraction in a day or so.

The bead toys that were recalled in the United States and Australia did contain a toxic substance, initial investigations by the country's top quality control body have shown.

At least five children in America and Australia were reported to have fallen sick after swallowing the beads, which triggered the recalls of millions of units of the popular craft toys in the two countries last week.

The toys, products of Australia-based Moose Enterprises, were sold as Aqua Dots in the US and Bindeez in Australia.

Moose's agent, Hong Kong-based Duo Yuan Plastic Production Co, outsourced the manufacturing of the toys to the Wangqi Product Factory in Shenzhen.

A statement from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) issued late on Saturday said the toymaker had used the toxic chemical 1,4-Butylene glycol as a softener in the production process and that the end products contained 14.5 percent of the toxic substance.

The chemical can simulate the drug gamma hydroxyl butyrate, also known as GHB, if swallowed, which can lead to breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma or death, the AQSIQ said.

Exports of the bead toys have been suspended, as too has the toymaker's export license, the AQSIQ said.

The statement said the AQSIQ had also asked the US side for help in detecting, analyzing and evaluating the harm the chemical can cause.

However, it said Wangqi had submitted the production formulas and samples to the distributor Duo Yuan before mass production and received no objection. Moose Enterprises provided the bead samples.

The investigations also showed the packaging of the toys carried warnings including "swallowing can cause danger" and "no suitable for children under 3".

The submission of those production formulas should help when you and the importer get your (^&%^s sued off in federal court, but I don't think I'd rely too heavily on the warning.

Money Isn't Everything, Or Is It?

Bitter old would-be author lacking English grammer skills ponders the success of the young:

The annual list of the richest Chinese authors stirred much controversy upon its release on Tuesday, much as it has every year.

Compiled according to income from copyright royalties, the list rates the 25 hottest-selling authors and stands as a fairly reliable reflection of today's literature market.

Much of the list reads like a who's who of the young generation of writers that has shot to fame in recent years thanks to the popularity of new media, particularly the Internet.

Twenty-four-year-old Guo Jingming topped this year's list with 11 million yuan ($1.47 million) in copyright royalties.

Guo represents the generation born after the 1980s. Such young modern writers have achieved stunning commercial success within just a few years. Their work represents a major departure from the themes and values of classical authors.

Though none of them have ever won any mainstream literary awards, their works have caused many a sensation, leaving some older writers feeling the pressure of their success.

Nevertheless, it is not unfair to say that their commercial success has had little to do with their writing, but rather their personal points of view and individuality, which resonate with today's young readers, who constitute a considerable purchasing force.

To a large extent, the young generation of writers has benefited from China's opening up. Chinese are increasingly tolerant of novel ideas and strange tales.

People who feel uncomfortable with the new wealth of the young generation of authors will have to resign themselves to the marriage between literature and money, even though the linking of the two may not always help popularize works of literary merit.

Gone are the days when great literary masters indulged themselves in a rich spiritual world even as they endured poverty.

Our young writers should always remember there is a great distance between them and their forefathers both in terms of maturity and the depth of their works.

They should also remember that as celebrities they have unavoidable social responsibilities because a great number of young readers idolize them and look to them for life and spiritual guidance.

They should take writing seriously - unhealthy ideas and bad taste could easily leave undesirable imprints on the hearts of young readers.

New Labor Law Shenanigans

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security made public a regulation on employment services and management that is to take effect next year.

A day later, an official with the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office warned companies and enterprises against attempting to evade the new law on promoting employment, which is also to be implemented next year.

The warning came in the wake of the so called "resignation-gate" controversy, in which a Shenzhen-based company reportedly ordered some 7,000 employees to resign and then re-apply for their jobs in an apparent attempt to elude unfavorable stipulations in the new employment promotion law.

Note the Shenzhen-based company is not western or the headline would have read a bit differently.

The reason the company did this is to avoid a new requirement that all terminated employees must be paid one month's salary for every year they have worked for the company. This Shenzhen company was trying to restart the clock prior to the implementation of the law in January. I think we can expect a lot of this in the next few months.

