CHINA NOW

Remember a few years ago about the Chinese building the ghost city in China, to keep their economy busy? No one could afford to live in them, but they are there. Now there is evidence that they are building more of these uninhabited cities around the world.

MORE EERIE 'GHOST CITIES' POPPING UP
Shocking photographs reveal towns completely devoid of people

The Chinese have their own webbot program, and they can possibly see future events, such as the coastal flooding, or the mass relocation of populations.

WND and Jerome Corsi’s Red Alert reported just last year that Google Earth photographs of China depict city after city of vast complexes consisting of office skyscrapers, government buildings, apartment buildings, residential towers and homes, all connected by networks of empty roads – with some of the cities located in China’s truly most inhospitable locations. At the time, China had an estimated inventory of 64 million vacant homes and was building up to 20 new ghost cities a year on the country’s “vast swathes of free land.”


http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2010/12/21/ghost-town-mongolia-inside-chinas-empty-cities/
http://www.wnd.com/2012/07/bizarre-chinas-eerie-ghost-cities-arise/




(Reuters) - The China hard-landing debate is a classic tail risk story -- an unlikely scenario, but if it materializes the consequences could be catastrophic. Because of their close trade links, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong would be among the first to feel the pain should China's growth weaken dramatically. However, it would probably take a shock even bigger than what followed the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy to spread significant damage beyond Asia.

Judging from the latest HSBC survey of China's manufacturing sector, released on Monday, there is no evidence that growth is collapsing in the world's second biggest economy.Indeed, not one of the 30 economists polled by Reuters last week predicted China's 2012 growth rate would dip below 8 percent.

But that has not silenced speculation that China is heading for an economic disaster. Some economists have tried to calculate the potential fallout just in case their forecasts prove to be overly optimistic. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch economists estimated that if China's real per capita gross domestic product fell by 2 percentage points, the pain would remain contained within Asia.

"It would take a severe shock to China for the negative spillovers to be transmitted beyond Asia," they wrote in a note last week to clients.

A 4 percentage point drop would be enough to spread to parts of Europe and the Middle East, with growth suffering in countries including Russia, Kuwait and Finland. Annual global growth would probably drop by 0.5 percentage points.

read more at link http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/24/us-economy-china-idUSTRE79N31320111024

Editor's Note: This is the sixth of a series of reports from Dawn Fotopulos, an associate professor of business at The King's College, New York, about China.
We visited a middle school that is a solid two-hour drive outside a major city. The Chinese students there were so excited that friends from far away were visiting, they greeted us with pomp and celebration that would make the crowning of Queen Elizabeth look like afternoon tea. Our bus opened its doors to the sound of a 60-piece marching band playing at full volume.

An applauding, several-hundred-person honor guard lined the path to the rotunda where the music and dance demonstrations were to take place. Helium balloons, streamers, and formal red and white banners welcoming, "The Friends from the United States" were everywhere. The rotunda had tables draped with red velvet cloth, cold water (a luxury there), watermelon, and formally printed programs written in both Chinese and English so all could engage.

The Xi'an Middle School knew how to make a splash.

We could only imagine that real dignitaries from foreign nations have never been greeted like this. We were also keenly aware that our roles had just shifted from professor and students to honored guests and diplomats. We realized that for many of these students, we might well be the only Americans they would ever meet. The impression we left needed to land somewhere memorable and inspirational. I was so proud our American students understood that unspoken message.



Read more: Chinese school students hungry for anything 'American' http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=329957#ixzz1UDIrfZuy


The solar flare, a huge explosion on the sun's surface caused by magnetic activity, affected transmissions in southern China on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the CMA.

The US space administration NASA confirmed that Monday's solar flare was the largest in four years, and the event sparked predictions of heightened activity on the northern hemisphere of the sun.

"X-class flares are the most powerful of all solar events that can trigger radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms," disrupting telecommunications and electric grids, NASA said.

Solar flares are classified as A, B, C, M or X, with each class having a peak 10 times greater than the preceding one.

NASA also said the flare caused "sudden ionospheric disturbances" in the atmosphere above China and the CMA warned there was a high probability that large solar flares would appear over the next three days.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory saw a large coronal mass ejection associated with the flash that is blasting toward Earth at about 560 miles per second (900 kilometers per second).

Monday's flare erupted in the sun's southern hemisphere, which has so far shown less flare activity than the northern hemisphere.

