I was hit by lightning about 20 years ago in Australia. I was out playing golf when hit in the left arm. Horrendous burns and lots of scars left to this day. No fun at all.
I have worked with journalists who do exactly that. Each morning you search back through the archives and have a look at the stories from the same day 3, 6, 9 and 12 months previously. Then do the same but for 2, 5 and 10 years back.
ctrl-C, ctrl-V, change date, add update / new quote and you have a "new" story. Keeps editors happy.
If the Iraq invasion by the US and its military allies is really "war" why won't the White House formally declare it as such? By not formally declaring war, the rest of the world has limited ability to ensure that accepted war conventions are adhered to by combatants.
The US will not formally declare war on Iraq because it does not want its service men and women to be able to be held accountable in the future.
Sorry, but how is hong Kong "democratic". The Chief Executive (governor) is appointed by the mainland's State Council and only 30 percent of the Legco's representatives are democratically elected. The rest are, again, appointed, by Beijing.
Hong Kong is one of my favourite places on earth - an incredibly vibrant and intelligent community. Fantastic food. Possibly the easiest place to get business done.
I think it is more than just a coincidence that the announcement by mainland China for a manned moon landing was made just prior to the beginning of the election campaign in Taiwan, and the announcement to cancel same was made just after it became clear that Ah Bian (Chen Shui Bian) had won.
If I were more cynical, I would suggest that the manned moon project was another mainland strategy to foster Chinese nationalism across the Taiwan Strait in an endeavour to undermine Chen's pro-independence election campaign.
The biggest problem in assessing China's GDP is not the value of the Renminbi (yuan) but in taking into account the massive under-reporting that occurs in the burgeoning private sector.
During the 80s, the contribution of the private sector was small, so under-reporting had little impact on the numbers. But as the private sector has grown, and it is the non-state sector in China that is driving the economy, that under-reporting has seriously skewed the GDP figures.
A CSFB analyst said last week that it is possible China's actual GDP is about double what is officially reported.
Many Chinese companies under-report to avoid paying tax on sales and profit.
And if China had a track record of being transparent about its military spending, I would agree with you. But, and it's a big but, many analysts argue that China's actual military spending is closer to US$ 600 billion per annum or about 10% of GDP.
I have lived and worked in China (Beijing and Shanghai) as well as Taipei continuously since 1994.
Computer ownership remains very low on the mainland - hence the reason for the popularity of internet cafes. The mainland government has repeatedly shown its fear of anything more popular, or potentially more popular, than the Party itself (Falun Gong, labour unions, universal sufferage etc etc).
My original post was a simple warning - the People's Daily is just not a reliable source of information.
Is it a good source of propaganda? Yes. Is it an insight into what those living in Zhongnanhai think? Yes. Is it independent? No.
Xinhua (New China News Agency) is not necessarily a reliable source of independent reporting or information.
Since the tragic Internet cafe fire in Beijing in 2001, the central Government has been increasingly active in demonising the internet. This is just an extension of that on-going propaganda war.
Exactly the same system was launched in China in late 2000. At the time, the Chinese postal service "promised" that it would not read any of the emails.
I was issued with a company mobile phone during a long project in China. It had belonged to the marketing manager and ended in 8888.
I had many many offers of many thousands of dollars to sell it. The word for 8 (ba) can sound like the word for wealth / prosperity (fa) in some parts of the country.
At the end of the day, there is no way that the Liberal Coalition in Australia will ever be able to force this so-called FTA through the Senate. The ALP have indicated they will block passage, as has at least one Independent.
I believe that only the English-language version of North Korea's news agency is hosted in Japan.
The original Korean-language content definitely originates from and is hosted in North Korea.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today "the Moon is undeniably and historically an inseparable part of Chinese territory in exactly the same way Tibet and Taiwan are..."
Having lived in China for three years, I can assure you almost every Chinese household has a TV. Sets are cheap with a domestic 29-inch selling for around $US90.
A Hong Kong-based market research firm recently suggested television set penetration was around 92 percent on the mainland, compared with 42 percent for refrigerators!
All of the major consoles (inc XBox) are available in China as "grey imports". A PS2 sells for about US$200 and an XBox for about $US300. Pirate games galore and easily available for around $US2.50.
For a 10M down, 1M up with no traffic limit or other restrictions (other than those imposed by the Great China Firewall), I pay 150 Chinese yuan (US$18) per month in Beijing. No install fees.
Slashdot Mirror
I was hit by lightning about 20 years ago in Australia. I was out playing golf when hit in the left arm. Horrendous burns and lots of scars left to this day. No fun at all.
I have worked with journalists who do exactly that. Each morning you search back through the archives and have a look at the stories from the same day 3, 6, 9 and 12 months previously. Then do the same but for 2, 5 and 10 years back.
ctrl-C, ctrl-V, change date, add update / new quote and you have a "new" story. Keeps editors happy.
simple solution: www.gmail.com
The policy of sending the family a bill for the execution bullet was ended in the late 80s.
However, the death sentence can be imposed in cases of "economic crime" that involve amounts greater than RMB 100,000 (about US$12,000).
