The Wolf in Wolf's Clothing

I'm not blogging at the moment - Not much in the mood and I've got stuff going on at work. But I couldn't pass on this one.

A senior Saudi royal has offered Israel a vision of broad cooperation with the Arab world and people-to-people contacts if it signs a peace treaty and withdraws from all occupied Arab territories.

In an interview with Reuters, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to the United States and Britain and adviser to King Abdullah, said Israel and the Arabs could cooperate in many areas including water, agriculture, science and education.

Asked what message he wanted to send to the Israeli public, he said:

"The Arab world, by the Arab peace initiative, has crossed the Rubicon from hostility towards Israel to peace with Israel and has extended the hand of peace to Israel, and we await the Israelis picking up our hand and joining us in what inevitably will be beneficial for Israel and for the Arab world."

The 22-nation Arab League revived at a Riyadh summit last year a Saudi peace plan first adopted in 2002 offering Israel full normalisation of relations in return for full withdrawal from occupied Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese land.

Israel shunned the offer then, at the height of a violent Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But it has expressed more interest since the United States launched a new drive for Israeli-Palestinian peace at Annapolis, Maryland, last November, aiming for an agreement this year.

Prince Turki, who was previously head of Saudi intelligence, said that if Israel accepted the Arab League plan and signed a comprehensive peace, "one can imagine the integration of Israel into the Arab geographical entity".

"One can imagine not just economic, political and diplomatic relations between Arabs and Israelis but also issues of education, scientific research, combating mutual threats to the inhabitants of this vast geographic area," he said.

Water, agriculture, science and education? I think I'd take a pass on their water if at all possible. Ditto with the ag.

Science gets more interesting. What in the hell have the Arabs done in science that the Israelis' haven't run circles around? I'm sure the Israelis know how to build a car bomb. I'm sure they could figure out how to strap a suicide vest on an enfant if they put their minds to it. Syria hasn't sent a man to the moon recently. Are they planning to show the Israelis new drilling techniques? I'm not certain what the Arab world has contributed to the advancement of mankind since soap.

Education is another good one. Is there that long a line at the Madrassas? I don't see the Israelis getting real excited about learning how to blow up their own restaurants. These bastions of higher learning boast literacy rates of between 50% to 60% over the past 10 years (although rates increase in surveys permiting self reporting).

And what threats to the inhabitants of this "vast geographic region" are there other than the Arabs?

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Co. no more want peace with Israel than they want the price of oil to plummet. Stupid article.

"Barak", the Conservative

Periodically it is good to be reminded how stupid some people are, and the First Amendment makes that all possible. Each time you catch yourself saying "G_d, I wish that person would just shut up, remember all the joy that comes to your life when some moron from Hollywood opens his or her mouth.

Addressing Oprah directly, Roseanne adds, “You are a closeted republican and chose Barak [sic] Obama because you do not like other women who actually stand for something to working American Women besides glamour, angels, Hollywood and dieting!”

Wednesday night, Roseanne seemed to throw her support behind Hillary Clinton, stating, “I have decided that having a woman president before any man of any color is what these times call for.” But by Thursday morning she assured she “liked Obama, too.”

What does that first stupid sentence mean? That "Barak" only appeals to republicans devoted to glamour, angels, Hollywood and dieting? Bad news. Hollywood does not appeal to republicans. And when was the last time Roseanne worked?

Ignoring the hard cold fact that "Barak" is very liberal, how comforting is it to know that the two most important factors to this formerly working gal are race and sex.

I haven't met any working gals who support Hillary. Even liberal expat women are supporting "Barak" Obama.

Unexpected Exercise

Here is a perfect China story. I came back to my apartment in the middle of the day today because I had left some things behind this morning. I arrived to find that both elevators had been taken off line for maintenance. They aren't broken, they just need maintenance.

I live on the 28th floor. Granted, I can be lazy, but walking up 24 flights of stairs (they don't have floors with 4's in them or the 13th floor) in a suit wasn't what I had in mind.

This is right up there with our office complex taking the HVAC unit down for maintenance at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday in August.

She Would Know

Nearly seven years out office, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright pulls no punches bashing the Bush administration’s handling of certain issues – calling it one of America’s “worst presidencies.”



Albright gave President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney very poor marks and listed goals for the next president to do better that include embracing a global view of climate change.

“This is a purely practical point here, and I think there’s a lot of work to be done” Albright said. “And I think the judgment is that this is one of the worst presidencies we’ve had and people will wonder what it is that the role of the vice president is.”

Arrogant Imbeciles Watch

People are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to be educated by people like this:

An academic delegation of Columbia University professors and deans of faculties plans to visit Tehran to officially apologize to Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

The delegation plans to express regret for the insulting remarks Columbia University President Lee Bollinger directed at Ahmadinejad on September 24 in his introductory speech, the Mehr News Agency correspondent in New York reported.

Since the incident, the deans and professors from the faculties of history, anthropology, Middle Eastern studies, philosophy, and Islamic studies have criticized Bollinger’s behavior toward Ahmadinejad.

It would seem that alumni donations and new applications would dry up.

Legal System with Chinese Characteristics

From the China Economic Review in January, 2008, an article entitled Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics, a certain English gentleman (notably English because of his use of "Whilst" and his name "Graeme Johnston") suggests that actually applying existing laws in an objective and transparent way is not inconsistent with the concept of Communism. That if the decision-maker were able to "apply the law consistently and with principle and be immune to behind-the-scenes influence", the government might become more credible.

Even if the courts avoid controversial topics such as constitutional issues in the US and begin more modestly - laws affecting day-to-day economic issues, the perception of the government would improve.

It would be an excellent place to start.

Interesting New Edict From Beijing

I'm sure I'm not understanding this correctly.

The State Council, China's cabinet, has released a circular banning the production, sale and use of super-thin plastic bags in China beginning from June 1, 2008, Star Daily reported (in Chinese). The circular set a thickness standard for plastic bags at 0.025mm, and required that retailers stop providing free plastic bags of any thickness to their customers. The State Council called on related authorities such as the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce to make a joint effort to enforce the regulation. Violators of the rule could face fines and public shaming, as well as confiscation of the bags.

What exactly are retailers supposed to use? Paper bags? There are no trees in China.

Plastic bags are much more prevalent in China than in the US. Every vendor at the fabric market, the local fruit stand, the grocery stores, the small shoe stores on the street, the veggie markets - every vendor uses them. And reuses them. Other than a few grocery stores, I've never received a "new" plastic bag. Are we forced to start paying for used plastic bags? What price do you charge? Do I have to negotiate?

Taiwanese Elections

I think this is positive. Taiwan has nothing to gain but continuing to poke China in the gut.

