Votes On The Health Care Bill

In one of the most closely watched votes in history, all Republicans voted against the bill and 219 Democrats supported it. A total of 212 members voted against it.

Here is a list of the Democrats who crossed the aisle and voted against the bill:

Rep. John Adler (N.J.)

Rep. Jason Altmire (Pa.)

Rep. Michael Arcuri (N.Y.)

Rep. John Barrow (Ga.)

Rep. Marion Berry (Ark.)

Rep. Dan Boren (Ind.)

Rep. Rick Boucher (Va.)

Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.)

Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.)

Rep. Travis Childers (Miss.)

Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.)

Rep. Lincoln Davis (Tenn.)

Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas)

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.)

Rep. Tim Holden (Pa.)

Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.)

Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.)

Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.)

Rep. Stephen Lynch (Mass.)

Rep. Jim Marshall (Ga.)

Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah)

Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.)

Rep. Mike McMahon (N.Y.)

Rep. Charlie Melancon (La.)

Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho)

Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.)

Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.)

Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.)

Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.)

Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.)

Rep. Zack Space (Ohio)

Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.)

Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.)

Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.)

Ayes Noes PRES NV Democratic 219 34 Republican 178 Independent TOTALS 219 212

—- AYES    219 —

Ackerman

Andrews

Baca

Baird

Baldwin

Bean

Becerra

Berkley

Berman

Bishop (GA)

Bishop (NY)

Blumenauer

Boccieri

Boswell

Boyd

Brady (PA)

Braley (IA)

Brown, Corrine

Butterfield

Capps

Capuano

Cardoza

Carnahan

Carney

Carson (IN)

Castor (FL)

Chu

Clarke

Clay

Cleaver

Clyburn

Cohen

Connolly (VA)

Conyers

Cooper

Costa

Costello

Courtney

Crowley

Cuellar

Cummings

Dahlkemper

Davis (CA)

Davis (IL)

DeFazio

DeGette

Delahunt

DeLauro

Dicks

Dingell

Doggett

Donnelly (IN)

Doyle

Driehaus

Edwards (MD)

Ellison

Ellsworth

Engel

Eshoo

Etheridge

Farr

Fattah

Filner

Foster

Frank (MA)

Fudge

Garamendi

Giffords

Gonzalez

Gordon (TN)

Grayson

Green, Al

Green, Gene Grijalva

Gutierrez

Hall (NY)

Halvorson

Hare

Harman

Hastings (FL)

Heinrich

Higgins

Hill

Himes

Hinchey

Hinojosa

Hirono

Hodes

Holt

Honda

Hoyer

Inslee

Israel

Jackson (IL)

Jackson Lee (TX)

Johnson (GA)

Johnson, E. B.

Kagen

Kanjorski

Kaptur

Kennedy

Kildee

Kilpatrick (MI)

Kilroy

Kind

Kirkpatrick (AZ)

Klein (FL)

Kosmas

Kucinich

Langevin

Larsen (WA)

Larson (CT)

Lee (CA)

Levin

Lewis (GA)

Loebsack

Lofgren, Zoe

Lowey

Luján

Maffei

Maloney

Markey (CO)

Markey (MA)

Matsui

McCarthy (NY)

McCollum

McDermott

McGovern

McNerney

Meek (FL)

Meeks (NY)

Michaud

Miller (NC)

Miller, George

Mitchell

Mollohan

Moore (KS)

Moore (WI)

Moran (VA)

Murphy (CT)

Murphy (NY)

Murphy, Patrick

Nadler (NY)

Napolitano

Neal (MA)

Oberstar Obey

Olver

Ortiz

Owens

Pallone

Pascrell

Pastor (AZ)

Payne

Pelosi

Perlmutter

Perriello

Peters

Pingree (ME)

Polis (CO)

Pomeroy

Price (NC)

Quigley

Rahall

Rangel

Reyes

Richardson

Rodriguez

Rothman (NJ)

Roybal-Allard

Ruppersberger

Rush

Ryan (OH)

Salazar

Sánchez, Linda T.

Sanchez, Loretta

Sarbanes

Schakowsky

Schauer

Schiff

Schrader

Schwartz

Scott (GA)

Scott (VA)

Serrano

Sestak

Shea-Porter

Sherman

Sires

Slaughter

Smith (WA)

Snyder

Speier

Spratt

Stark

Stupak

Sutton

Thompson (CA)

Thompson (MS)

Tierney

Titus

Tonko

Towns

Tsongas

Van Hollen

Velázquez

Visclosky

Walz

Wasserman Schultz

Waters

Watson

Watt

Waxman

Weiner

Welch

Wilson (OH)

Woolsey

Wu

Yarmuth

—- NOES    212 —

Aderholt

Adler (NJ)

Akin

Alexander

Altmire

Arcuri

Austria

Bachmann

Bachus

Barrett (SC)

Barrow

Bartlett

Barton (TX)

Berry

Biggert

Bilbray

Bilirakis

Bishop (UT)

Blackburn

Blunt

Boehner

Bonner

Bono Mack

Boozman

Boren

Boucher

Boustany

Brady (TX)

Bright

Broun (GA)

Brown (SC)

Brown-Waite, Ginny

Buchanan

Burgess

Burton (IN)

Buyer

Calvert

Camp

Campbell

Cantor

Cao

Capito

Carter

Cassidy

Castle

Chaffetz

Chandler

Childers

Coble

Coffman (CO)

Cole

Conaway

Crenshaw

Culberson

Davis (AL)

Davis (KY)

Davis (TN)

Deal (GA)

Dent

Diaz-Balart, L.

Diaz-Balart, M.