It followed several smaller M-class and C-class flares in recent days.

A magnetic storm caused by a solar eruption in 1973 plunged six million people into darkness in Canada's eastern-central Quebec province.


China is to impose an environmental tax on heavy polluters under an ambitious cleanup strategy being finalised in Beijing, according to experts familiar with the programme.

The tax will be included alongside the world's most ambitious renewable energy scheme and fresh efforts to fight smog when the government unveils the biggest, greenest five-year plan in China's modern history next month.

After three decades of filthy growth, the measures are designed to pull the country from the environmental mire and make it a leader in the low-carbon economy. But sceptics question whether the policy will have any more success than previous failed efforts to overcome the nexus of corrupt officials and rule-dodging factory bosses.

The environmental tax – which will levy fees according to discharges of sulphur dioxide, sewage and other contaminants – is intended as a disincentive for polluting industries, many of which have flocked to China to take advantage of low costs and weak regulations. Officials and academics have been studying the options for several years, but government advisers have told the Guardian the policy is certain to be adopted.

"The environment tax is going to happen. This is evident in the proposals for the next five year plan," said Ma Zhong, director of the School of Environment and National Resources at Renmin University in Beijing. "It is likely to be levied nationwide, but there is also a possibility that it will initially be introduced in selected regions."

Jiangxi, a south-eastern province, has applied to host a pilot project. Domestic media predict the tax could come into force in 2013. "Our pollution situation is very serious. In order to deal with this, we need an environmental tax system. We will do it step by step," said Zhang Jianping, a senior economist at the Institute for International Economic Research in the National Development and Reform Commission.

Carbon dioxide, a key concern given China's status as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, may be included in the system at a later stage, though the issue is being debated. "Some want to put them together, but I think a carbon tax should be different and at a higher level and from the environmental tax," said Zhang.

The revenues would go to the central government, prompting calls for them to fund the restoration of badly damaged ecosystems or to compensate victims of industrial contamination. But the main aim of the new system is act as a disincentive to polluters.

"In the early phase, the objective of this tax is to change behaviour rather than to raise money," Ma said. The main impact is likely to be felt by the energy sector as well as emission-intensive industries, such as steel, chemicals and cement.

China has pollution charges, but they are low and poorly enforced by weak environment bureaus. Tax officials are likely to be in a stronger position, though their impact depends on how high the rates are set and whether monitoring and accountability systems are improved.

The government has also announced plans to raise and widen resource and property taxes to discourage real estate speculation and excessive exploitation of energy, water and mineral supplies. A mandatory carbon trading system – on a regional or sectoral level – is also expected to be included in the next five-year plan, which will be announced in March.

The use of financial and market-based tools represents a departure for the communist government from previous five-year plans, which have tended to rely on top-down administrative orders.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/china-green-tax-polluters?intcmp=239

Why is China constructing large, well-designed "ghost cities" that are completely devoid of people?
Google Earth photographs of China depict city after city of vast complexes consisting of office skyscrapers, government buildings, apartment buildings, residential towers and homes, all connected by networks of empty roads – with some of the cities located in China's truly most inhospitable locations.

Images of these "ghost cities" – after countless billions of dollars have been spent on the towns' design and construction – reveal nobody lives in them.
"The photographs look like giant movie sets prepared to film apocalyptic motion pictures in which some sort of a neutron war or bizarre natural disaster has eliminated people from the face of the earth while leaving the skyscrapers, sports stadiums, parks and roads perfectly intact," Corsi noted. "One of China's ghost cities is actually built in the middle of a desert in Inner Mongolia."

Business Insider ran a series of photos of these Chinese ghost cities. One showed no cars in the city except for approximately 100 parked in largely empty lots clustered around a government building, and another showed a beautiful wetland park with people added using Photoshop.

China now has an estimated inventory of 64 million vacant homes. It is building up to 20 new ghost cities a year on the country's "vast swathes of free land."

read more at http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=260645

Personal note: Are these empty cities for the Chinese people after the pole shift? Or for an alien hybrid race?


Chinese currency Chinese producers have boomed as their cheap currency helped make their products more attractive. China's currency is back in the spotlight amid reports that the US has sought to increase the number of countries pushing for a stronger yuan. During a visit to Brazil, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner discussed the manipulation of currency values, the Reuters news agency reported. He also urged Brazil to put pressure on China to allow the yuan to appreciate, the Wall Street Journal said.