A Kuomintang (KMT) majority is expected from legislative elections in Taiwan on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Concerns over cross-strait relations and Taiwan's economy are said to be responsible for voter discontent with President Chen Shui-bian and his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Under Chen's government, Taiwan has increased business ties with the mainland, but Chinese investment in Taiwanese companies remains banned, and Taiwanese investment in mainland sectors like semiconductors is restricted. A strong showing by the KMT in Saturday's vote could help improve relations with the mainland. On March 22, a presidential election will pit the KMT's Ma Ying-jeoh against Chen Shui-bian's DPP successor, Frank Hsieh.

Media Bias

No big surprises here.

NBC's Brian Williams took to MSNBC today at noon and had this to say:

WILLIAMS: I interviewed Lee Cowan, our reporter who covers Obama, while we were out yesterday and posted the interview on the web. Lee says it's hard to stay objective covering this guy. Courageous for Lee to say, to be honest. The e-mail flood started out we caught you guys, we never did trust you. That kind of thing. I think it is a very interesting dynamic. I saw middle-aged women just throw their arms around Barack Obama, kiss him hard on the cheek and say, you know, I'm with you, good luck. And i think he feels it, too.

A Look at the Candidates

I enjoying hearing how the conservative pundits rate the candidates. Here is Thomas Sowell's take:

By far the best presentation as a candidate, among all the candidates in both parties, is that of Barack Obama. But if he actually believes even half of the irresponsible nonsense he talks, he would be an utter disaster in the White House.

Among the Democrats, the choice between John Edwards and Barack Obama depends on whether you prefer glib demagoguery in its plain vanilla form or spiced with a little style and color.

The choice between both of them and Hillary Clinton depends on whether you prefer male or female demagoguery.

Among the Republicans, there are misgivings about the track record of each of the candidates, especially those who have shown what Thorstein Veblen once called "a versatility of convictions."

There are fewer reasons for misgivings about Fred Thompson's track record in the Senate but more reason to be concerned about what his unfocused and lackluster conduct of his campaign might portend for his performance in the White House.

When it comes to personal temperament, Governor Romney would rate the highest for his even keel, regardless of what events are swirling around him, with Rudolph Giuliani a close second.

Temperament is far more important for a President than for a candidate. A President has to be on an even keel 24/7, for four long years, despite crises that can break out anywhere in the world at any time.

John McCain trails the pack in the temperament department, with his volatile, arrogant, and abrasive know-it-all attitude. His track record in the Senate is full of the betrayals of Republican supporters that have been the party's biggest failing over the years and its Achilles heel politically.

Ouch.

How About 2007?

Here is some timely information out of China:

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Tuesday that fiscal spending on education in 2006 reached 634.8 billion yuan (87 billion U.S. dollars), a record in terms of the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at 3.01 percent.

Clinton on Mission to Improve Image

Could this woman be any less likeable?

“Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act,” Mrs. Clinton said when asked about Mr. Obama’s rejoinder by Fox’s Major Garrett after her speech in Dover. “It took a president to get it done.”

The Obama campaign declined to comment on either of those remarks.

Later, during an appearance in Salem, Mrs. Clinton refined her remarks on Fox:
“You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our greatest heroes because they gave great speeches.

“President Kennedy was in Congress for 14 years. He was a war hero. He was a man of great accomplishments and readiness to be president. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement. He was gassed. He was beaten. He was jailed. And he gave a speech that was one of the most beautifully, profoundly important speeches ever written in America, the “I have a dream” speech.

The tears were a nice touch too. The serpent almost looked human for a minute.

But I'm not sure whose vote she was going after with the tears? Surely not men. They aren't likely to want a crying female in office. Perhaps the female vote? I'd think that the women out there would see through it. Neither Clinton has ever made a move that wasn't carefully orchestrated and successful in focus groups.

51% of America Just Can't Get Ahead

Victim-monger Gloria Steinem weighs in on the gender factor in the race.

Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House. This country is way down the list of countries electing women and, according to one study, it polarizes gender roles more than the average democracy.

So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects “only” the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more “masculine” for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren’t too many of them); and because there is still no “right” way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what.

I’m not advocating a competition for who has it toughest. The caste systems of sex and race are interdependent and can only be uprooted together. That’s why Senators Clinton and Obama have to be careful not to let a healthy debate turn into the kind of hostility that the news media love. Both will need a coalition of outsiders to win a general election. The abolition and suffrage movements progressed when united and were damaged by division; we should remember that.

It is inconceivable to Ms. Steinem that people would find Mrs. Clinton a corrupt, tasteless, valueless liberal bore.

Iranian Daredevils

In what U.S. officials called a serious provocation, Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels.

U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats turned and moved away, a Pentagon official said. “It is the most serious provocation of this sort that we’ve seen yet,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

There were no injuries but the official said there could have been, because the Iranian boats turned away “literally at the very moment that U.S. forces were preparing to open fire” in self defense.

The official said he didn’t have the precise transcript of communications that passed between the two forces, but said the Iranians radioed something like “we’re coming at you and you’ll explode in a couple minutes.”

Good on the Navy for keeping its cool.

Good

A rift is emerging between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggesting that the president no longer enjoys the full backing of Khamenei, as he did in the years after his election in 2005.

Survey of Pakistanis

Wow. What exactly do you do with this information?

An in-depth survey of Pakistani public opinion reveals majority support for a moderate and democratic Islamic state, though a small but significant minority shows sympathy for Islamist militant groups.

Most Pakistanis want Islam to play a larger role in Pakistani society. However, a majority also favors a more democratic political system, rejects ‘Talibanization,” and supports recent government efforts to reform the madrassah system by focusing more on science and mathematics. Majorities have little sympathy for Islamist military groups and most would like to see the Federally Administered Tribal Areas integrated into Pakistan.

The survey also found that Pakistani attitudes toward the United States are negative and that there is a growing perception that the United States is hostile toward Islam.

Nine out of 10 people believe Pakistan should be governed according to Islamic principles and 8.4 out of 10 believe it is important to have a democratically elected government. Good luck reconciling those two.

Europe's Disappointment

Once again champing at the bit to influence the 2008 Presidential election:

Many Britons will feel it would be rather nice to have a vote, too. Well, maybe not a whole vote: I would settle for one worth 50 per cent of those cast by American citizens.

After all, since we are a strategic colony of the US, it would be nice to have even a marginal say in how the empire chooses to dispose our goodwill and our blood and treasure. Such considerations were explicit in the founding of the US, and what's sauce for the goose...

We addressed this issue over 200 years ago; we aren't going to revisit it.

The author makes this comment after reviewing the list of candidates and attempting to discern their relative approaches to foreign policy:

Or, along with an American people still wildly uninterested in what happens abroad, we may be in the dark even then.