Breaking Headlines

A slow news day in China:

A young Italian man converted to Buddhism in Nanjing on Saturday, becoming China's first Italian Buddhist, the Yangtze Evening Post reported.

Lucas, 28 years old, became a monk on Saturday at Xuanzang Temple, well-known for housing the relics of the master monk Xuanzang, who brought about the interaction of China and India in the early Tang Dynasty.

An Exciting Saturday Evening

Had lunch today at a great little French restaurant called Nova on Dagu Lu near Shimen Lu. The weather was superb, sunny and fairly warm, and my friend and I sat outside. Afterwards, I walked down the street to one of the better pirated DVD spots to browse the selection.

There are almost no movies I'm interested in seeing, so I hit the TV series section. I've never bought a pirated series, but became intrigued after my friend lent me her 5 seasons of Bones and my temporary roommate lent me his 3 seasons of Arrested Development.

The first season of 30 Rock was available and I snatched that up. The only one I've seen was pretty funny. In the next section was . . . . THE ENTIRE 5 SEASONS OF LA FEMME NIKITA. For those of you unfamiliar with this dramatic disaster, it started on USA network about 15 years ago. I had no idea that it ran for so long. Apparently it was more popular than I gave it credit for. I thought I was the only person drunk enough on Sunday night to enjoy it.

So now I am the proud owner of many, many disks comprising all 5 seasons. I'm on the second disk and I find it just as captivating as I did years ago. The poor acting is only surpassed by the poor writing. The writers' strike would have had little effect on this series. Yet here I am two hours and 30 minutes later on a Saturday night watching this nonsense. Chances are excellent that I will be doing this for the next __ nights until I get done with the set.

As a general rule, I don't enjoy television. There is just no explanation for this.

Be Careful Where You Eat

The low number reflects the lack of inspectors, not the presence of any hygienic restaurants.

Health officials uncovered more than 40,000 violations of hygiene and license regulations in China's catering sector from January to October, according to the Ministry of Health.

"Health departments at all levels inspected more than 920,000 catering units and fined violators 23 million yuan (three million U.S. dollars)," the ministry reported in a teleconference on catering safety on Friday.

Last year, health departments uncovered more than 110,000 violations, revoking 1,444 food hygiene licenses and cracking down on almost 30,000 unlicensed businesses, according to ministry statistics.

"The number of food poisoning cases and the incidence of infectious diseases of the intestinal tract had declined compared with the same period of last year," it said.

Only 73 percent of the country's restaurants and other catering units routinely checked suppliers' hygiene certificates when buying raw materials, it said.

I can promise you with 100% certainty, that there are less than 50 restaurants in China (all of them western) that you'd be willing to eat at if you saw their kitchens. I know the same can be said in the US in many places, but this is a whole new level of "you've got to be kidding me."

There are many vendors that sell food on the corner. On any given rainy day, you can see cars drive by and splash the sludge on the street (spit, snot, urine, pollution and everything else) onto the carts serving the food. No one blinks.

More Quality Made In China

I know the Chinese government doesn't believe it, but this will hurt manufacturing in China. The US does not recognize AQSIQ for some reason and I think they should. Many of these manufactures have not been on AQSIQ's approved export list.

China has suspended exports of a children's bead toy after 4.2 million of the picture sets were recalled in the US because they contain a toxic drug, China's quality control watchdog said Friday.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday recalled the Chinese-made Aqua Dots sets as the beads contain an adhesive solvent called "1,4 butylene glycol" that simulates the drug gamma hydroxy if swallowed.

Five children were reported to have fallen ill after swallowing the beads in the United States and in Australia, where the toy is sold under the name Bindeez.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said it has sealed the bead toys at the producer, without revealing producer's name.

The AQSIQ added it has ordered quality control agencies to launch inspections and will release investigation results promptly.

Anti-War Movies Having Trouble at the Box Office

I have a different take on this. Hollywood is notoriously far left of center, and I don't believe its inhabitants want the US to win this war or support the troops. On the other hand, most Americans who believe the war is a mistake still hold out hope that America will win and believe that our soldiers behave honorably in their efforts to protect us back at home.

