Nobel

So, a Chinese man has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This sort of thing makes news for about two weeks then goes completely away, but it has made the leaders of China very mad. They claim that this man, who is currently in jail, does not deserve this award. The man, according to the Chinese leaders, is a criminal. The Nobel committee is just trying to start trouble in China - that's what the Chinese leaders have said. If you will recall, China executed a man for possession of drugs not too long ago, even in the face of protests from all corners of the globe, especially England. They do not tolerate lawbreakers. Think about that.

The Final Frontier

China launched a moon probe today. It will explore stuff which the U.S. and Russia have already explored. What is the point? This topless woman wants to know! If space is to be explored, why mimic the same competitive spirit and adversarial nature that people on Earth have experienced for thousands of years already? What's the use of exploring space and setting up colonies and all the rest if at the end, nothing but strife and poverty will result? Anyone know? We are simply exporting misery out to space. Really.

China again

From a story on Reuters: "BEIJING – China told the United States not to interfere in a regional dispute over claims to the South China Sea, saying it would only complicate the matter.  China has been increasingly strident in asserting its territorial claims, especially maritime ones. "We express great concern about any possible South China Sea announcement made by the United States and the ASEAN countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing. ASEAN is the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "We resolutely oppose any country which has no connection to the South China Sea getting involved in the dispute, and we oppose the internationalization, multilateralization or expansion of the issue. It cannot solve the problem, but make it more complicated," she said.

Eating dogs and cats

I read in a news story that China is about to outlaw the eating of dog and cat meat. Why? Why are they doing this? Chinese people have been eating dog and cat meat for generations. Now, all of a sudden, it will be against the law and people who eat it will be fined. Animal lovers say it is cruelty against cats and dogs to eat their meat. What about steak and fish? This is terribly confusing. Will the cat and dog population in China suddenly explode? This topless woman probably doesn't care either way.

Google and China

It has come out that Google intends to pull out of China because the government in China has a habit of eavesdropping on emails and other communications. It's their way of keeping the country safe. The Chinese market, as everyone over the age of 3 knows, is huge. Google will therefore not pull out. Hell might freeze over if that happens. This topless woman might cover up if that happens. The Pope might enter the Boston Marathon if that happens. Please.

Chile and Haiti

Here, we have a great opportunity to learn. We have Haiti on the one hand and we have Chile. Chile has worked its way out of poverty. Study everything it has done right. Haiti is still poor. Very, very poor. Study everything Haiti has done and DO NOT DO AS THEY HAVE DONE. It is that simple. Be honest. Use your imagination. Stay healthy. Get educated. Use your talent for something positive. Work very hard. Save money. Develop good relationships with your neighbors. Fight crime. Be constructive. Okay, you can go now. So can this topless woman. I think she was going to leave anyway.

Money exchange

OK. Here we go again. It seems like the brother of the guy who is about to be executed for importing illegal drugs into China is appealing for mercy. He sent a letter to the Chinese Ambassador begging for mercy for his brother. That, of course, is naive. He knows nothing about diplomacy and is getting bad advice from people who are anti-capital punishment. If he wants his brother released, he should think about sending this topless woman with a briefcase full of money (perhaps $10-20 million pounds sterling) to the Chinese embassy in London as a goodwill or humanitarian gesture. Diplomacy without money or guns is worthless. To think otherwise is simply naive.

Death penalty

A man named Akmal Shaikh is scheduled to be executed on or about December 29, 2009. He smuggled 9 pounds of heroin into China and was caught. He was sentenced to death back in October of 2008. The case has gone all the way up the chain in the Chinese justice system. The British Prime Minister has personally asked the Chinese government to show clemency. He was ignored. If he sends this topless woman with a pile of cash, they might listen, no?

Indebted to China

Someone said that China is now the U.S.'s unofficial banker. They hold more U.S. Treasury bills than any other country. People who work at think tanks must be worried about this, though they are not saying anything - at least not in public. What would happen if the Chinese decided to cash in their Tbills? It has been said that when you make a bank your partner, the bank cannot afford to see you go bankrupt. They will therefore not cash all their bills at once. Perhaps they will opt for 100 billion at a time? The Chinese also converted all of their bills to one-year notes - from thirty year notes. I would not pretend to know why they did that. This topless woman does not know either.

Justice

From an internet news story: “BEIJING – China executed two businessmen for defrauding hundreds of investors out of more than $127 million, calling the scam a serious blow to social stability, state media said Thursday. China puts to death more people than any other country, although last month a high official for the Supreme People's Court, which reviews every death sentence, said the punishment should be used more sparingly. Though usually reserved for violent crimes, death sentences are also applied for nonviolent offenses that involve large sums of money or are seen to threaten social order.” I only have one question: If these men knew they could be executed for stealing large sums of money, why did they persist? And why didn’t they just get out of China and go hide somewhere? And, if they were so good at persuading people to let go of their money, why didn’t they come work in the U.S.? Here, you get about five years for a little crime like that. And the prison food is terrific, along with the minimum security accommodations. Our model has no opinion about this - she is just enjoying her tanning time. Please.

China again

It's all over the news - China has blocked several internet services - YouTube and Twitter and several others. Not Blogger. Not that I know of. The disconnection does not bother me - I'm not there. What I want to know is, how do they do it? Do they disconnect the servers? I have no clue. I guess officials who must maintain control must first control communication between and among people, especially dangerous people. It's like dispersing a bunch of ants. It really doesn't take much. Birds of a feather flock together. Those who are in charge and those who are controlled (or manipulated.) People are like cattle - very easy to herd. Good luck.