Dreier

Duncan

Edwards (TX)

Ehlers

Emerson

Fallin

Flake

Fleming

Forbes

Fortenberry Foxx

Franks (AZ)

Frelinghuysen

Gallegly

Garrett (NJ)

Gerlach

Gingrey (GA)

Gohmert

Goodlatte

Granger

Graves

Griffith

Guthrie

Hall (TX)

Harper

Hastings (WA)

Heller

Hensarling

Herger

Herseth Sandlin

Hoekstra

Holden

Hunter

Inglis

Issa

Jenkins

Johnson (IL)

Johnson, Sam

Jones

Jordan (OH)

King (IA)

King (NY)

Kingston

Kirk

Kissell

Kline (MN)

Kratovil

Lamborn

Lance

Latham

LaTourette

Latta

Lee (NY)

Lewis (CA)

Linder

Lipinski

LoBiondo

Lucas

Luetkemeyer

Lummis

Lungren, Daniel E.

Lynch

Mack

Manzullo

Marchant

Marshall

Matheson

McCarthy (CA)

McCaul

McClintock

McCotter

McHenry

McIntyre

McKeon

McMahon

McMorris Rodgers

Melancon

Mica

Miller (FL)

Miller (MI)

Miller, Gary Minnick

Moran (KS)

Murphy, Tim

Myrick

Neugebauer

Nunes

Nye

Olson

Paul

Paulsen

Pence

Peterson

Petri

Pitts

Platts

Poe (TX)

Posey

Price (GA)

Putnam

Radanovich

Rehberg

Reichert

Roe (TN)

Rogers (AL)

Rogers (KY)

Rogers (MI)

Rohrabacher

Rooney

Ros-Lehtinen

Roskam

Ross

Royce

Ryan (WI)

Scalise

Schmidt

Schock

Sensenbrenner

Sessions

Shadegg

Shimkus

Shuler

Shuster

Simpson

Skelton

Smith (NE)

Smith (NJ)

Smith (TX)

Souder

Space

Stearns

Sullivan

Tanner

Taylor

Teague

Terry

Thompson (PA)

Thornberry

Tiahrt

Tiberi

Turner

Upton

Walden

Wamp

Westmoreland

Whitfield

Wilson (SC)

Wittman

Wolf

Young (AK)

Young (FL)

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Idaho Would Sue Government Over Health Care Reform ‎

Summary: Health Care Reform Bill H.R. 4872

Health Care Bill Mystery

Obama Admits He Does Not Know What’s In The Health Care Bill

Transcript: Bret Baier Interview With President Obama

Rush Limbaugh: Obama Is Destroying The Ecomomy

Rush Limbaugh Transcript: No, I’m Not Moving to Costa Rica

Democrats Positions On The Healthcare Reform Bill

Health Care Insurance And Health Care Benefits

Obama Forcing His View Of Health Care On America

Democrats Against Obama’s Health Care

Summary Of Obama’s Proposal For Health Care Reform

H.R. 3962 Summary

Affordable Health Care For America Act “H.R. 3962″

Obama’s Health Care, A Bad Idea

H.R. 3962 Tax Hikes

The Votes On H.R.3962

Obama Health Reform Lies

US Voters Want Congress To Drop Health

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Deep Research Report on China Wind Generator Industry - 2010

2010 Deep Research Report on China Wind Generator Industry was published by QYResearch Wind Energy Research Center on Mar 2010. It was a professional and depth research report on China Wind Generator industry. In the report, the following information will be included:

China Wind Generator Production Supply Sales Demand marketing and technology (equipment) information;

China Wind Generator production and demand from 2009-2014;

China Wind Generator manufacturers Wind Generator Capacity Production Cost Average selling price Production Value Revenue Profit etc information;

China Wind Generator manufacturers Product Information

Downstream client or demand analysis, (included: sales contracts customers etc);

China Wind Generator industry development trend and related conclusions; Finally, we conduct a comprehensive summary of China Wind Generator industry, including the past present and forecast the future, we also made a feasibility analysis of the 1500sets/year Doubly-fed induction Wind Generator project ,we carry out an accurate calculation on investment cost, revenue, profitability, payback period. In a word, it was a depth research report on china Wind Generator industry chain. And thanks to the China Wind Generator marketing or technology experts help and support during QYResearch Wind Energy team survey and interviews.

More Information:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/2010-Deep-Research-Report-on-China-Wind-Generator-Industry-39106.html

[Via http://aarkreport.wordpress.com]

Google May Leave China

Google’s decision to cease its operation in China is edging closer to reality after months of negotiations. China Business News reports that Google plans to leave China on April 10.

The report cites an unidentified Google China employee, but this information has not been confirmed by Google. Allegedly, Google gave its China employees the option of moving to the company’s U.S. headquarters or working for its Asia-Pacific operations.

If this is true, it once again raises the question of what, exactly, is Google pulling out from China: its entire operations or just the search engine, which it has declined to censor? The latter now seems more likely.

In any case, if Google does pull out, it may be a long, long time before it returns. Peter Lui, who was formerly Google’s financial controller for the Asia Pacific region, said that Google’s public announcement to leave had “burnt bridges… There is no way Google can ever come back.”

[Via http://lmd308.wordpress.com]

DVD recommendation -- "Red Cliff"

I’m going to go way out on a limb here and recommend John Woo’s “Red Cliff” before I’ve even finished watching the film. It’s a two-parter that clocks in somewhere in the ballpark of five hours, so I’ve only finished part one. That much is enough to highly suggest you check this out. The tale is epic in every sense of the word — the battle-scene action is excellent, the story is great and the movie itself is gorgeous. If you don’t see an update to this post sometime tomorrow night it means part two was not a let down. I don’t expect it to be.