I guess I didn't care what happened abroad until I moved either. Common shock among all expats whether they are living in Europe, Asia or South America is that no one back at home cares about what is going on outside of America. We are largely self-sufficient in America. We don't have to care.

So to those of you who think upon your return you will be showered with requests for stories about living in Burma or Peru or India, think again. No one cares. Save your stories for other expats. They'll love to hear what it is like living in Japan and India.

I have a close friend who lived in Saudi Arabia for 15 years and in Iraq for a few years. He has produced some of the best stories I've heard. Living in China you tend to be pro-Chinese, in Saudi Arabia you tend to be pro-Arab but you can still appreciate the not so subtle cultural nuances.

Analyzing the Blunders of Iraq

Here is a great essay analyzing the armchair generals' complaints about the prosecution of the Iraqi war.

But what is missing from the national debate over the "worst" war in our history is any appreciation of past American military errors—political, strategic, technological, intelligence, tactical—that nearly cost us victory in far more important conflicts.

Take one of this war's most controversial issues, intelligence failures. Supposedly we went to war in 2003 with little accurate information about either Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or its endemic religious factionalism. As a result the U.S. government lost credibility and goodwill at home and abroad, and is now plagued by enormous political and military problems in trying to stabilize a constitutional government in Iraq. Have lapses of this magnitude been unusual in past wars?

Not at all, in either a strategic or tactical context. American intelligence officers missed the almost self-evident Pearl Harbor attack, as an entire Japanese carrier group steamed unnoticed to within a few hundred miles of Hawaii. After fighting for four long years we were completely surprised by the Soviets' efforts to absorb Eastern Europe. Almost no one had a clue about the Communist invasion of South Korea in June 1950—or the subsequent Chinese entrance en masse into North Korea months later. Neither the CIA nor the State Department had much inkling that Saddam Hussein would gobble up Kuwait in August 1990.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Have there ever been lapses in military leadership like the ones that purportedly mar our Iraq effort? The so-called "Revolt of the Generals" against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was nothing compared to the "Revolt of the Admirals" that led to Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson's forced resignation in the midst of the bitter first year of the Korean War.

But surely these armchair critics can acknowledge that such controversies over personnel pale in comparison to past storms. Lincoln serially fired, ignored, or bypassed mediocrities like Generals Burnside, Halleck, Hooker, McClellan, McDowell, Meade, Pope, and Rosecrans before finding Grant, George Thomas, Sherman, and Philip Sheridan—all of whom at one time or another were under severe criticism and nearly dismissed.

World War II was little better. By all accounts General John C.H. Lee set up an enormous logistical fiefdom in Paris that thrived on perks and privilege while American armies at the front were short on manpower, materials, and fuel.

Read the whole thing.

Sarkozy

This is what concerns me about Guiliani.

"President Sarkozy is exposing his flamboyant personal life at the moment the French want him to deliver on his promises to improve the economy," said Stéphane Rozès, the director of CSA, in a telephone interview. "He has eliminated the line between public and private life, between his success in his personal life and his promises for the French people to succeed."

Who wants to read about their president's love life day in day out. We did that for 8 years, and it got old. And it crippled Clinton's presidency which the US can't afford right now.

Drafting G_d

His guy is a nightmare.

But instead this small evangelical congregation heard from a different special guest: Baptist minister and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who delivered a sermon of more than 20 minutes on how to be part of "God's Army" in the middle school cafeteria where the congregation meets.

"When we become believers, it's as if we have signed up to be part of God's Army, to be soldiers for Christ," Huckabee told the enthusiastic audience.

And what? Soldiers for Christ should only vote for Huckabee? He's sick.

Overseas Ballot

Today I received my overseas primary ballot. Tough call. Huckabee was easy. I can't stand him. Romney doesn't excite me and I don't find him credible. Guilliani? He cleaned up New York. He's hard on terrorists. But I have trouble getting beyond his personal life. If I had wanted me to be president, I would have run. I want someone whose personal life is not a disaster to step into the White House.

That leaves McCain and Thompson. We hear almost nothing about Thompson over here so there is very little to base judgment on. What is written says he is conservative across the board, which McCain isn't. But McCain is clear on about everything. Like him or not, take it or leave it. And most importantly, he is clear on foreign policy. Two things top my list: Iraq and taxes.

McCain can beat Obama and Clinton. I'm not sure Thompson could beat either one, but particularly Clinton. Whether McCain will beat them is anybody's guess, but it is possible.

So I somewhat reluctantly voted for McCain.

Tighter Regulations on the Web

China has decided to restrict the broadcasting of Internet videos — including those posted on video-sharing Web sites — to sites run by state-controlled companies and require providers to report questionable content to the government.

It wasn't immediately clear how the new rules would affect YouTube and other providers of Internet video that host Web sites available in China but are based in other countries [seems pretty clear to me - ed].

The new regulations, which take effect Jan. 31, were approved by both the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Information Industry and were described on their Web sites Thursday. Under the new policy, Web sites that provide video programming or allow users to upload video must obtain government permits and applicants must be either state-owned or state-controlled companies. The majority of Internet video providers in China are private, according to an explanation of the regulations posted on Chinafilm.com, which is run by the state-run China Film Group.

The policy will ban providers from broadcasting video that involves national secrets, hurts the reputation of China, disrupts social stability or promotes pornography. Providers will be required to delete and report such content.

The catch all is "hurts the reputation of China". Everything will be seen to victimize China. Most disconcerting is the fact that this country has tremendous boasting leverage. Its turn around as a nation is almost unprecedented. Its people are bright and capable. The country is full of charm and varied landscapes. It is dynamic and vibrant and full of energy and full of change; and still it has all this wonderful history. Inspite of all this, the Chinese government takes offense at every opportunity. GET OVER IT!!

New China Labor Law II

In addition to the New Labor Law, China just passed a law "clarifying and modifying" the mandatory arbitration provisions for labor disputes. Here is what the Chinese newspapers have to say about it.

"To solve labor disputes fairly and in a timely way, the law has strengthened the role of grassroots mediation institutions, improved the arbitration system, and clearly stated that labor dispute arbitration is free of charge," said Wu Bangguo, the NPC Standing Committee chairman, who presided over the closing session.

"It will shorten the cycle of labor dispute settlement, lower the cost for laborers to safeguard their lawful rights, and is conducive to the development of a harmonious relations between employees and employers."

We've had several experiences with arbitration, and they were eye-opening. In once case an employee was engaging in the Chinese habit of competing directly with his current employer. Taking money from the employer and using it for competing purposes. Slam dunk, huh?

Nope. We hired local counsel who was well known in the field and well known to the arbitration panel. This was of great assistance because there are no rules against ex parte communications, so a member of the arbitration panel could call our attorney and tell her where our case was weak and how we needed to beef it up.