Saving Money

From a Yahoo! News story: “BEIJING – China's central bank said Saturday that its foreign exchange reserves rose 16 percent year-on-year to $1.9537 trillion by the end of March. China's reserves, already the world's largest, increased by $7.7 billion in the first quarter. In March, the reserves increased by $41.7 billion, it said, $6.7 billion more than the same period last year. Analysts believe China holds up to 70 percent of its foreign reserves in U.S. dollar-denominated assets, including Treasury securities. Beijing has taken steps to hold down the price of exports by cutting taxes on exporters and stopping the rise of China's tightly controlled currency, the yuan, against the U.S. dollar. Economists say both steps could strain relations with trading partners if China is seen to be competing unfairly.” It’s always easy to say that your competitor is unfair when he’s way ahead of you. The Chinese are good savers and prudent spenders. If they wanted to, they could ruin the U.S. by simply cashing in their poker chips.

China again

From a Yahoo! News story: “BEIJING – China is calling for a new global currency to replace the dominant dollar, showing a growing assertiveness on revamping the world economy ahead of next week's London summit on the financial crisis. The surprise proposal by Beijing's central bank governor reflects unease about its vast holdings of U.S. government bonds and adds to Chinese pressure to overhaul a global financial system dominated by the dollar and Western governments. The world economic crisis shows the "inherent vulnerabilities and systemic risks in the existing international monetary system," Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan said in an essay released Monday by the bank. He recommended creating a currency made up a basket of global currencies and controlled by the International Monetary Fund and said it would help "to achieve the objective of safeguarding global economic and financial stability." Zhou did not mention the dollar by name. But in an unusual step, the essay was published in both Chinese and English, making clear it was meant for a foreign audience.” I told you so.

The boss

From a Yahoo! News story: “BEIJING – China's premier didn't say it in so many words, but the implied warning to Washington was blunt: Don't devalue the dollar through reckless spending. Premier Wen Jiabao's message is unlikely to be misunderstood at the White House. It is counting on Beijing to help pay for its stimulus package by buying U.S. bonds. China already is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, with an estimated $1 trillion in U.S. government debt. A weaker dollar would erode the value of those assets. "Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried," Wen said at a news conference Friday after the closing of China's annual legislative session. "I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets." I told you so.

China

There's this story on the net about a statement by the new Secretary of the Treasury having to do with China's manipulation of its currency so that their exports have an unfair advantage over domestic products. It's been like that for quite some time. However, this is not a good time to be making statements like that. The old rule still holds true: never negotiate from a position of weakness. "The statement, which is certain to anger the Chinese government, comes at a particularly sensitive time, with economies in both the United States and China weakening and tensions already rising around the globe over trade. The United States, moreover, is increasingly dependent on China to finance its ballooning deficit." So said the New York Times. It will get interesting, to say the least.

Finance for adults

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - remember those names. Their collective name is now mud since a rumor began to spread earlier today about Federal regulators taking them over. That move will cost common shareholders and you and me dearly. Maybe not me. Maybe my kids. If the rumors are true, the Federal budget will have to support billions of dollars in bad loans which have up to now been backed by the two giant semi-public entities. This is what happens when one is careless with someone else's money. What are the choices? There aren't any. A collapse of either or both of these giant underwriters would cause panic and start an unstoppable cascade of shareholders bailing out - like a run on a bank. Credit would get super tight. If money is not kept moving, the entire economy will grind to a halt. Perhaps we're hanging by a thread but don't yet know it. I wonder if the Chinese were wanting to cash in their chips? Or the rich Arabian sheiks? The Federal action, otherwise, appears premature. Good luck to us all.

Olympics

I cannot make the Timid Reporter famous all by myself. A little help from my eight readers would be appreciated. If enough people start reading his interviews, he might be able to afford an agent. I certainly hope so. It is feasible, especially now that the Olympics are over. Please.

Forget it

You and everyone else knows about the murder at the Olympics. A defenseless man from Minneapolis - Todd Bachman - and his wife were attacked by a deranged lunatic at a tourist site near the Olympic site. It seems like a completely random tragedy. People everywhere are asking why them? Why do innocent, defenseless children suffer every day? Why does the evil so many times gain the upper hand against the good? Surely God knew these people were about to be attacked at least a few seconds before it happened. Most likely He knew days in advance and perhaps even years. Why did He allow it then? That, my friends, is the ultimate question. And the honest answer is: nobody knows. We will have to wait for an answer. All we know is we - the entire human race - are subject to all sorts of bad things. The only thing we can do is try to cope. Remember we are also subject to a lot of good things. On that topic, we seldom ask, why us? Why are we the beneficiaries of so much good? Nobody really knows.

13 is unlucky

I just realized that my last post of today left me at number 13 and I won't stand for that. So... I must write this: Sorry I'm so late with the blogging. People talk about the celebrated six degrees of separation - I will assume you know what that means. It came true today. I was having lunch with a friend this afternoon when all of a sudden the conversation turned to parents - namely his. I inquired about them and was surprised to learn they are in China - as we speak. Yes, they are there for the Olympics. In this case, there are only two degrees of separation but I bet.... If you ask around, I bet you have a friend who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who is at the Olympics. Try it and see. (no picture this time)