[Via http://davidkirkpatrick.wordpress.com]

Natural Gas Fueled Trucks

Natural Gas Fueled Trucks Mack Trucks, Inc. Brings Natural Gas Power To Refuse Applications New Freightliner natural gas truck Waste Management Fueling Trash Trucks with Natural Gas

COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG) AS A TRANSPORTATION FUEL Clean Burning Natural Gas Vehicles  The Pickens Plan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Main article: Pickens Plan

On July 8, 2008, Pickens announced a major energy policy proposal, called the Pickens Plan. The plan promotes alternatives to oil, including wind and solar. A major feature of the plan is replacing the 22% of its electricity that the United States gets from natural gas with wind energy, which would then allow that natural gas to provide 38% of the nation’s fuel for transportation and reduce its dependence on foreign oil. The Pickens Plan calls for the United States to utilize its wind corridor in the middle of the country stretching from Texas northerly through the Great Plains to the Canadian border. He noted in Congressional testimony in July 2008 that his plan would generate new jobs and provide economic stimulus to this area, while noting that it would also require new transmission lines which traditionally antagonize some environmentalists and/or nearby populations.

Critics of the plan, however, point out that it is self-serving: Pickens is a huge investor in wind power, and subsidies and mandates for wind power would help his personal financial position. The announcement of the plan also coincides with Pickens’ need for federal subsidies for wind to be renewed, as he’s already begun placing orders for his planned wind farm in Texas. Pickens plans to spend $58 million on his multi-media effort to promote the Pickens Plan. Pickens multi-media campaign includes old media, such as newspaper and TV, and new media, such as YouTube and Facebook. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, has expressed support for the Pickens Plan On December 27, 2009 during what is called the “Meet the Press Roundtable” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the Pickens Plan case by talking about the need for energy independence. This discussion was in the context of the failed attack on an airliner on Christmas day, but Bloomberg echoed what Boone Pickens has been saying for the past 17 months: the USA is funding both sides of this war and the USA is transferring its wealth to people who don’t like it very much. Obama Administration Urged to Utilize Natural Gas Pickens on natural gas: You can’t beat it

UPS Deploys 167 Compressed Natural Gas Trucks Natural Gas in the Transportation Sector

China looking to Natural Gas for its Future Energy Needs

Cummins Westport • Natural Gas Engines.

Mercedes-Benz delivers first natural gas Econic semi Port of Los Angeles Negotiating With Vision Industries For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid-Electric Trucks Daimler introduces new Freightliner natural gas truck Navistar Pursues Natural Gas for MaxxForce 13 Engines

Country Comparison :: Natural gas – proved reserves

The plan is a stop gap till other options become available, we have more Natural gas than we have Oil reserves in this country, it is set up to do fleet vehicles, medium and heavier trucks while consumers would still be left to choose Hybrids and regular (though Pickens is not opposed to its use in personal transportation, it’s not the emphasis) cars. The wind power is supposed to reduce domestic consumption of Natural Gas for electricity and it is cleaner, Obama has also announced plans to create more Nuclear power plants, so it should work in its goals of reducing greenhouse gases and providing  alternatives to Oil imports.

[Via http://dummidumbwit.wordpress.com]

China in Africa: coloniser or development partner?

I just read an irritating article from CBSnews on China in Africa.

Irritating because it is filled with mistakes, emotional appeals and shallow analysis.

Irritating because most of the reader’s comments at the bottom of the article think that this is an excellent piece of writing.

*SIGH*

George Bush’s Aids policy has been a success and welcomed across Africa? Really? His no condom policy was great?

I think other people with more expertise beg to differ.

USA does not have baggage like Europe does in Africa? Does this author know anything about Africa’s history? Ever heard of Patrice Lumumba? As one of the commentators says:

“The United States does not carry baggage from a colonial past as do European countries.? Not from a colonial past, yes. However, propping up dictators who abuse their people and ruin their countries?that is a baggage. So is overthrowing revered leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and spearheading the assassination of beloved patriots such as Patrice Lumumba.”

Then you have the scare tactics such as the false claim that China has leased half of Congo’s farmland (media articles always seem to need to put some random statement with no evidence on this type of “neo-colonialism” by China these days).

In essence the author of the article argues that China’s involvement in Africa is driven by nothing other than China’s quest for political and economic power. There is no such thing as good will involved.

“Roads in Nairobi, notorious for their clogged traffic circles, are being widened and repaved with large billboards telling Kenyans that the work is a gift from the people of China. The fact that the roads will ease congestion for Kenyan motorists is an afterthought to the benefactor which requires modern infrastructure to move African commodities to ports for shipment to China.”

Yes, China’s investments do serve Chinese interests aswell as African interests, but this is the concept of “win-win” situations. And what is the problem with a situation in which both sides can derive benefits?

Isn’t this the very fundamental principle of a free market economy? With out the possibility of win-win outcomes there would be no trade and no interaction. In short there would be no market for anything.

One could of course say that genuine altruism entails the willingness to do something (such as building that road in Kenya) without there necessarily being any advantage to oneself. But let’s be realists here for a second.

Do you honestly think that any country out there is making investments and giving off aid in a purely altruistic manner? The driving force behind any country’s actions is self-interest, in particular in democratic countries because those elected governments are accountable to their people above all other things.

I am not saying that individuals working with aid is doing so with their own country’s national interest at heart. I know lots of people who work  in the aid industry, my parents included, who are genuinely committed to assisting other countries in reducing poverty and improving living conditions. But the state as an apparatus does not have a heart or emotions or feelings of empathy even though individuals working within these institutions may have this.