While that worked in our favor, the fact that company executives couldn't testify because we could not prove the veracity of their statements wasn't so helpful. It was also not helpful that we could not submit files from his computer as evidence since we could tamper with them, but we could submit emails from his computer and hard copies of documents we put in his employment file with the company because we couldn't tamper with them.

Basically, take all your evidence and throw it in the air and whatever hits the ground first is admissable and the rest isn't. And this case was just outside of Shanghai along the eastern seaboard. I can't imagine what the rules are a bit inland.

My point is that there is a lot of room for improvement. I haven't read the changes, but it appears they are employee driven and as usual will be unsparingly implemented against foreign companies and used when the purpose serves against all others.

China's New Labor Law

On January 1, 2008, the New Labor Law took effect. I have misgivings about the new law on a number of levels. Its intent is to strengthen worker protections which need strengthening. Frequently lower level employees aren't paid timely and often not at all. Few worker protections exist, and many Asian business owners take the position that life is cheap. You need only visit a construction site, read a Chinese paper to discover the latest mining disaster or inquire about chemical spills to be reminded.

Having said that . . . laws aren't enforced evenly here. The percentage of US or European companies that fail to timely pay workers or endanger their welfare is barely calculable. But these violations are almost entirely limited to Chinese companies. And yet, we will bear the full brunt of these laws. Firing someone for cause is virtually impossible. Given this, we are still stuck with a two month initial review period in which we can "test out" the employee, but still must be able to demonstrate cause to terminate the employment relationship, followed by a two year mandatory contract. After that is another two year contract followed by an open ended contract. Remember, there is no such thing as employment at will.

So in month three if the employee starts slacking off and not performing up to par, chances are pretty good that you'll have to pay off the remainder of his/her two year contract to get rid of him/her.

The result from my end will be a tightening on hiring policies. I won't hire anyone until I am absolutely certain I can keep them busy and the person is competent and trustworthy. That isn't easy to know in an interview.

At the expiration of the two year contract, I'm going to look very carefully at the employees and weed out those who aren't performing at peak. Why would I agree to take on a marginal performer for another two years with no ability to fire him/her if performance slips.

The government broke with tradition and permitted comments on the initial draft of the law. Western businesses raised concerns about certain more stifling changes and suggested alternatives based on their experiences. There is always an imbecile who doesn't get it in the crowd and Mr. Tim Costello wins that prize in this contest.

This has pro-labor groups in the United States crying foul. “[Western corporations] have shown themselves to be hypocrites,” says Tim Costello, co-director of Global Labor Strategies, a Boston-based think tank. “They’re opposing the very things that can raise the living standards of Chinese workers.”

Western corporations have raised and continue to raise the living standards of Chinese workers. They would have done so without the new law. If Mr. Costello had ever been to China, he might realize that.

I have not met a western company who sought to get around the labor laws (or any laws for that matter) of China. I'm sure there are some unscrupulous characters out there, but it is not the norm. To crack down on the western corporations for the sins of the Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Koreans hardly makes sense.

If the government creates a level playing field by enforcing the new laws uniformly, then the law may force greater fiscal responsibility and efficiency in the work place. It will not lead to greater employment in the long run.

Fool's Folly

[T]he argument needs to be addressed, not because it is not foolish but because it is the fashion among fools. And, as the great political novelist Ross Thomas once pointed out, when you've got all the fools in town on your side, you've practically won.

________________________________________
A look back on England's efforts to assist American voting efforts in 2004.

Dear Clark County voter, Give us back the America we loved. Yours sincerely, John Le Carré

Just when was it that you loved us? What's with the nostalgia for an age that never existed. The US hasn't felt the love from England's liberal elite since . . . when?

Maybe there's one good reason - just one - for re-electing George W Bush, and that's to force him to live with the consequences of his appalling actions, and answer for his own lies, rather than wish the job on a Democrat who will then get blamed for his predecessor's follies.

Note to John (or David John Moore Cornwell as your birth certificate reads): Bush isn't running for re-election. And not everyone is wishing the job on a Democrat.

Probably no American president in all history has been so universally hated abroad as George W Bush: for his bullying unilateralism, his dismissal of international treaties, his reckless indifference to the aspirations of other nations and cultures, his contempt for institutions of world government, and above all for misusing the cause of anti-terrorism in order to unleash an illegal war - and now anarchy - upon a country that like too many others around the world was suffering under a hideous dictatorship, but had no hand in 9/11, no weapons of mass destruction, and no record of terrorism except as an ally of the US in a dirty war against Iran.

Europe was saying much the same thing about Reagan. Europe just can't stand the thought of a conservative US president.

As for his "bullying unilateralism", we had quite a few friends in Iraq with us: United Kingdom 5,500, South Korea 1,200, Poland 1,200, Australia 900, Georgia 850, Romania 605, El Salvador 380, Mongolia 160, Bulgaria 154, Fiji 150, Latvia 12, Albania 120, Czech Republic 99, Azerbaijan 90, Lithuania 60, Tonga 55, Denmark 50, Bosnia and Herzegovina 46, Armenia 46, Ukraine 43, Estonia 40, Macedonia 35, Kazakhstan 27, *Hungary 16, Moldova 11, *Portugal 10, *Italy 8, Slovakia 6, Slovenia 2, Turkey 2, *Netherlands 2, Canada 2, and New Zealand 1. "However will we manage without the Saudi navy?" We'll work it out.

As for Bush's "reckless indifference to the aspirations of other nations and cultures", let's be clear what nations and cultures we are talking about. Are we talking about the Middle East and Islam? Because if we are, those "aspirations" that John holds so dear are to destroy western culture and install sharia across the world. I'd like to see George Smiley walking around the Circus trying to uncover the location of the infidel that bared her ankles in public the day before.

You are voting in November. We will vote next year. Yet the outcome in both countries will in large part depend on the same question: how long can the lies last now that the truth has finally been told? The Iraq war was planned long before 9/11. Osama provided the excuse. Iraq paid the price. American kids paid the price. British kids paid the price. Our politicians lied to us.

I'm sure the Department of Defense was running war game scenarios on Iraq before 9/11. At least I hope so. Saddam had gassed his own people, invaded his neighbors four times, publicly and frequently declared his intention to develop nuclear weapons, acted on those intentions, violated every UN Resolution repeatedly and mockingly, continued to fire on a daily basis at our planes, refused to allow UN inspectors to do their job, and the list goes on.

While Bush was waging his father's war at your expense, he was also ruining your country. He made your rich richer and your poor and unemployed more numerous. He robbed your war veterans of their due and reduced your children's access to education. And he deprived more Americans than ever before of health care. Now he's busy cooking the books, burying deficits and calling in contingency funds to fight a war that his advisers promised him he could light and put out like a candle.