China is accused of keeping its currency weak to boost trade.

The US argues a weak currency gives China an unfair advantage in global trade, keeping Chinese exports at artificially low prices.

The US hopes it will find a willing partner in Brazil because Chinese imports are also hurting its economy.

Brazilian industry leaders recently complained to the government that manufacturers were struggling to compete with a slew of cheap Chinese goods at home and globally.

'Global stage'

Mr Geithner, one of the US's most powerful economic policymakers, travelled to Brazil to meet with President Dilma Rousseff and members of the government.

Following the meetings, Mr Geithner said that the US and Brazil would work "together on the global stage to build a more balanced and more stable, stronger multilateral economic system".

According to the Wall Street Journal, which was quoting a person familiar with the discussions, the two sides did not lay out any specific plans for dealing with China's currency.

However, the paper quoted the source as saying that they may now speak with a common voice on the issue at the upcoming meeting of the G20 countries.

Reuters said that Mr Geithner raised the question of China's currency during a meeting with Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

According to the news agency, a government source said that when Mr Geithner brought up the subject of the yuan, he was told that Brazil "was against manipulating exchange rates".
Cheap Steel

The US has already started taking steps against Chinese products it sees as damaging its domestic producers.

On Monday, a US trade panel approved duties on steel drill pipes from China.

The US International Trade Commission said there was evidence US companies were being harmed by low-priced imports of the pipes, used in oil drilling.

The tariffs are the latest in a number of measures levied against Chinese companies in the last few years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12389079

From other news sites

CNN U.S. seeks Brazil's support on yuan 4 hrs ago

China attracted a record level of inward investment in 2010, sharply recovering from the previous year.

The country attracted $106bn of foreign direct investment - which excludes investments in financial instruments such as shares - up 17.4% from 2009, according to the Ministry of Commerce. That was enough to more than reverse the 2.3% fall seen during the previous year caused by the global recession. Over a fifth of the money went into China's property sector.The Chinese authorities have been trying - with limited success - to head off a perceived bubble in property prices. Rural interior "The improvement in the investment environment has become a new driving force of China's [foreign direct investment]," said Yao Jian, a ministry spokesman. Over half of the investment came from Hong Kong, while nearby countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and Korea were also major sources of capital.

read more at link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12213356

A missed sales target caps a tough year for shares of BYD, the Chinese electric car company backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

BYD tells Bloomberg that it will sell between 520,000 and 550,000 cars this year. That's below the already-reduced target of 600,000. In August, BYD cut that goal by 200,000 vehicles.

The Chinese company has started a trial program with the Los Angeles Housing Authority for an electric car fleet and it still expects to sell its K9 electric bus in the U.S. in 2011. Sales in the U.S., however, of the E6 electric car are now planned for 2012. That's two years behind schedule.

BYD expects a "sizable profit" from electric vehicles in about five years, but its third quarter profits fell 99 percent after weak sales this summer.

At today's close of HK$40.50, the Hong Kong listed stock has lost half its value since early April, when it hit its 2010 high just above HK$80.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40840866




His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 68-years-old and in failing health, is making a tour of the United States in a final push to increase popular and political support for his bid to return to Tibet. With its new leadership solidifying power in Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party appears more ready than ever to negotiate with the God-King, and hopefully secure an agreement that undermines hothead young Tibetans who think that the Palestinians' tactics are more appropriate for international diplomacy than Gandhi's.

continued at link: http://www.chinanowmag.com/tibetstory.htm

http://www.chinanowmag.com/chinanow.htm

Hong Kong Surprise
by Frank Ching

On July 1, a demonstration by well over half a million people in Hong Kong caught everyone—including its organizers—by surprise. They expected no more than 100,000 protesters, at most. A national-security bill, Article 23, has been the focus of public attention for more than a year. Critics consider many of its provisions draconian, including a clause that permits police searches of homes without a warrant. While the catalyst for the outpouring was opposition to the Article 23 legislation, the rally tapped into deep-seated unhappiness within the Hong Kong community. Six years after its handover by Britain to China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) has seen a great decline in its international status. The Chinese government may want it to be seen as Asia’s World City, but its 6.8 million people know that their home is no longer considered by the rest of the world as the Pearl of the Orient.