The article also talks about how America must come forward as a leader and promoter of human rights and liberty.  Similar to what I said above, do you really think that America is just in Afghanistan to promote progressive values?

No doubt this is part of their job there, my brother is in the army in Afghanistan. I know he is there because he truly is fighting for these values and with the aim of creating a better place for Afghanis.

But again lets ask ourselves, why Afghanistan? Why not Sudan? Why not Swaziland or the DRC?

The answer is that a government will have to prioritize, the American’s can’t use military pressure everywhere it is needed. They have to prioritize. And of course they will prioritize Afghanistan which pose a security threat to America. I don’t think this diminishes the importance of their work in promoting human rights in Afghanistan, but my point is that in this world where resources are limited, governments will always have to prioritize. And they will prioritize in their national self-interest first and foremost.

Something else that comes up constantly when China’s aid to Africa is mentioned is how they give indiscriminately to all governments including those who are sanctioned by the West such as Mugabe.

However I object to this vilification of China in an attempt to whitewash Western donors relations with African countries. Of course, just because the West has also been engaged in some pretty gruesome behaviour in Africa it does not make it right for China to do so aswell. But I think we need to look at what is actually being done.

Unlike the West, China are not engaged in creating coup detat, assassinations or install a puppet government in Africa. They are enablers yes, but not actively scheming out political plots . They are simply businessmen, not politicians in a quest for global dominance.

China is pragmatic and adhere to the principle of non-interference. This means that they enable African governments to do as they like. This can be bad in the case of Zimbabwe and Sudan. On the other hand, it also enables African governments who genuinely want to develop their economies to persue the policies they would like to. This is in starch contrast to Western donors who impose policy prescriptions in the name of good governance.

The emergence of China as an alternative source of funding is not just welcomed by sanctioned leaders such as Mugabe, but also by those governments who have their own nation’s interest at heart. Decades of SAP’s have not lead to a miraculous change the economies of African countries.  The imposition on policy restrictions and prescriptions is void of any democratic value (that the West proclaims to promote).

Looking at the development process of economies  such as Korea, Taiwan and Japan one finds that the exact policies used to develop those economies are being banned as conditions for aid in Africa. Despite having good intentions, these policies have amounted to nothing spectacular. The conditions imposed on aid-recipient countries has denied developing countries to implement necessary policies for their economic development, thereby rendered them aid-dependent.

China thus presents an opportunity for countries wishing to emulate the development process of  success countries such as Korea, Japan and even the United States itself.  Of course,  “bad” countries such as Mugabe will not improve with Chinese funding, but at least the “good” ones will now finally regain some bargaining power ower their own policy decisions.

Does this mean that I am against imposing conditions on aid? No.

I see no reason why tax payers in Norway or Sweden should pay for Mswati’s children to go shopping in Paris and Milan. A lender and giver should of course have the right to be assured that the money goes to the people it was destined for, not some greedy individuals pocket. So conditions for transparency and corruption control are important measures. I do think it is immoral to back up regimes that violate human rights.

But the conditions attached to Western aid today does not stop at that. The conditions extend into policy decisions, social policy, economic policy, matters that we normally would consider the job of an elected government to execute are now being imposed by donors abroad. The West tiptoe around issues such as the discrimination against homosexuals (a true human rights issue) in the name of “cultural sensitivity” but instead demand the recipient economy relinquish any economic policy autonomy.

What do we really mean by good governance? A government that is transparent and combats corruption? A government that do not violate human rights? Or a government that opens their trade borders for Wester products? A government that follow specific economic policies that Western countries deem in their best interest (African’s can’t think for themselves seems to be the reoccurring motto amongst Western donors). To give a quote from one of my favourite economists, Erik Reinert:

“Race was convenient for explaining poverty in the colonies, thus exonerating the colonial prohibition of industrial production from blame….African’s were not poor because they had not been allowed to industrialize, they were poor because they were black. Today we when we emphasize the role of corruption n in creating poverty, we are a little bit more politically correct. African’s are no longer poor because they are black, they are poor because blacks are corrupt. In the final analysis the difference is marginal”

Ah that heavy white man’s burden.

We don’t have to choose between ignoring recipient government’s actions completely and imposing our own policies on them. If we want to demonstrate the value of democracy and freedom, the best way is to practice what we preach.

[Via http://shanghaisigrid.wordpress.com]

Google may shut down in China

Google appears to be getting closer to shutting down its strictly monitored search engine in China, according to news reports.

The reports, which cited people close to the situation, indicate that  Google advertisers in China are being advised to switch over to rival Baidu

Inc., out of fears that Google could abandon the country.

Following a targeted cyber attack on Gmail accounts emanating from China in December, Google announced on Jan. 12 that it intended to give all of its users open access to the Internet.

Google has since been negotiating with the Chinese government, as such a move would clash with China’s censorship laws. Those laws forbid access to Internet sites that criticize the government, display pornography or promote certain religious material.

A spokeswoman for Google declined to comment specifically on the negotiations, but reiterated the company’s intentions to remain an open-access site and said Google will soon make announcement on the outcome of its dealings with China.

“We have always said we intend to stop censoring, and we will be making changes soon,” said Jill Hazelbaker, spokeswoman for Google. “We are not detailing our plans at the moment. We will have an announcement soon, as in weeks not months.”

Read full CNNMoney.com story

[Via http://news.blogs.cnn.com]

China mobile market overview-Aarkstore Enterprise

In 2008, China’s telecommunications industry was restructured to create three integrated 2G operators. In 2009, all three operators launched their new 3G services. The new entrant China Telecom has great potential in the 3G market. Meanwhile China Unicom has reconfigured its strategy by focusing on GSM and WCDMA. This will put pressure on China Mobile’s dominance of the mobile market.