A few bits of information about the US, John. First, statistics show that the middle class is smaller than when Bush entered office because more people have moved to the upper economic class. The lower economic eschelon has remained the same.

Unemployment. Here are the figures for the past 15 plus years to give you an idea. 1991 - 6.8%, 1992 - 7.5%, 1993 - 6.9%, 1994 - 6.1%, 1995 - 5.6%, 1996 - 5.4%, 1997 - 4.9%, 1998 - 4.5%, 1999 - 4.2%, 2000 4.0%, 2001 - 4.7%, 2002 - 5.8, 2003 - 6.0%, 2004 - 5.5 and skip to 2007 - 5.0 (the only figure I could find). Not exactly earth shattering, but don't let facts bother you.

Education is a state issue. President Bush has no power to tell children they can't go to school. The only lousy action he's taken toward education is the education bill he passed with the assistance of liberal favorite, Ted Kennedy. And Bush is not taking money away from veterans.

Exactly how has Bush deprived Americans of healthcare? More children are covered since Bush took office. But there has been a decrease in coverage for adults, generally those between the ages of 19 and 29. Who are these people? Illegal aliens. More than 85% of the increase in uninsureds is due to people who are not in this country legally anyway! And that is just the increase. Illegals make up 43% of the total uninsureds to begin with.

Take a look at the states with the largest segment of the uninsured population: Texas, California, Florida, New Mexico and Arizona - all states with the highest percentage of illegals. Bush actually scrambled to give these illegal immigrants amnesty and a lovely introductory gift basket with all sort of perks, and the American people had a fit. But again, these are just facts. Don't let them get in the way of a good story.

Meanwhile, your Patriot Act has swept aside constitutional and civil liberties which took brave Americans 200 years to secure, and were once the envy of a world that now looks on in horror, not just at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, but at what you are doing to yourselves.

There's nothing I like more than being patronized. Le Carre has been reading too many of his own novels and is swept away in drama. We Americans can't leave our homes without retinal scans and hidden cameras tracing our every move - oh, wait, that's Europe.

Look, I'll take the Patriot Act any day if it can prevent another 3,000 Americans from being murdered at the behest of a suicidal cult bent on destroying our way of life. I'll take it if it can prevent the US from looking like Britain, France or the Netherlands where radical extremism is permitted to flourish - even nurtured - until it is so pervasive and entrenched that it becomes the predominant culture.

But please don't feel isolated from the Europe you twice saved. Give us back the America we loved, and your friends will be waiting for you. And here in Britain, for as long as we have Tony Blair singing the same lies as George Bush, your nightmares will be ours.

Here is the scary thing, John. Europe's going to need our assistance again soon, and I don't know that we'll be able to help you. It's what you are doing to yourselves, and it is a nightmare.

Introduction to Reality

George Will introduces the candidates to some statistical information that makes their platforms more difficult to digest.

[Huckabee] and John Edwards, flaunting their histrionic humility in order to promote their curdled populism, hawked strikingly similar messages in Iowa, encouraging self-pity and economic hypochondria. Edwards and Huckabee lament a shrinking middle class. Well.

Economist Stephen Rose, defining the middle class as households with annual incomes between $30,000 and $100,000, says a smaller percentage of Americans are in that category than in 1979 -- because the percentage of Americans earning more than $100,000 has doubled from 12 to 24, while the percentage earning less than $30,000 is unchanged. "So," Rose says, "the entire 'decline' of the middle class came from people moving up the income ladder." Even as housing values declined in 2007, the net worth of households increased.

Huckabee told heavily subsidized Iowa -- Washington's ethanol enthusiasm has farm values and incomes soaring -- that Americans striving to rise are "pushed down every time they try by their own government." Edwards, synthetic candidate of theatrical bitterness on behalf of America's crushed, groaning majority, says the rich have an "iron-fisted grip" on democracy and a "stranglehold" on the economy. Strangely, these fists have imposed a tax code that makes the top 1 percent of earners pay 39 percent of all income tax revenues, the top 5 percent pay 60 percent, and the bottom 50 percent pay only 3 percent.

And a bit more:

Huckabee says "only one explanation" fits his Iowa success "and it's not a human one. It's the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people." God so loves Huckabee's politics that He worked a Midwest miracle on his behalf? Should someone so delusional control nuclear weapons?

Speaking of delusions, Edwards seems unaware that the world market sets the price of oil. He says a $100-a-barrel price is evidence of -- surging demand in India and China? unrest in Nigeria's oil fields? No, "corporate greed."

Slow News Day

This will be a real downer for all three people who watch the Oscars:

George Clooney boycott threat to Oscars

Cultural Superiority

I can't believe they are debating this issue. "Cultural Imperialism". Let's face it folks, some cultures are just better than others any way you look at it. You can debate whether English culture is superior to French culture or whether those folks in Japan have it right while the rest of us struggle. But there is no discussing whether Japan or the United States or any western culture is better than Pakistan or Sudan or Somolia or Saudi Arabia.

Should African women be allowed to engage in the practice sometimes called female circumcision? Are critics of this practice, who call it female genital mutilation, justified in trying to outlaw it, or are they guilty of ignorance and cultural imperialism?

Dr. Ahmadu, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, was raised in America and then went back to Sierra Leone as an adult to undergo the procedure along with fellow members of the Kono ethnic group. She has argued that the critics of the procedure exaggerate the medical dangers, misunderstand the effect on sexual pleasure, and mistakenly view the removal of parts of the clitoris as a practice that oppresses women. She has lamented that her Westernized “feminist sisters insist on denying us this critical aspect of becoming a woman in accordance with our unique and powerful cultural heritage.” In another essay, she writes:

It is difficult for me — considering the number of ceremonies I have observed, including my own — to accept that what appears to be expressions of joy and ecstatic celebrations of womanhood in actuality disguise hidden experiences of coercion and subjugation. Indeed, I offer that the bulk of Kono women who uphold these rituals do so because they want to — they relish the supernatural powers of their ritual leaders over against men in society, and they embrace the legitimacy of female authority and particularly the authority of their mothers and grandmothers.

Key point here: Dr. Ahmadu is over 18. She has weighed the costs and benefits and determined she is better off without her female parts. She was not snatched out of her house by her grandmother and drug off to some witch doctor when she was 12 only to have the woman use a kitchen knife and no pain killers to whack off her genitalia.

What you do to your body after a certain age is your business. Ask Michael Jackson. But it should not be mandatory and it should not be done to children.

David's Fan Club

Tim Blair takes a look at Aussie journalists who have a "thing" for David Hicks.