As a result, moviegoers are not lured by the prospect paying to see American leaders depicted as blood thirsty animals seeking to boost their fortunes by colonizing foreign lands where the "people don't look like us" or American soldiers portrayed as rapists and murders. That crap doesn't sell.

Here is some pontificating from that other group of armchair intellectuals: journalists and "analysts.

The wave of recent films set against the backdrop of war in Iraq and post-9/11 security has failed to win over film-goers keen to escape grim news headlines when they go to the movies, analysts say.

In a break with past convention, when films based on real conflicts were made only years after the last shots were fired, several politically-charged films have gone on release while America remains embroiled in Iraq.

True enough. Most people like a little perspective before they pronounce a situation an abject failure, and having learned from Vietnam, they aren't interested in denigrating soldiers currently serving in harm's way.

Almost without exception, however, the crop of movies have struggled to turn a profit at the box-office and in many cases have received a mauling from unimpressed critics as well.

"Rendition," a drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal about the CIA's policy of outsourcing interrogation of terror suspects, has taken just under 10 million dollars at the box office, a disastrous return.

Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis's latest film "In the Valley of Elah," about a father investigating the death of his son in Iraq, earned favorable reviews but less than seven million dollars following its release in September.

Even the action-packed "The Kingdom," starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, fell well below its 70 million budget with around 47 million dollars in ticket sales.

The poor returns do not augur well for more war films due for release in North America later this month, notably the Robert Redford-directed drama "Lions for Lambs" and Brian De Palma's hard-hitting "Redacted," based on the real-life rape and murder of an Iraqi schoolgirl by US soldiers.

I hope they lose their shirts. Particularly De Palma. No one will excuse bad behavior, but to make a movie during an ongoing conflict about an isolated atrocity is about as tin-earred as it gets. I haven't seen, nor will I see, Mr. De Palma's production, but I'm betting it is an effort to show how "the effects of war can lead ordinary men to commit heinous acts of violence."

Lew Harris, the editor of website Movies.com, said the films have struggled to be successful because the subject matters of Iraq and 9/11 remain too close to home. And in many cases, the films have not been entertaining enough.

"These movies have to be entertaining," Harris told AFP. "You can't just take a movie and make it anti-war or anti-torture and expect to draw people in.

Yeah, you have to add some humor to that anti-torture film where the soldiers rape the little girl. Jerry Seinfeld has some free time after the flop of his Bees animated feature; perhaps he can lend a hand.

"People want war movies to have a slam-bang adventure feel to them ... But Iraq is a difficult war to portray in a kind of rah-rah-rah, exciting way.

Arnold is not going to make your anti-American rant film a success. People don't want to see their country depicted negatively when the results haven't yet come in. Try making a positive movie about the heroism of our troops. There are plenty of opportunities to do that. Perhaps you can show some footage of American troops building schools or protecting little Iraqi children or building infrastructure in Afghanistan. There is plenty of evidence of that if you read something other than the New York Times.

"But here for the first time you're seeing things that you're reading about in the newspaper or seeing on television in movie theatres. I'm not sure that's something that people want. A lot of people go to the movies to escape."

According to Gitesh Pandya, an analyst with website boxofficeguru.com, cinema-goers were unenthusiastic about spending money for movies about subjects they see on television at no cost.

"I just think it's something that people are not willing to pay top dollar to see, especially when we get so much coverage at home for free," Pandya told AFP. "At the end of the day it's not content people are willing to pay for."

No. People don't want to pay $12 to see mediocre talent trashing their country and their armed services in second rate films by communist directors.

Veteran television producer Steven Bochco, whose 2005 television series "Over There" about a platoon of soldiers fighting in Iraq ended after just one season, said it was hard to engage audiences in a "hugely unpopular war."

You're right Steven. I'm sure it was no reflection on your talent as a producer.

Why didn't the writers go on strike 6 months earlier and spare us all this nonsense.