If the Iraq invasion by the US and its military allies is really "war" why won't the White House formally declare it as such? By not formally declaring war, the rest of the world has limited ability to ensure that accepted war conventions are adhered to by combatants.
The US will not formally declare war on Iraq because it does not want its service men and women to be able to be held accountable in the future.
Sorry, but how is hong Kong "democratic". The Chief Executive (governor) is appointed by the mainland's State Council and only 30 percent of the Legco's representatives are democratically elected. The rest are, again, appointed, by Beijing.
Hong Kong is one of my favourite places on earth - an incredibly vibrant and intelligent community. Fantastic food. Possibly the easiest place to get business done.
But democratic it is not.
I think it is more than just a coincidence that the announcement by mainland China for a manned moon landing was made just prior to the beginning of the election campaign in Taiwan, and the announcement to cancel same was made just after it became clear that Ah Bian (Chen Shui Bian) had won.
If I were more cynical, I would suggest that the manned moon project was another mainland strategy to foster Chinese nationalism across the Taiwan Strait in an endeavour to undermine Chen's pro-independence election campaign.
The biggest problem in assessing China's GDP is not the value of the Renminbi (yuan) but in taking into account the massive under-reporting that occurs in the burgeoning private sector.
During the 80s, the contribution of the private sector was small, so under-reporting had little impact on the numbers. But as the private sector has grown, and it is the non-state sector in China that is driving the economy, that under-reporting has seriously skewed the GDP figures.
A CSFB analyst said last week that it is possible China's actual GDP is about double what is officially reported.
Many Chinese companies under-report to avoid paying tax on sales and profit.
And if China had a track record of being transparent about its military spending, I would agree with you. But, and it's a big but, many analysts argue that China's actual military spending is closer to US$ 600 billion per annum or about 10% of GDP.
Thanks for that! Who says you can't learn something from /.!
My view here is that the two basic essential elements of contract (offer and acceptance / consideration) were formed.
Not necessarily relevant though as it is very unlikely that either party will persue the other for breach, given the circumstances.
I have lived and worked in China (Beijing and Shanghai) as well as Taipei continuously since 1994.
Computer ownership remains very low on the mainland - hence the reason for the popularity of internet cafes. The mainland government has repeatedly shown its fear of anything more popular, or potentially more popular, than the Party itself (Falun Gong, labour unions, universal sufferage etc etc).
My original post was a simple warning - the People's Daily is just not a reliable source of information.
Is it a good source of propaganda? Yes. Is it an insight into what those living in Zhongnanhai think? Yes. Is it independent? No.
Xinhua (New China News Agency) is not necessarily a reliable source of independent reporting or information.
Since the tragic Internet cafe fire in Beijing in 2001, the central Government has been increasingly active in demonising the internet. This is just an extension of that on-going propaganda war.
Providing your National ID card number and name has been required in mainland China internet cafes since at least 1998.
That you can buy a new ID card for about RMB 100 (about US$ 12) means that many Chinese have no qualms about handing over their ID numbers!
Exactly the same system was launched in China in late 2000. At the time, the Chinese postal service "promised" that it would not read any of the emails.
The system has not been an overwhelming success.
I have just finished a six-month consultancy with a substantial beige-box OEM in Taiwan. They pay US$52 for XP Pro licenses bought in bulk lots.
I wish! Almost all new release CDs are AU$ 29! Twenty Nine Aussie dollars!
Or US$ 22.13 at today's exchange rate.
I was issued with a company mobile phone during a long project in China. It had belonged to the marketing manager and ended in 8888.
I had many many offers of many thousands of dollars to sell it. The word for 8 (ba) can sound like the word for wealth / prosperity (fa) in some parts of the country.
Absolutely right.
It's a real pity you posted this AC. It could have been the beginning of a great Aussie political discussuion (over beers, of course)!
At the end of the day, there is no way that the Liberal Coalition in Australia will ever be able to force this so-called FTA through the Senate.
The ALP have indicated they will block passage, as has at least one Independent.
Long live the Senate.
I believe that only the English-language version of North Korea's news agency is hosted in Japan. The original Korean-language content definitely originates from and is hosted in North Korea.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today "the Moon is undeniably and historically an inseparable part of Chinese territory in exactly the same way Tibet and Taiwan are..."
1.3 billion divided by three (the size of the average Chinese family given the one-child policy) is roughly 400 million.
TV set penetration is about 95% on the mainland. Per household NOT per person.
Having lived in China for three years, I can assure you almost every Chinese household has a TV. Sets are cheap with a domestic 29-inch selling for around $US90.
A Hong Kong-based market research firm recently suggested television set penetration was around 92 percent on the mainland, compared with 42 percent for refrigerators!
All of the major consoles (inc XBox) are available in China as "grey imports". A PS2 sells for about US$200 and an XBox for about $US300. Pirate games galore and easily available for around $US2.50.
For a 10M down, 1M up with no traffic limit or other restrictions (other than those imposed by the Great China Firewall), I pay 150 Chinese yuan (US$18) per month in Beijing. No install fees.