Which brings me, obviously, to the matter of David Hicks. Like Osama bin Laden - Dave's "lovely brother" - Hicks has been accessorised, Pimp My Ride-style, by various leftist commentators who've added fashionable ideological upgrades to these mundane entities.

CHILDLIKE 61-year-old nose illustrator Michael Leunig: "How may a man explain his innocence to a culture hell-bent on war and conquest? How does a broken heart stand against the vindictive and merciless onslaught of a militarised state tangled in its blinding web of anger, hypocrisy and paranoia? . . . how does an exhausted little David in chains defend himself against such a ferocious Goliath?" You won't find a bigger fan outside of a Formula 1 windtunnel.

FAIRFAX writers Marian Wilkinson, Annabel Crabb and Penelope Debelle, in a 2003 news piece, described David Hicks as "the human face of the fight for individual justice in this murky era of terrorism." But Hicks didn't fight for individual justice; he fought for Islamic extremism. Only true fans are able to look past such complexities.

 HOPELESS lefty Age columnist (is there any other kind?) Tracee Hutchison: "He was certainly not the only Australian who considered the warmongering activities of George (W.) Bush - and his allies - to be abhorrent and worthy of opposing. And he has paid the price of his convictions." Tracee's such a fan that she's added the aforementioned fashionable ideological upgrade.

Hicks commenced warmongering long before Bush commenced his, yet in Tracee's world Hicks - following his "convictions", the dear little Jew-hating idealist - acted in response. Buy the girl a calendar.

Multi-Culti Nonsense

What do the cultural relativists say about FGM?

V. What should be done about Female Genital Mutilation?

There is little consensus about the continued practice of FGM in some countries. Many international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and Amnesty International, call for the erradication of FGM as a human rights abuse. Supporters of FGM call for the consideration of FGM within a cultural framework much different than the cultural framework of the United States or Europe. For instance, Adeline Apena argues that addressing female circumcision as a travesty of individual human rights ignores the importance of community and group rights in African culture. Apena and Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka criticize Alice Walker and others of portraying circumcised women as helpless victims of human rights abuses, instead of subjects who can create their own solutions.

Both sides of this issue have valid points. Female genital mutilation violates a female's right to bodily integrity and freedom from violence. FGM, especially as practiced to control a woman's sexuality or to initiate a woman into strictly defined gender roles, is a violent method of socializing women into a subordinate role in society. However, treating women as victims or as people without a culture only perpetuates the subordination of women -- they now must be subordinate to the desires of Westerners instead of men in their culture. Better solutions can be found that empower African women to create and implement their own solutions to female genital mutilation.

There is a black and white on this issue. If you are 18 and want to have this barbaric procedure done, go for it! If you are under 18, I don't want to hear about your culture, your rights, your religion - or any other inane logic used to defend this.

This sentence is ridiculous: However, treating women as victims or as people without a culture only perpetuates the subordination of women -- they now must be subordinate to the desires of Westerners instead of men in their culture. Using this same logic, we should treat suicide bombers as something other than the criminals and terrorists that they are. Would certainly hate to foist western traditions on the fine Muslim men and women of Africa or the Palestinians. . .

Bottom line: If you don't ask anything from us (no loans, no freebies), don't threaten our security and don't live on our soil, you can do what you want. But if you have your hand out, assistance comes with a few strings. And everyone has their hands out.

Barbaric Religion

There is no other way to describe Islam.

The girl is 15 years old but looks much younger. Her face has the fine-boned elegance typical of her native Somalia, but her accent belongs to the streets of East London. She is plainly terrified. That much is clear from the way she avoids eye contact and constantly fidgets in her chair.

"Promise you won't print my name or anything?" she implores repeatedly. "Promise no one will ever know that I've spoken to you? If people in my community find out, they'll say that I've betrayed them and I'll have to run away. And anyway, I don't want my parents to be sent to jail."

With great courage, this British-Somali girl - she asks that we call her "Lali" - is about to describe a barbaric act of ritualised cruelty which has been perpetrated against her. Knowing the danger to which she is exposing herself, her anxiety is entirely understandable.

For by speaking about it, Lali will break the ultimate taboo among Britain's 600,000 ethnic Africans. In Norway, where this brutal act is also prevalent, a young Somali woman was recently beaten, almost to death, for talking to TV documentary programme-makers.

It is known by a variety of names, the most common of which are female genital mutilation (FGM), female circumcision, or simply "cutting" - a word which somehow conveys the raw pain its prepubescent victims suffer.

Most people will be unfamiliar with this practice, which involves removing part or all of the clitoris, the surrounding labia (the outer part of the vagina) and sometimes the sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood.

During a highly disturbing, four-month investigation, however, we uncovered evidence that thousands of British-African girls, in towns and cities throughout the country, have been forcibly "cut".

By conservative estimates, 66,000 women and girls living in Britain have been mutilated. This figure, accepted by the Metropolitan Police, came in a report by a volunteer organisation funded by the Department of Health and carried out with academics from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and the City University.

And thousands more girls are at imminent risk as families club together to fly professional "cutters" from Africa to Britain.

These women "elders" perform the crude operation for up to £40 a time, often on kitchen tables or floors, without anaesthetic, using filthy, blunt knives, razor blades or scalpels.

Some people say the practice is to increase the sexual pleasure of the man, but this is only one appallingly outdated reason why many womenfolk from 28 African and some Middle Eastern countries, most of which have sizeable representation in Britain, are treated like this.

It is also done to demonstrate their virginity on their wedding night; and because "uncut" girls with the ability to enjoy love-making are considered more likely to be promiscuous, unhygienic, and prone to diseases such as Aids.

These people are animals. The sooner western civilization quits cow-towing to them, the better off everyone will be.

Oddly enough, France appears to be taking a lead in Europe on this issue.

Perhaps we should take a lead from France, whose methods of prevention have been strengthened following a landmark case in 1999, when a woman of West African origins was jailed for eight years for cutting 48 young children.

Now all French children of African background are closely scrutinised by social workers and doctors during infancy, and any abnormal behaviour or prolonged absence from school is immediately investigated.

It is also considered a duty of French doctors to examine any ethnic African girls they suspect have been mutilated and, waiving usual patient confidentiality rules, report their parents to the police if their suspicions are confirmed.

In this age of political correctness, no doubt, factions in Britain will argue that such interventionist activity is discriminatory and a breach of human rights. There will also be those who believe female genital mutilation to be an issue for the African community to resolve, arguing that our overstretched police and health professionals have more pressing matters to address.

Detective Inspector Hamilton was persuaded otherwise when she sat through a graphic video showing a cutter at work. With its haunting screams and bloodied instruments, this real-life horror film changed her life.