For more information please visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/China-mobile-market-overview-38179.html

PH.NO. 919272852585

[Via http://aarkstoreenterprise.wordpress.com]

What Happens When Girls Don't Count

What happens when a society has an unnaturally high ratio of baby boys to baby girls? Join Hillary and Amy as they discuss the gender disparity (or unnatural sex ratios of baby boys to baby girls) in China and other Asian countries; whether this is due to government policy or a preference for sons; how this phenomenon is occurring; the consequences for having more men in society than women; and how this trend can hopefully be reversed.

References:

“Gendercide: The Wordwide War on Baby Girls“, The Economist, March 4, 2010.

“One-Child Policy” from Wikipedia.com.

[Via http://theconversationpodcast.com]

China Trip Day 1 - Albany to Beijing

Day 1 – continued

So we’re finally in NJ… Newark to be exact.  Our plane was supposed to board at 7:03…. we didn’t get on the plane until 8  -_-

Oh well, less waiting here in NJ for our connecting flight, woot

I’m really exhausted still, but feeling slightly better.  We don’t catch the next plane until 12pm (its currently 9:45).  I think I’ll prolly go eat in an hour or so… I’d take pictures for you guys, but the fact is that I didn’t bring my camera to laptop connection cable, so I cant say how many pictures I can store on my camera, argh!  Mother told me to just go buy a new camera memory card, but how ridiculous is that?  Spend $30 on something that I should be able to do for free?  No waaaaay….

Well sadly there is no internet here, or at least you have to pay for it.  So I’m just typing this up and I hope to be able to post it laterz.

later that day

OMG THIS ISN’T HAPPENING, but it is…. there was a “serious malfunction” with out intended plane, so now we had to walk across the whole airport to another gate, and instead of leaving at 12:15, we’re leaving at 2:55….

I have no idea what to do with my life, I’ll probably be done with Pride and Prejudice before I even get on the plane god damn it…. argh!

*curls up in ball of misery*

Even later that day (more than 24 hours from leaving)

We lost a day, it was the 110h when we left, and now its the 11th… I’m tired still and I hate China so far… not to sound miserable, but it took me 10 MINUTES to figure out how to turn the lights on in my god damn room.  You have to stick your card in this horrid little holder by the door and it turns all the lights on.  I wish I could upload pictures, but I forgot the cable for that, and I feel really really shitty

So I’ll try to use my 500 pictures to the best of my ability, lol….

P.S.  Its 10:10pm here and 9:11am in NY, lol

*passes out*

[Via http://venomxbrothers.wordpress.com]

The Human-Flesh Search Engine. Sherlock Holmes meets The Long Tail

Cyberposses are taking over in China — and the rest of the world. So accustomed to having Google at our fingertips, people are now sourcing one-another, like a digital network, to find people and solve problems. Human-flesh search engines — renrou sousuo yinqing — have become a Chinese phenomenon: they are a form of online vigilante justice in which Internet users hunt down and punish people who have attracted their wrath. It’s ultimately crowd-sourced detective work, pursued online — with offline results. Sherlock Holmes meets The Long Tail. There is increasingly nowhere to hide in this Flat World.

You can run, but you can't hide...

[Via http://doorclose.wordpress.com]

Cleaning up the neighborhood with Chinese elementary students

March 5 is Learn From Lei Feng Day in China.  Lei Feng is a Chinese war hero who was selected by the Party as a model citizen for his selflessness and dedication to helping others. Though the day has a host of historical and political connotations, in modern society it functions mainly as a day of community service. This year, CET-Middlebury students in Beijing took advantage of this opportunity to visit a neighboring elementary school and learn from Lei Feng together with the schoolchildren.

The joint activity opened with the children singing the China Young Pioneers’ Song, to which CET-Middlebury students responded with a rendition of the American Anthem. The class teacher must have taken this as a challenge, and a minute later the kids were singing the Chinese Anthem in unison, led by a young rosy-cheeked conductor.

Chinese Young Pioneers Song

Time and again, the 7 to 12-year-old children amazed us with feats of memorization as they stood at the front of the room individually or in small groups and recited from memory long stories of Lei Feng’s achievements and selfless deeds. When asked about their own thoughts about helping others, the kids would often use quotes from Lei Feng’s famous diary to support their personal opinions.

Once the singing was over and the glorious stories of Lei Feng were told, the teachers issued the command to go outside, gather up the tools, and head off to complete the mission of the day: cleaning up the neighborhood. Each CET-Middlebury student (or, in the words of the schoolchildren and their teachers, “big brother/big sister”) was put in charge of a platoon of 3-4 little workers armed with brooms and shovels and told to make a contribution to the community by making it a cleaner place to live. We walked to our designated building complex, and the fun began!

[Via http://cetacademicprograms.wordpress.com]

Just a message

The second week of school has started. I noticed everyone, including me, had a rough weekend; missing their family, boyfriends, familiar surrounding etc. It costed me somewhat more energy to keep up with classes today. We started of with grammar classes at 08:10; not the lightest of topics, and ended at 14:30 with our Chinese economic and business class.

Tomorrow we only have two hours of Kouyu; speaking lessons. Afterwards Toke and I will finally go to the nail salon. The trip on Sunday was cancelled since Toke didn’t feel very well. I spend that Sunday inside the house again doing some homework and feeling really tired for some reason; I actually slept very well that night.