What was remarkable was that so many people were willing to stand and wait in the summer heat for hours to take part in the march. Even more remarkably, there was no violence. Not a single window was broken and no one was arrested. There are few places in the world where such a large crowd could stage such a peaceful, law-abiding rally. Two other demonstrations, also big but not on the same scale, have since been held. One was to protest the national-security bill, the other was a call for greater democracy.


http://www.chinanowmag.com/politics/politics.htm


Gee, sounds just like the US. "including a clause that permits police searches of homes without a warrant."

Business
Can India Overtake China?
by Huang Yasheng & Tarun Khanna

Walk into any Wal-Mart and you will not be surprised to see the shelves sagging with Chinese-made goods—everything from shoes and garments to toys and electronics. But the ubiquitous “Made in China” label obscures an important point: Few of these products are made by indigenous Chinese companies. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a single homegrown Chinese firm that operates on a global scale and markets its own products abroad.

That is because China’s export-led manufacturing boom is largely a creation of foreign direct investment (FDI), which effectively serves as a substitute for domestic entrepreneurship. During the last 20 years, the Chinese economy has taken off, but few local firms have followed, leaving the country’s private sector with no world-class companies to rival the big multinationals.

India has not attracted anywhere near the amount of FDI that China has. In part, this disparity reflects the confidence international investors have in China’s prospects and their skepticism about India’s commitment to free-market reforms. But the FDI gap is also a tale of two diasporas. China has a large and wealthy diaspora that has long been eager to help the motherland, and its money has been warmly received. By contrast, the Indian diaspora was, at least until recently, resented for its success and much less willing to invest back home. New Delhi took a dim view of Indians who had gone abroad, and of foreign investment generally, and instead provided a more nurturing environment for domestic entrepreneurs.

In the process, India has managed to spawn a number of companies that now compete internationally with the best that Europe and the United States have to offer. Moreover, many of these firms are in the most cutting-edge, knowledge-based industries-software giants Infosys and Wipro and pharmaceutical and biotechnology powerhouses Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy’s Labs, to name just a few. Last year, the Forbes 200, an annual ranking of the world’s best small companies, included 13 Indian firms but just four from mainland China.

continued at link: http://www.chinanowmag.com/business/business.htm

Finance - Tuesday December 14, 2010
To Revalue or Not to Revalue, That is the Question Facing China’s Leaders
by Satya J. Gabriel

Hysterical pronouncements about China have been issuing from Western media headlines: “China in World Spotlight Over Currency Controversy.” “Fed Is in a Dangerous Game with China.” “Millions of U.S. Job Losses Blamed on China’s Refusal to Revalue Its Currency.”

Recently four prominent senators called on U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow to investigate China’s manipulation of its currency markets to keep the yuan (also known as renminbi—“people’s currency” or RMB) pegged at ¥8.28 to the dollar.

American officials and a wide range of American economists argue that the yuan is significantly undervalued. This market-distorting intervention subsidizes Chinese trade, makes Chinese exports artificially cheap, and causes huge job losses in the U.S., they maintain. The result is an alarming trade deficit with the PRC ($110 billion in 2002 and rising this year), and the concomitant huge buildup by China’s central bank of foreign-currency reserves ($350 billion) and U.S. government bonds ($122 billion). China’s trade imbalance with the U.S. has resulted in Beijing becoming one of Washington’s biggest creditors, and this provides the PRC government significant leverage over its American counterparts.

This is why the trade imbalance is a problem. Indeed, Japan and Germany have had a similar relationship with the United States, using a trade imbalance as the basis for accumulating U.S. government bonds and then using their bond holdings as a lever to “encourage” the U.S. government to take policy stands that were more to their liking. Japan’s central bank still holds more U.S. government bonds than any other non-U.S. institution, and the total value of Japanese institutional holdings of U.S. government bonds is more than three and a half times that of China, indicating a much longer-term drain of dollars from the U.S. to Japan than anything yet experienced between the U.S. and China. If for some reason the Japanese central bank decides it does not want U.S. government bonds anymore and dumps its holdings onto the market, the impact on bond prices (and interest rates) would be quick and devastating to the U.S. economy. There is no reason to assume that Japanese officials would do such a thing. After all, Japan is still an ally of the United States. China, on the other hand, is not. Indeed, China is perceived in Washington as the only real potential rival to U.S. global hegemony.