"These little girls shouldn't have to live in that other world," she says. "They go to school here. Their homes and friends are here. They are our little girls. They are British. What is happening to them is barbaric - and it must be stopped."

The US and a number of States have adopted legistlation to punish those participating in this disgusting practice.

Nice Work Britain

How offensive is this?

Scores of soldiers flying home from Afghanistan on Christmas leave were ordered to change out of their uniforms on a freezing runway before being allowed into a civilian airport terminal.

Troops were told not to be seen in public in their uniforms - which they had worn with pride while risking their lives during months of intense fighting against the Taliban.

Last night the Ministry of Defence and bosses at Birmingham International Airport blamed each other for the indignity suffered by the soldiers - which comes amid mounting anger over the treatment of British troops returning from war.

One soldier, who was ordered to undress for "security reasons", said: "It is an insult to the entire Army to force guys who've been fighting in Afghanistan to obey some jobsworth rule when all they want to do is get home to their families.

"So much for a nation proud of its servicemen. The temperature was Baltic on the runway but most of just wanted to get home so we cracked on."

Note -

Just for the record, not all Buddhist monks are alike. The ones who hang out at the Starbucks in my office complex have not taken a vow of poverty. They also like to harass the girls.

Banking Update

Moody's Investor Services estimates that the Chinese government has spent US$432 billion to clean up the banking sector over the past 10 years. This includes separate US$22.5 billion bailouts for the Bank of China and China Constructiion Bank (CCB) and a US$15 billion injection into the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

From the December 2007 edition of Insight, the Journal of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Everything I read is very Gungho! on Chinese banks and their future. Everyone I talk to thinks it is going to be a rough 5 to 7 years before they "get it". "It" being management skills and a market driven philosophy.

Novak's Take on Iowa

Obama leads in most polls, and significantly in some. His negatives are much lower than Clinton's, and his positives are higher than Edwards'. He has as much money as Clinton and the edge in enthusiasm. However, his campaign team in Iowa is the least experienced of the top three. He could flame out like Dean, but all considered, he has to be viewed as the favorite.

Hillary's organization may be the strongest, but her negatives are the highest. Her hardball tactics against Obama will hurt her. For the Democrats, who have a viability threshold of at least 15% in each precinct, second choice matters, and that is where Hillary's negatives will hurt her. She doesn't appear to be the second choice for very many voters at all.

Edwards has run in Iowa before and done well. His second-place finish in 2004, however, was in a weaker Democratic field. His negatives are low, however, and many polls have shown him as the most popular second choice among supporters of the second-tier candidates. In polls, he is right on Hillary's heels, and it is likely he will pass her in the caucuses.

I hope he's right.

Not So Peaceful Peaceniks

Watch out for the peaceniks. They can be quite dangerous.

In the proud peacenik tradition of axe-murderer Carlos Hartmann and brutal maniac Christiaan Briggs, antiwar activist Ricardo Cortez was arrested for murdering his wife last Sunday in Greeley, Colorado.

That was in September. Now we have yet another peacenik on the warpath:

Less than five years ago, Jock Palfreeman was a year 11 student at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview, a strapping young man handy with an oar and on the rugby field. He also had a left-leaning political consciousness - enough for him to organise student protests against the Iraq war ...

A photograph on the website of the Parramatta Advertiser shows him in school uniform in July 2002 posing behind bars in a “Ruddock Free Zone”, at a time when Mr Ruddock, as minister for immigration, was embroiled in detention centre controversies.

In 2003 Palfreeman joined students from across the state in opposing the war in Iraq. He joined the socialist youth organisation Resistance, and formed a Riverview Student Peace and Unity Congress. In an interview with Green Left Weekly he said: “There’s a large majority against the war, but still some people who support it. Most of the staff that I’ve talked to support the anti-war movement."

Immediately subsequent to his involvement in the Riverview Student Peace and Unity Congress, in 2004 peacenik Palfreeman reportedly wanted to join the Australian Defence Forces and lately claimed to have been working for the British Army. Weird. Anyhoo, he’s now charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly stabbing two men during a brawl in Bulgaria.

Inside the Decision Loop

This is the second part of the article I referenced immediately below. Read that first or this will make no sense. Here are a few quick paragraphs from Part II:

Why is it, do you think, that the United States was able to win a war in Afghanistan in five months, with far, far smaller forces than the Soviets used in the nine years leading up to their ultimate failure?

It’s a complex issue, obviously, but I maintain that it is essentially that the Soviets relied on firepower and attrition – the iron mace – while the US focused tremendous force delicately and lightly and with great precision – the rapier. If the Soviet failure was due to entire armored divisions flattening villages wholesale, the US achieved victory with one or two Special Forces men on horseback calling in precision air strikes that with few notable tragic exceptions hit only what they meant to hit.

Observe, Orient, Decide, Act

If you have any interest in military history (recent history) and the thinking that underlies the Defense Department's approach to Iraq and Afghanistan, this article is fascinating.

Always Adjusting to a New State of Normal

Can you imagine if this were a "normal" night in your home town - or state for that matter.

Vandals torched 372 cars as France celebrated the New Year, down on the figure last year after a night the police described as “relatively calm.”

Cars are burned fairly regularly in France and the image of vehicles in flames in poor suburbs became symbolic of riots in 2005 when angry youths set fire to thousands of cars.

There is usually an increase in the number of cars torched on New Year’s Eve compared to other days of the year.

“The night was relatively calm, without notable incident, there were very few direct clashes with the security forces,” said a spokesman for the national police.

At 12:00 a.m. EST, the Interior Ministry said 372 vehicles had been burned — 144 in the Paris region and 228 in the rest of France. That was down from 397 last New Year’s Eve.

Robot Updates

Here is some good news. But why do I have to wait so long?

Big Fat Anchor Undecided

Bad news for the candidates. "MICHAEL MOORE ON THE FENCE: 'I am not endorsing anyone at this point'

Although he personally prefers Congressman Kucinich (no surprise there), he's a realistic guy and he knows he's going to have to choose between Clinton, Obama and Edwards.

Two months ago, Rolling Stone magazine asked me to do a cover story where I would ask the hard questions that no one was asking in one-on-one interviews with Senators Clinton, Obama and Edwards. "The Top Democrats Face Off with Michael Moore." The deal was that all three candidates had to agree to let me interview them or there was no story. Obama and Edwards agreed. Mrs. Clinton said no, and the cover story was thus killed.

Why would the love of my life, Hillary Clinton, not sit down to talk with me? What was she afraid of?

Because she knows you're a big fat lying imbecile. The only reason the other two said yes is because they knew she'd say no.

The rest of the letter to his fans is a long diatribe about the candidates' support for the war in Iraq, corporate greed, universal heath care, global warming - all the liberal favorites.