I do miss my family. I also miss going for a simple walk with Fitz. It’s not really green here and I miss the Veluwe, fresh air and the sound of my neighbors pigeons in the morning. I miss drinking water from the tab instead of boiling it first. I also miss a good WARM bath. Water in our apartment knows only 3 levels which are: ice-cold, cold, just warm enough to keep you from shivering. I also miss a decent, non sweetened, slice of full grain bread with butter and cheese or ‘hagelslag’.

I do like the rush that the city gives me. There is a constant vibe that keeps you alert and running. Especially in the morning when I get up and there is (again) a 5 cm, fine layer of snow covering everything and you realize that you have to go by bike, trying to avoid other bikers, pedestrians, cars and piles of snow and ice. It gives me a nice adrenaline rush to start the day. It wares of quickly though in a warm class where the monotone voice of a teacher can hum you back to sleep.

I do find the lessons interesting though. It’s difficult enough to keep me motivated and easy enough to follow and not get a feeling of being left behind. The teachers are very nice. Teacher Liu (刘老师) is a very gentle and honest soul I believe. He’s kind and patient but will tell you when he does not agree with your actions, for example: when you didn’t finish your homework or when you fall behind with learing the words. He has a sharp eye for these things; also a good motivation to do your homework when you don’t feel like it

Well, this message became a bit longer then I expected (^_^’). I still have to go though my own-made story about winter vacation which I have to be able to tell the class about tomorrow.

Good night!

[Via http://mirle.wordpress.com]

Himalaya 2010 climbing season, Karakoram and Himalaya wrap-up /7/ - Week in Review.

Gnaro and Abele Blanc together again; Edurne’s fighting spirit; interview with K2 survivor Wilco Van Rooijen; and another unsupported attempt for the North Pole – a solo by Tom Smitheringale. Here go the main headlines last week at ExplorersWeb.

North Pole update: Slow, but steady start progress and more skiers on the ice Canadian Ice Service provided very useful information about weather and ice conditions. All the teams are on the ice since March 3 reporting slow progress over rubble. A big lead at the start, a full moon that lifts the water in a high tide cracking thin ice, and temperatures below minus 40 were the immediate challenges of the North Pole skiers. Tom Smitheringale was dropped off at Ward Hunt Island on February 28 while Dan and Amelia crossed the big lead. Progress is slow with challenging rubble fields and pressure ridges. All teams are dispatching over Contact 5; don’t miss their live reports. Daily distances range from 1-2 nautical miles (1.852 km to 3.704 km). Total distance to the North Pole is app. 780 km. The season ends on 26 Apr with the last Russian helicopter pick-up.

China forces Edurne Pasaban to change plans: team off to Annapurna, then Shisha Edurne Pasaban has just set off from Spain, targeting a lonely Annapurna. Her original plan to climb Shisha Pangma first was thwarted by Chinese authorities who, against previous agreement, stated yesterday that no climbing permit would be issued in Tibet until April.

“Il Cavaliere” Silvio Mondinelli back to Everest north side – with Abele Blanc Recently named “Cavaliere de la República Italiana”, 14×8000er summiteer Silvio Mondinelli is back to Everest for a no-O2 north side ascent. “Gnaro” leads a team including Abele Blanc – who might have plans for Annapurna too. Silvio in turn will continue to Pakistan for a new route on Gasherbrum I north side.

Interview with K2 survivor Wilco Van Rooijen: “Gerard McDonnell is a hero” August 2, 2008, on K2 – twelve mountaineers were presumed dead after a series of catastrophic avalanches and ice falls. Then an orange dot was spotted on the mountain, off route, relentlessly moving down in the direction of Camp 3 on the Cesen route. Dutch Wilco Van Rooijen’s story is now available in English in the book “Surviving K2”, a harrowing eye-witness account of a 3-day ordeal in the Death Zone. ExWeb correspondent Amanda Padoan interviewed the author and ultimate survivor.

Peter Gostelow cycling out of the Sahara into Senegal “We are a desert people, we don’t like the sea,” a Mauritanian told Peter Gostelow, who thought the 5 km rubbish filled land from the sea to Mauritania’s capital would be prime real estate in another country. Peter has pedalled 9000 km since he left London; 2000 of that through the Sahara in Africa.

Mars Ocean Odyssey update: Day 1047 at sea Reid Stowe hasn’t touched land for 1047 days. In his short messages he says he is having fun with Tuna fish following the boat in windy weather. His onshore team reminds everybody who wants to be part of the welcoming Flotilla in NYC harbor to mark June 17 on the calendar.

Lake Baikal update: South Pole speed record holders, Kevin Vallely and Ray Zahab, set off on their speed attempt across Lake Baikal in Siberia on March 1 and covered 60 km; with sleds attached to their bodies. Vasek Sura and Pavel Blazek had endless problems with their tent and ordered a new one to save their expedition.

ExWeb interview with Ray Zahab: “Organizing student involvement is the most rewarding part” Before they left Ray spoke to ExWeb about their Baikal preparations and the Impossible to Possible (i2P) programs for schools.

Atlantic Rowing Race update: Charlie Pitcher won the Race After eight weeks at sea only one oarsman has made land and successfully completed the Atlantic Rowing Race. Charlie Pitcher made history by becoming the first solo competitor to win a multi class ocean rowing race. There are still 58 competitors at sea; five crews were inside 500 nm to go.

Teen girls sail around-the-world update: No tsunami danger Abby Sunderland assured that she is not in danger because of the tsunami warning. She is sailing 3,000 nm off the coast of Chile. Jessica Watson has passed South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas, and sailed passed her 15,000 nautical mile mark in the Indian Ocean.