This being the case, it is not difficult to understand why it is of concern to American policy makers that China is becoming such a huge creditor nation. But there are other reasons for U.S. government officials—especially Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Snow—to complain about Chinese government economic policies. The U.S. economy continues to grow at a sluggish pace, at best, and jobs continue to disappear. Indeed, it is only because a recession is defined by output declines, rather than employment declines, that the U.S. economy is officially in recovery. It certainly does not feel like much of a recovery to most “blue collar” workers.

continued at link: http://www.chinanowmag.com/finance/finance.htm

http://www.sourcewadio.com/program_detail.php?rid=24&cid=4

Hi All

Exopolitics takes its place on the Hong Kong WADIO [W= Internet]with the launch of MJ 13 hosted by Cheuk Fei and Co Hosted by Neil G.

Paola Harris told Hong Kong listeners about the 1945 UFO crash that she investigated and the response has been amazing.

The link above [podcast] opens in Cantonese at first then continues in English. I think Cheuk Fei handled himself extremely well; considering his native language is Cantonese.

To Conquer Wind Power, China Writes the Rules

TIANJIN, China — Judging by the din at its factory here one recent day, the Spanish company Gamesa may seem to be a thriving player in the Chinese wind energy industry it helped create. But Gamesa has learned the hard way, as other foreign manufacturers have, that competing for China’s lucrative business means playing by strict house rules that are often stacked in Beijing’s favor. Nearly all the components that Gamesa assembles into million-dollar turbines here, for example, are made by local suppliers — companies Gamesa trained to meet onerous local content requirements. And these same suppliers undermine Gamesa by selling parts to its Chinese competitors — wind turbine makers that barely existed in 2005, when Gamesa controlled more than a third of the Chinese market.

But in the five years since, the upstarts have grabbed more than 85 percent of the wind turbine market, aided by low-interest loans and cheap land from the government, as well as preferential contracts from the state-owned power companies that are the main buyers of the equipment. Gamesa’s market share now is only 3 percent.

With their government-bestowed blessings, Chinese companies have flourished and now control almost half of the $45 billion global market for wind turbines. The biggest of those players are now taking aim at foreign markets, particularly the United States, where General Electric has long been the leader.

continued at link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/business/global/15chinawind.html?src=me&ref=business

Girl of four can see for the first time thanks to stem cell treatment in China



As children across the world look forward to opening their presents, young Izabelle Evans has already received a precious gift – her sight.

Izabelle, four, had been blind since birth but she can now see thanks to ground-breaking stem cell treatment in China.

Parents James Evans and Hollie McHugh say they will never forget the way they felt when their daughter saw them for the first time and said “Mummy and Daddy”.

Izabelle can now see things 3ft away after the treatment that cost the family £50,000.

Hollie, 24, said: “The results were better than we could ever have dreamed of.

“If you walk past she can see you and say ‘hiya’. It is amazing because doctors here said she couldn’t see anything at all before we went.”

Hollie added: “Because she hasn’t used her eyes before we have to remind her to use them.

“She went back to school and they have seen a difference too.

“She picks things up and holds them close to her face.

“A couple of days after we got back I put the Christmas tree up and she reached out to grab for the lights. Last year she wasn’t even aware we had a Christmas tree. It’s just incredible. I can’t wait for her to open her presents and experience it all for herself.”

Izabelle was born with septo-optic dysplasia – a condition that affects five in one million babies.

It means she only has a few hundred optic nerves sending information to her brain. A person needs millions to be able to see.


continued at link.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/12/15/girl-of-four-can-see-for-the-first-time-thanks-to-stem-cell-treatment-115875-22784425/#ixzz18BiUKnVv

Wikileaks: China set to ditch North Korean ally
By Steve Myall 30/11/2010

China regards ally North Korea as a "spoilt child" and is ready to abandon the regime.

The latest dispatches on WikiLeaks show Beijing is ready to accept Korean reunification and is privately distancing itself from dictator Kim Jong-il.

News of the Chinese shift comes at a crucial time after the North's bombardment of a South Korean island last week.

China has refused to condemn the North Korean action.

But yesterday Beijing appeared to bow to US pressure to bring about a diplomatic solution, calling for "emergency consultations" and inviting a North Korean official to Beijing.

Advertisement - article continues below »

Tensions between North Korea and its only ally were also exposed by China's vice-foreign minister, He Yafei, in a meeting in April 2009 with a US embassy official after North Korea blasted a rocket over Japan.