The myth of universal health care is like the myth of communism. Communism only feeds people on paper and universal health care is functional only in the minds of people who believe the US Post Office is an exemplary business model.

How is that universal health care system in Canada?

Belinda Stronach, the MP for Newmarket-Aurora and former cabinet minister, travelled outside Canada's health-care system to California for some of her breast cancer treatment earlier this year.

Stronach, diagnosed in the spring with a type of breast cancer that required a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, went to California in June at her Toronto doctor's suggestion, a spokesperson confirmed.

MacEachern stressed that Stronach's decision had nothing to do with her confidence – or lack of it – in Canada's cancer-treatment facilities or public health care.

Yeah. I bet. Canadian columnist Mark Steyn calls it "universal access to crap". The US government might do better to provide additional tax incentives to companies contributing to 501(c)(3)'s that fund indigent health care.

Stereotypes

The other day some friends started a conversation about stereotypes and whether stereotyping was good/bad, necessary/unnecessary, etc. I think it is natural and if it is based on something solid, stereotypes can be very valid.

The Chinese think Americans are by and large fat but nice. Compared to Chinese, we are fat. And compared to Chinese in groups, we are nice (as in polite). If you select individuals from the general population, obviously not everyone holds to the general rules. There are thin, rude Americans.

If you understand the logic behind your stereotype, it can be very valuable. Most Muslims aren't terrorists, but most terrorists are Muslims. And compared to other cultures, Americans don't tend to be as inquisitive about other countries and we don't tend to travel as much. That last part is a fact, the first part is a general observation.

The Chinese tend to place great emphasis on education, particularly math and science. They do not have universal access to education as you would find in the States, so much of the population is uneducated, but that will change. The 20-something generation and older tends to eat much healthier than we do in the west and so they are much slimmer. Environmental factors in their food and air (many carcinogens) and far inferior health care contribute to a shorter lifespan despite the healthy diet. All stereotypes, but largely accurate.

And they like to gamble.

China's total lottery sales in 2007 had exceeded 100 billion yuan (some 13.7 billion U.S. dollars) by Sunday, an increase of 18 billion yuan or 20 percent over last year, setting a 20-year record in China's lottery history. Of the total sales, 62 billion yuan went to social welfare lottery while 38 billion yuan belonged to sports lottery, according to the latest issue of the China Philanthropy Times.

Pretty amazing when you realize that the average annual disposable income in 2006 was around US$2,800 and there are 806 million people in the work force (so that $2,800 is supporting more than one person). That's a lot of people participating in the lottery.

The casino business in Macao overtook Las Vegas this year, and I'm told that the Chinese do not look for the same pomp that thrill in their gaming excursions. They are there to gamble, not to see Celine sing.

A Few Last Minute Changes

This is amazing. I didn't see this one coming in the 11th hour.

China's State Council, or the cabinet, publicized over the weekend policies aimed at cushioning the impact of enforcing the unified corporate income tax law. The new law, to take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, will replace two earlier regulations that date back more than a decade and unify income tax rates for domestic and foreign-funded companies at 25 percent.

The cabinet said that the new law would be phased in five years. Companies that currently face an income tax of 15 percent will pay 18 percent in 2008, 20 percent in 2009, 22 percent in 2010, 24 percent in 2011 and 25 percent from 2012.

Companies that are exempt from taxes or have concessional rates will retain their preferences until the original expiration date. Those that don't show the level of profit can retain their benefits in 2008.

The Bailout Continues

China on Monday announced a $20 billion capital injection into China Development Bank, one of the country's three policy lenders, as part of a long-planned transformation of the state-owned company into a commercial bank.

The move is likely to result in a multi-billion dollar stock market listing of the bank, aimed at raising cash, sharpen its competitive edge, and aid its overseas expansion following its 2.2 billion euro ($3.2 billion) investment in British lender Barclays in July.

"The capital injection extends the reform pattern of other state banks. It also means that restructuring of CDB will speed up toward commercial operations," said Yin Jianfeng of Finance Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Science.

Tells you a bit about the solvency of Chinese banks. Who in their right mind would invest in a bank that just required a $20 billion capital injection if they weren't going to get control over the bank after the investment. Chinese state-owned (or close to owned) companies don't change easily. They fight till the death because the culture is not about fiscal responsibility and profits.

These banks were designed to do two things: employ people and lend money to state owned industries. If ya think they're suddenly going to develop management skills because the government handed them a $20 billion check, you're wrong. And this isn't the first large capital injection these banks have had.

Chinese Labor Contract Proposal

Wow. Here are a bunch of bad ideas.

Menstruating Women Given Protection Under Model Chinese Labor Contract [yes, that is the actual name of the article - ed.]

The Beijing Federation of Trade Unions has released the first Collective Contract Model Text, in which it hopes that employees' salaries should be increased in proportion to companies' operations and profits.

This model text contract is not compulsory, so Chinese companies can choose some or all of the clauses to make them a part of their own employee labor contracts.

Though the model text asks that employee's salary be increased in direct ratio to an enterprise's profit, it says that the salary increase rate should be fixed through consultations between the enterprise and the employee representative. Regarding work hours, the new contract stipulates that the standard work time for employees is eight hours per day and should not be more than 40 hours per week.

The contract says that three groups of employees, including those who have been accredited as model or advanced workers at the municipal level or above; those whose family members are all jobless; and those who have the elderly or children to take care of should be given priority to stay is there are staff layoffs. Female workers who have dysmenorrhea can take leave during their menstruation and still be duly paid.

In addition to the necessary clauses of the Labor Contract Law, the Collective Contract Model Text also features detailed stipulations on workplace related issues. For example, it says that companies must not lower the position or the salary of pregnant employees because of their pregnancy.

You think Chinese companies aren't making any money now, wait till you see how much they're losing once their accounting departments get done with 2008's numbers. Operations and profits don't always go in the same direction. Often profits decline initially when operations increase and sometimes they never make it back.

I also like that female employees who have dysmenorrhea receive special treatment at certain times. I had no idea what dysmenorrhea is, however the dictionary on the internet says: "menstrual condition characterized by severe and frequent menstrual cramps and pain associated with menstruation". Lovely. I want to see all the plant foremans having to listen to that excuse all the time.

Pregnancy is one we are all familiar with. Fair enough. Women's resumes in China are quick to note when the gal has had a child so a potential employer knows up front that it doesn't have to pay or deal with maturnity leave. They also provide other vital information such as gender, age, marital status and typically a picture.

Christmas in Shanghai I

Here are a few Christmas lights in Shanghai. I'll try to get a few more pictures this evening.

Shanghai Wednesday Morning

These were shot on my way to work this morning.















This is a small kiosk selling fried bread. People are always lined up blocking the sidewalk.