* Polish Himalayas – Become a Fan

Exweb Week-In-Review is sponsored by HumanEdgeTech the world’s premier supplier of expedition technology. Our team helps you find ultra light expedition tech that works globally.

e-mail or call +1 212 966 1928

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

[Via http://himalman.wordpress.com]

Chinese teacher pricked 63 children with syringe

A kindergarten teacher in southwestern China has admitted she used an empty hypodermic needle to prick 63 of her students on the hands, feet and buttocks as punishment for bad behavior, state media reported Friday.

None of the children has tested positive for infectious diseases but their parents have demanded compensation totaling 1.8 million yuan ($265,000), more than a Chinese teacher makes in 50 years, the Xinhua News Agency said. It did not say how the abuse was discovered or whether the needle pricks became infected or caused injuries.

The teacher, Sun Qiqi, has been diagnosed with an unidentified personality order and faces charges of “endangering public security by dangerous methods,” Xinhua said. She was tried on Thursday at the Jianshui County People’s Court in Yunnan (云南) province, but no verdict has yet been announced.

Needle attacks have often sparked panic in China, where violent crime is relatively rare.

A spate of needle attacks was reported last year in China’s western region of Xinjiang following deadly ethnic violence and anti-government protests. The attacks caused minor injuries, but many reported incidents were never verified.

Police quickly arrested a number of suspects and a court sentenced seven to prison terms of up to 15 years.

bron: www.wsbt.com

[Via http://wocview.wordpress.com]

Why oh why?

The other day while I was surfing the net, I came across some of the pictures of  celebrities before and after they has plastic surgery done. Some of the pictures were, to say the least, beyound any description.

Donatella Versace Credits: http://www.popcrunch.com

This has led me to wander why people are so eager and willing to spend a fortune to get under the knives of these surgeons. Is it because of the eternal quest of beauty? Nobody in this world is perfect. Yes, there are some who are more pleasing to the eyes than others? But nobody can be qualified ‘ugly’ enough such that surgery is the only option left.

Some are willing to do it for love, it seems. The latest crazy story I heard was from a young girl of 21 from china. She wants to resemble Jessica Alba. She has even found some hospital and a team of  surgeons who are willing to perform the surgeries for free.  A way for these surge0ns to show their prouesse with the knives. All this for love.  The young girl is doing all this to win back her ex-boyfriend, who is a big Jessica Alba fan!

Jessica Alba and the chinese girl. Credits : http://www.chinahush .com

I guess that the notion of loving someone as they are has become outdated…

[Via http://prit4u.wordpress.com]

NYT: Chinese Editorials Assail a Government System

BEIJING — In a country where the press is tightly managed by the state, the identical editorials that appeared Monday in more than a dozen publications calling for reform of China’s onerous household registration system were noteworthy.

“China has suffered for a long time under the hukou system!” the editorials declared, using the Chinese term for the residency permits that tie government benefits to a person’s registered hometown. “We believe in people born to be free and people possessing the right to migrate freely!”

But a few hours later, the editorials had largely vanished from the Internet, presumably erased by a government that is wary of abandoning a 50-year-old system that many critics say has fed the surging gap between China’s urban and rural population.

[Via http://nomoreccp.wordpress.com]

Day 7: Xi'an Tour Day 2

Day 2 was just a touch less befuddling than Day 1.  At least we had some idea of what we were in for today.  That, in addition to the fact that there was no multiple-mausoleum debacle, made today seem positively logical.

On the average day, the Chinese breakfast buffet might be enough to confound the unsuspecting tourist.  However, thanks to yesterday’s constant confusion, breakfast went off relatively smoothly.

Here is how the Chinese buffet breakfast works.  You enter a room with huge circular tables all over.  There are always so many tables that you do not need to worry about having to sit with anyone else.  The table will have a large Lazy Susan on it, but you won’t use it because you don’t have enough people to merit getting big plates of food and spinning them around to each other.

The breakfast menu – Drink Options

• Coffee.  Usually.
• Tea
• Hot tang.  This is some sort of powdered orange drink that is made with hot water.  While the appearance of coffee might be sporadic, the tang is universally dependable.  The cups for the tang will always be too small.

The breakfast menu – Food Options

• Some sort of bok choy-type green.  It can be delicious, but when it sits on your plate for a minute too long the edges get cold and it loses all appeal.
• Roasted peanuts.  These can be unwieldy for the novice chopstick user.  Squeeze too hard and the tips of the sticks will cross violently, sending the little bastard spinning on the plate.  Practice makes perfect.
• Various steamed dumplings.  Some of them have delicious meats and pastes inside of them.  Others do not, and are just a starchy wad in your mouth.  A good rule of thumb: the cheaper the buffet, the less likely any tasty surprise is hidden inside. With this in mind, though, it can still be frustrating because even in the nicer places it is very hard to discern the stuffed deliciousness from the unsatisfying, pasty, bland balls of dough when they are in the serving pans.
• Fried eggs.  This is sometimes an option in the nicer establishments.  An extreme challenge with chopsticks.  This is one of those foods that makes you wonder, why haven’t they switched to forks?  I found that if you shovel the egg onto a sturdy piece of toast, you have a much more workable surface for the chopsticks.
• Bacon.  This is usually more like slabs of ham.  Specifically provided to make the western tourist feel at home.
• Awful eggs and tomatoes.  I’ve never eaten it, but I just know that it is awful.  It is scrambled eggs with huge chunks of tomatoes.  The eggs are kind of soft-scrambled so it looks like a hideous soupy mess.  I guess it doesn’t sound too bad if you don’t despise tomatoes, but there you have it.