Yafei told the charge d'affaires at the Beijing embassy that "North Korea wanted to engage directly with the United States and was therefore acting like a spoiled child in order to get the attention of the adult".

And in February this year, South Korea's then vice-foreign minister Chun Yung-woo, told US ambassador Kathleen Stephens that younger generation Chinese leaders no longer regarded North Korea as a useful or reliable ally.

The leaked documents say: "Chun dismissed the prospect of a possible Chinese military intervention in the event of a North Korean collapse, noting that China's strategic economic interests now lie with the United States, Japan and South Korea - not North Korea."

In addition a Chinese ambassador warned that North Korean nuclear activity was "a threat to the whole world's security".

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology/2010/11/30/wikileaks-china-set-to-ditch-north-korean-ally-115875-22751123/

China is building 20 new cities a year. Is this their speculative housing bubble? Or, with 64 million unoccupied houses in these 'ghost cities', is something else going on here?


There are no cars in Ordos, except for a few dozen parked at the glamorous government center



Like Ordos, Zhengzhou New District has glamorous public buildings



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-chinese-ghost-cities-2010-12?slop=1#slideshow-start

China is fucked just like the US. Why worry about China when there is shit all over your own doorstep?

Floyd wrote:China is fucked just like the US. Why worry about China when there is shit all over your own doorstep?

There is a time Floyd where you realize the whole of Earth is our doorstep.

Love from me
mudra

mudra wrote:

Floyd wrote:China is fucked just like the US. Why worry about China when there is shit all over your own doorstep?

There is a time Floyd where you realize the whole of Earth is our doorstep.

Love from me
mudra

True Mudra
But its all part of the control game, Distraction. Let the Chinese worry about for China for now. They will have their own problems to deal with, just like the Americans and the Europeans will. Then we will see about doorsteps.

Actually Floyd we have a number of countries who check in here everyday. I was working around to featuring each country that spends time at Mists on a regular basis so we can continue to learn about each other. As mudra said, the whole earth is our doorstep. As they are curious about us, I'm curious about them and have had friends who have been there saying it really is worthwhile to go. As Hawaii is almost at the half way point between China and the US mainland learning about the neighbors is a good thing.

Carol wrote:Actually Floyd we have a number of countries who check in here everyday. I was working around to featuring each country that spends time at Mists on a regular basis so we can continue to learn about each other. As mudra said, the whole earth is our doorstep. As they are curious about us, I'm curious about them and have had friends who have been there saying it really is worthwhile to go. As Hawaii is almost at the half way point between China and the US mainland learning about the neighbors is a good thing.

Carol..you know im harsh.....im not that way for a laugh..though I do understand you.
My beef is the media.....It will infiltrate your mind and then destroy it willfully. It will remove you from your inner spirit and provide food for astral morons. China, Iran..its always something else isnt it? Unemployment is near 20% in the states realistically and its gone up in UK officially yesterday. The Euro is fucked and Whats in the news,,Wiki fruckingpedia..leaked accidently on purpose..and a guy from England who blew himself to death in Stolkholm. Dont get me wrong..China is the cradle of civillization. I love chinese food..veggie of course..the one world love thy neighbour stuff is not going to work. They are shafting us royally...or at least trying to


I do indeed care about the planet on which I live and the souls with which I share it. However..I dont suffer fools gladly. especially when they are trying to shaft me up the arse.
Love and peace always.

And who do you suppose gave China the shaft to do us in? George Bush Sr. followed by baby Bush. China will do what China does just as each country will do what they do. In the end it is still one humanity and one earth. These are indeed dark days in many ways because the spiritual energy of the world is at an ebb (Kali Yuga). Soon all will be flooded with the galactic wave of radient light and all will be transformed. Hopefully.

China Steps Up Pressure on Koreas Dec 22, 2010

China stepped up pressure on North and South Korea Saturday to exercise self-restraint to ease what it says are "extremely precarious" tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

China summoned ambassadors from the two countries to voice its concerns about South Korean plans for live-fire artillery drills from an island the North shelled last month, and the North's vow to strike back even harder than it did last month if the South carries out the exercises.

South Korea delayed the drills on Yeonpyeong Island on Saturday because of bad weather, but a military official said it still expects to stage them on Monday or Tuesday. He said South Korea has a "right to conduct" its military drills.

