Stepbrow
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Posts posted by Stepbrow
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There have been so many earthquakes lately it makes you wonder what is going on. Let us pray that the loss of life is few, and that the many injured recover quickly.
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I agree with shenzhen, and weiaijiayou. Attending the ACH is not that big of a deal. After all you will be there for the interview date. You cannot resolve red flags at the ACH anyway. Before a beneficiary has had an interview you can only ask general questions, not specific questions about your case. If you try to get into specifics, you may inadvertently raise red flags that you are trying to avoid. Just prepare you wife as best you can for her interview. If she doesn't get a pink, then you will go through the steps to resolve any issues.
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When my ex-wife and I were going through the process, she went to the notarial office and they produced this affidavit which she and her ex-husband signed. It included both the Chinese and the English translation, and was notarized in the white book format.
"I,the undersigned, (father's name) and (mother's name) registered for our divorce in Shen Yang city, Liaoning Province on (date) ,one legitimate daughter (daughter's name) (female,born on XX-XX-XXXX) belongs to her mother to foster. now (mother's name) intends to go to the USA.I state hereby that I agree my daughter (daughter's name) to live with her mother (mother's name) in USA."
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The CIS Ombudsman has published an update on the USCIS call center. The number is 1-800-375-5283. The purpose of the update is to inform the caller about what info can be accessed by either tier 1 or tier 2 calls. Here is the link: http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/gc_1221837986181.shtm
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The CCP is going to have to do something about housing prices damn fast! The average cost of a home in Beijing rose by 47%, Shanghai 52%, Shenzhen 51%, Guangzhou 51%, Chengdu 48% in the past year. Curbing building projects will have a huge negative effect. The only answer is to force/give incentives to developers to build more, more, more!
The "law" states that 70% of all new homes must be under 90 Sq/meters so that "average" Chinese family can afford one, but that is not happening around here. Most new home developments are over 110 sq/meters and some entire residential developments have their smallest homes starting at 185 sq/meters and up. I saw a development of 4,000 homes in Wenjiang that the smallest home was 285 sq meters at a very fair price of only 11,000 a sq meter. I saw a different development that was nothing but condo style villas, attached homes in clusters. Each home was three stories and they all were on different levels. Some had garages under them, some not, some were built on raised earth, some not. It was a really cool looking development, but I can't even imagine what the prices were!! Each home was 500 sq meters.
While the banks are advertising that it is possible to get a loan for 80% of the value(20% down payment), it is rare to get that. You need 30% down and all the fees/taxes/commissions to get the loan approved. Sometimes you need even more because the bank will not appraise the home for the asking/selling price.
With the numbers that you have posted, I would say that the horse has left the barn. It is just a matter of time until the bubble bursts, and then the fall out from that. The results could be dire for the Chinese economy as a whole.
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It is nice to get some reality based info from you guys teaching in China. It makes me question the theme of the original article. It sounds like the author was mainly using anecdotal information to base his argument, and not valid data.
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I always checked the box for multiple visits, one year visa. Never had a problem, even for the first one. As to the cities you will visit, just put down the ones that you are sure of. You can always visit other cities later if you change your mind.
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Wow! That is great news. You are a fortunate guy. Best of luck for the interview.
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Turbo, you did the best you could. You knew it was long shot, and it was worth the try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck on the K-1.
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Remember that thread I posted about energy independence? Well I emailed a copy to the White House, and got back a reply. I was pleasantly surprised. Anyway as it turns out I was only a year behind in my thinking
because the Prez had been working on this for over a year. But that's OK because I have an excuse. It's OK to be slow when you are old. 
I am sure that the reply was from a staffer, but it still has the man's name on it. Here is an abbreviated copy.
Dear Friend:
Thank you for writing me. I appreciate hearing from you,
and I share the vision of millions of Americans who want to make
our country the world leader in developing new sources of clean
energy. This is a challenge that has gone unaddressed for too long,
and it is time to take steps to create millions of clean energy jobs,
move towards energy independence, and reduce pollution and the
effects of global warming.....
Thank you again for writing. I encourage you to read more
about my energy agenda and share your views at:
www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/energy-and-environment. For more
information on government grants, please visit e-center.doe.gov.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
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It is amazing that the kid survived. I hope that he continues to be OK because a big problem with brain injuries is bleeding after an injury, and he is sure a candidate for that.
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Wow! This a new article in the Sidney Morning Herald reads like a soap opera. It covers new ground on why the trial is being covered in the way that it is. Here is the link: http://www.smh.com.au/business/highranking...tml?autostart=1
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No matter where these things happen, it just makes you angry at the loss of innocent lives.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100323/ap_on_...students_killed -
Way to go Robert. I know you are feeling happy
Besides with her getting the visa now, you can relax and just wait until April 2nd. -
Just curious about any more of Fens view of America. What's the latest Sam?
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It makes a lot of sense for new immigrants to avoid the big cities. The big cities have had lots of immigrants over long periods of time, so the opportunities are fewer there so the mid sized cities seem to be a good choice. After all if you wanted to open a new Chinese restaurant would you want to compete against one or two others, or compete against 10 or 20?