Day 2 Tour Begins. Same van.  Different family.  Our old family is gone, but will never be forgotten.  Since we had to go to the airport directly from the tour, we were traveling on the bus with our bags.  And since every seat was filled with a person and there was no luggage space, that meant our bags were in our laps.  Our bags are big.

Xi’an City Wall.  The poor man’s Great Wall. It’s a huge ancient wall that surrounds the city of Xi’an to protect the city from an invasion of the Mongolians or Visigoths or Byzantines or someone.  We rented bikes and sped around on the top of the wall, barely seeing the red blurred streak of Chinese lanterns, barely feeling the breaks in the ancient stone beneath our tires.  I definitely didn’t feel the huge gaps between the bricks on my poorly padded bike seat.  I had a Phenomeblonde moment with a photo-shoot stranger on the wall.

Phenomeblonde

Kites on the Xi’an City Wall

Shopping Stop. Another jade museum.  More magic jade teapots.  This one was awesome though because there was also a little supermarket.  Is it bad that we had more fun in the grocery store than at the jade museum?  There were confectioners making amazing candies, including some weird spun sugar nugget with peanut inside that looks (and feels, I imagine) like a silkworm cocoon.

Lunch. Was a relief and a surprise after our tour lunch yesterday.  Open buffet.  Safe choices.  Amazing chow mien.  Phew!  I avoided the egg/tomato soup like the plague.  (You know, if you were going to imagine “plague soup,” this egg stuff is what it would look like.)

Big Goose Pagoda.  Here comes the confusion. We made a stop at the Big Goose Pagoda, which is a tall, narrow, tower-like structure.  And that is all I know about it because we never actually went there.  I was expecting to actually get to the pagoda at some point, but we spent the whole time in the park area below it.  Which was actually fine because we experienced one of the most amazing Photo-Shoot Stranger moments.  After marveling at an area the size of a football field with water fountains shooting out of the ground and soaking thirsty people standing on them, we came across a Chinese tourism staple – the Dress Up Like an Ancient and Important Chinese Person costume stand.

When we decided to go ahead and partake in this time honored tradition, we thought we knew what we were getting into: a few people laugh and point, we take some pictures, we’ll be on our way.  Well, those delusions were put to rest rather quickly – as soon as we showed the tiniest amount of interest in participating.  I was setting down my backpack to get started picking out a costume and there was already a crowd of people waiting to see what would happen.  We were right about the laughing and pointing – it started while we were putting on the robes and didn’t stop.  I had Phenomeblonde stranger shots with eight people in about ten minutes (bringing my total for the day to nine!).  And a little boy looked at me, his eyes went wide, and he sprinted away from me, horrified.  By the time we were finished taking our pictures of each other, the people working in the photo stand had taken pictures of us, downloaded them, and put them on their computer screen to draw in other customers.  Can you say movie stars?

Impressive, no?

Off to Lanzhou. We had to fly to Lanzhou, which hangs around right in the middle of the country. It’s a major rail hub, so we needed to get there to start the trip to Tibet.  Once again, Sam dealt with the details of finding the travel agent counter and convincing them that we already bought tickets.  We spent some free time in a restaurant, and Sam went off to the bathroom.  Leaving us alone.

**A waitress approaches.  Our heroes prepare themselves to order drinks.  Stephen points to a Tsingtao.  Waitress’ pencil scribbles on her pad.  Kristy points to a cafemochafrappachocochino.  Pencil scribbles on pad.  Kristy has second thoughts.

Kristy: Crap I think I want a beer.  **Points to a Tsingtao.  Pencil scribble.  Tries to wave off the coffee.

Kristy, to the waitress: I don’t want that, I want the Tsingtao.

Waitress:  **blank stare.

**Heroes look at each other, look at waitress.  Waitress looks at heroes.  Three scribbles remain on the pad.  Heroes laugh.

Stephen thinks it’s time to break out some hand signals.  Points to the coffee on the menu, crosses it out with finger.

Waitress: **blank stare.

**Stephen points to the coffee, wags finger in a “tsk tsk” motion.

Waitress: **blank stare.

**Stephen points to the coffee, swipes with both hands in a “safe at home plate” motion.

Waitress: **blank stare.

**Stephen points to the coffee, gives double thumbs down.  (On a side note, the thumbs down is a form a communication that Kristy and I have joked about as being our last resort form of communication.  Let’s se how it works here:)

Waitress: **blank stare.

In the end, I think we ended up getting the coffee and the beers.  (And several more beers, but that is beside the point.)

On the flight we received probably the most fishy smelling meal ever served on an airplane.  We could smell it through the foil container.  Definitely a step backward from the Kosher meals.

Upon landing at any airport in China you go through a security medical checkpoint where someone swipes something on the back of your neck or takes your temperature or something.  (We were nervous already about our previous flight because China had a pretty strong reaction to H1N1, not letting people in from Mexico, and we were in Cancun about a few weeks after the outbreak in Mexico City.)  Coming into Lanzhou I was nervous because just a few days earlier I had a fever and I was still coughing on the flight.  And we were just paranoid enough to think that a single cough in front of the med-curity could be our downfall.  So I pounded water to keep my throat clear and hoped for the best.  It worked out.

We took a bus from the airport to the city, where I watched the guy next Sam try not fall asleep while sitting up, doing that violent head bobbing that is so fantastically entertaining to watch.  And then for some reason the bus driver got out of the bus and start screaming at someone else.  Really, spit-in-your-face screaming.  Which turned out to be an appropriate foreshadowing of the volatile drivers in this city.  More to come.

[Via http://batteredleatherjournal.wordpress.com]