China, North Korea's chief ally, said it was "firmly and unambiguously opposed" to any actions that would escalate tensions in the region. China's state news agency Xinhua quoted Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun as saying that "bloodshed and conflicts" would lead to a "national tragedy of fratricide" between the two Koreas.

North Korea has accused the United States of creating a "human shield" for the South Korean exercises by sending 20 U.S. soldiers to assist in the drills. North Korea said the Korean Peninsula will "explode" if the training drills are carried out.

The United States says that South Korea has a right to conduct the drill. Russia has voiced "extreme concern" over the exercises and called for a Saturday afternoon meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council to discuss the situation.

continued at link: http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/20/2010122000252.html

China and Russia to Hold Joint Naval Exercises
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/21/2010122101002.html

China extends help to tackle euro crisis
China has promised to take further “concerted action” to support European financial stabilisation, including continuing to buy the bonds of countries at the centre of the sovereign debt crisis, according to senior European officials. Beijing has emerged as one of the more enthusiastic backers of distressed European sovereign debt in recent months.

continued at link:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4a1a7768-0cfa-11e0-ace7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz18nvAtJgJ

New cars in Beijing cut by two-thirds to battle traffic
Beijing traffic 23 Dec 2010 Beijing traffic often reaches a standstill as a generation of cyclists has taken to cars. New rules have taken effect in China that restrict car purchases in an effort to combat serious traffic problems in the capital, Beijing. City authorities will allow only 240,000 vehicles to be registered for 2011 - one-third of this year's total.

Beijing officials are trying to balance the desire of a growing middle class to have the convenience and status of car ownership, with a huge congestion problem.

more at link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12072845

Trafic in China

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebXTjNS4trQ


And more here

https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=QESfEd180rQ



Love Always
mudra

The return of duck to Hong Kong after a year-long 6,000km (3,700-mile) journey to the Arctic has yielded new information about bird migration.

The female, fitted with a tracking device, was one of about 20 monitored by the WWF conservation group.

Using Google Earth, the WWF identified the duck's feeding areas and route back to Hong Kong's Mai Po Nature Reserve.

Another duck flew at the record-breaking speed of 114km/h (70mph), the data revealed.

The Mai Po Nature Reserve's manager, Bena Smith, said the duck that returned often travelled at 50km/h (31mph).

continued at link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12074558

23 December 2010
China defends Africa economic and trade role
By Shirong Chen BBC China Editor
The growing Chinese presence on the African continent has attracted a mixed reaction

China has defended its economic and trade relations with African nations.

In the first policy paper on the subject, Beijing said China-Africa co-operation helped Africa to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals, and boosted common prosperity and progress.

China is now Africa's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade grew more than 43% to nearly $115bn (£74bn) in 2010.

But there has been strong criticism of China's resource grab in Africa and its "no strings" approach.

Chinese direct investment in Africa has jumped from less than $0.5bn in 2003 to more than $9bn in 2009.

China needs more natural resources such as oil, gas, and minerals for its rapidly growing economy, while Africa needs more investment in basic infrastructure to develop its potential.

China plans to expand the relationship to "a larger scale, broader scope and higher level", according to the policy paper released by the state information office.

continued at link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12069624
9 December 2010

Wikileaks: US monitors 'aggressive' China in Africa
Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping in South Africa. 18 Nov 2010 The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation recently celebrated its 10th anniversary

The US is closely monitoring China's expanding role in Africa, the latest secret US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveal.

A cable from February quotes a senior US official in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, describing China as "aggressive and pernicious".

US diplomatic cables from Africa also reveal claims by oil giant Shell that it infiltrated Nigerian ministries.

Wikileaks has so far released more than 1,100 of 251,000 secret US cables.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the latest documents provide a fascinating insight into Washington's rivalry with Beijing in Africa.

China has massively expanded its economic ties to countries across Africa in recent years, sparking criticism from human rights groups, who accuse Beijing of helping some of Africa's worst governments stay in power.

China adopts a policy of not interfering in domestic politics, while Western countries sometimes make aid conditional on "good governance".

The cable, published by the Guardian newspaper, quotes Johnnie Carson, US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, who had been meeting oil company representatives in Lagos.

He describes China as "a very aggressive and pernicious economic competitor with no morals".

“Start Quote

The Chinese are dealing with the Mugabe's and Bashir's of the world, which is a contrarian political model”

End Quote Johnnie Carson US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs

"China is not in Africa for altruistic reasons," he says. "China is in Africa primarily for China."

He adds: "A secondary reason for China's presence is to secure votes in the United Nations from African countries."

He argues that China is not seen in Washington as a military or security threat at the moment. But he says there are, what he calls "tripwires" in Africa for the US when it comes to China.

"Have they signed military base agreements? Are they training armies? Have they developed intelligence operations? Once these areas start developing then the US will start worrying," he says.

"The United States will continue to push democracy and capitalism while Chinese authoritarian capitalism is politically challenging. The Chinese are dealing with the [Zimbabwean president] Mugabe's and [Sudanese president] Bashir's of the world, which is a contrarian political model."

'Bribes'

Another US cable talks about China's military and intelligence support for the government of Kenya.

A Chinese enterprise is said to have won a contract to supply telephone monitoring equipment to Kenya after bribes were paid while on a trip to China.

The name of the individual concerned has been edited out.

Our diplomatic correspondent says the cable provides a case study of China's role in Africa.

Its influence in Kenya is said to have grown rapidly, with Chinese involvement in a host of infrastructure projects as well as collaboration with Kenya's National Security and Intelligence Service.

'Secondments'

The secret cables also say that Shell's top executive in Nigeria at the time, Ann Pickard, told US diplomats that the oil company had good access to government information.

A cable dated 20 October 2009 outlines a conversation Ms Pickard had with the then US ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Renee Sanders.

continued at link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11955516

26 December 2010 Last updated at 00:58 ET
S Korea and China defence chiefs to meet amid tension
South Korean Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin Kim Kwan-jin was appointed South Korea's defence minister earlier this month

South Korean and Chinese defence ministers are to meet in Beijing in February amid rising tension on the Korean peninsula, Seoul has said.

It provided no details of the talks, but the two sides are expected to discuss what Seoul describes as North Korea's hostile acts in recent months.

These include the deadly shelling of a South Korean border island.

China, the North's only major ally, is facing mounting pressure to encourage Pyongyang to show more restraint.

TV boast

On Sunday, defence officials said that South Korea's Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie were organising talks in the Chinese capital in February, but added that details of the meeting agenda would be discussed later.

However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a defence ministry official in Seoul as saying the two ministers would "discuss regional security issues like the North's attack on the Cheonan warship and bombing on Yeonpyeong island".

continued at link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12079866

Rare insight into secretive China-N Korea ties
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11876831

China's Wen: confident on inflation after rate rise

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's government will be able to keep inflation in check, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, a day after the central bank raised interest rates, and he pledged to speed up efforts to rein in house price surges.

Steps taken in the past month, including administrative controls to curb speculation and monetary tightening, had started to produce results, Wen said.

The People's Bank of China raised interest rates on Christmas Day for a second time in just over two months as Beijing strengthened its battle against stubbornly high inflation.

Analysts said the latest rise showed that measures such as increasing banks' required reserve requirements to rein in liquidity were not enough on their own, and that the Chinese authorities were determined to keep inflation under control.

"We have raised reserve requirement ratio for six consecutive times and increased interest rates twice to absorb excess liquidity in the market to keep it at a reasonable level to support economic development," Wen said in a state radio broadcast a day after the rate rise.

"I believe we can keep prices at a reasonable level through our efforts. As a major leader of the government, I have the responsibility and I have the confidence, too," he said in remarks published on www.cnr.cn.

The rate rise came after Beijing said earlier in December it was switching to a "prudent" monetary policy, from its earlier "moderately loose" stance.

"The rate rise shows China is quickening its pace to normalize monetary policies," said Ba Shusong, a senior economist with the Development Research Center, under the State Council, the country's cabinet.

"The front-loaded tightening, before the peak of consumer inflation in the first half of 2011, is helpful to curb inflationary expectations," Ba was quoted as saying on the financial website www.caing.com.

link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BP07G20101226


Q+A: How will markets respond to China's rate rise?
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG | Sun Dec 26, 2010 2:48am EST

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's central bank raised interest rates on Christmas Day, moving sooner than many analysts and market participants had expected to ramp up its campaign to combat inflation. Many observers had thought the People's Bank of China (PBOC) might hold off in raising rates for a second time since mid-October until at least the new year, especially after Chinese money market rates spiked last week, meaning many investors will have been taken off guard by the latest step.

link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BP08T20101226?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r1:c0.175269:b40552514:z0