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The Sidney Morning Post is reporting on the trial of Australian citizen Stern Hu. They say that a big surprise is that Hu is now pleading guilty to receiving $1M in bribes. Originally he was accused of giving bribes to Chinese officials
. Go figure on that one.The Australians are lamenting the lack of transparency of the Chinese legal system, complaining about the lack of compliance of the Chinese with treaty obligations, etc. Bottom line is that it appears that the Australian government and Rio Tinto have bailed on it citizen, Hu.
Here's a link to the story: http://www.smh.com.au/business/stern-hu-ad...tml?autostart=1
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Hopefully there still will be some part of the country where people of high characters choose to gather and stay. The high characters are not to measured by educational degree but by how people want to devote and love and protect this land. Such as, when these people drive, they choose to drive courteously, not to tail others, not to be over fast; such as, everybody cares about evironment and tries his/her best not to make damage to the water, land and air; such as every family mind educating their kids and feel ashamed of raising kids rudely, harmful to the society, etc.
I am not sure I have ever found myself to disagree with you... but I feel you are describing Camelot.
If the people of high character are at the point of "deciding".... it's already too late. You want the people of high character to not even need to approach deciding anything; it's already decided. No thought necessary.
Your describing an ethical or moral world... that is more a man-made world than people following natural inclinations.
Interesting. Mr. induced Geminian, you are more philosophical than other geminians here on CFL. Nice. You disagree with me or not, I don't worry about it as long as you have logical thoughtful opions for me to read, and sure you have, which is nice. That is why I ever searched your posts to read, since I don't read posts that kinda are purely waste of time and could not teach me much. 
I like Comelot. In this mundane, you have to tolerate some people who try to kiss your car's butt when you drive; poke their nose to the details of your life(they are not your family members or your best friends); spit or even pee anywhere they want; give very stupid comment before they do the necessary search(of course some of them don't have the brain to research)...etc, very much. I don't want to be cynical. That is one of the reasons why Weng Fan (28) married to Yang (82), because Yang could take her to a world that she could stay away from those low people in my examples. He lives in the area with very intelligent well-educated broad-minded people. These people learned too much and know mumdane too well and want to live away from those low people(not measured by degree but by behavior). They seek same type of living environment, the type as mentioned in my first post in this thread. If Weng Fan doesn't want to go out of home, she is just living in a paradise. Many people take man's erection as a big issue and remark it a lot, but that erection issue is not as important to a woman who minds spiritual world most. Everybody conceives his/her own ideal living world.
But, actually, you are right Mr. Induced Geminian, most part of this world was already decided. So if you want to find the part as I mentioned, probably you must have outstanding achievement which enable you to join a different world resided by similar people, which is totally different from the mundane that I mentioned.
Maybe we should of meet in another life; or we did... but this is this life.
We can talk/discuss/debate higher brain issues all day.. in the end, I will personally try and take the lower brain (dan tian) reaction if I still can. that means, I understand dreams, achievements, and character, but there are just man-made words meant to try and define life. And moralism/character is not a good argument in my book... Ultimately, words don't define life. We don't need them to really communicate but to debate
If I truly want to understand or feel you, I can do that energetically and naturally.
Here's the deal; if someone drives by.... they drive by. I have no thought if they drive by courteously or with character. Who really cares. how does that improve my life to worry or think about another driving by and their influence on my thinking or emotions? That is a societal pattern symptomatic of idealizing life... but I'm aware enough to realize that what I present as my thought is itself an ideal, to myself.
In the end, it is all mental, emotional, and psychological patterns which we operate by. If one ever gets to the point of realizing this control over their lives, then it's time to undo the patterns. Otherwise, most will go along with the flow or idealize a higher standard. But I feel you are actually somewhere in-between the ideal and real, and so know it both.
Sounds like Fine Art and David Zixuan are having the Confucian/Daoist discussion. A person of high character acts properly, which demonstrates that their actions are in accord with heaven and earth. Or one could say the person who is in accord with heaven and earth acts properly and is therefore a person of high character.
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I totally agree with this guys reasoning on this. The US must adopt a sustainable economic model as opposed to trying to continue the current consumptive one. Also the US must keep and continue to attract the best and brightest graduating students.
Dont worry I am still here.
Glad to hear it Mike. Maybe I overreacted. Things probably are not as bad as they seem.
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I used my debit card at the Bank of China in Shenyang. It worked without a problem. I did let my credit union know that I was going to China though. Good luck Michael.
I just realized that you are still in GZ. There is a Bank of China just a block or two from the consulate. I used my debit card there too. To get there, go the corner that the Weston Hotel is on and go west for two blocks. The bank is located on the north east corner of that intersection.
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Congratulations! It is easy to see why things went easily and you got the pink. You didn't rush things, and spent some time in your relationship. Also, you made multiple trips and spent a few weeks each time. You must have been listening to David Z
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There's not much you can do at this late stage. You already have the P-3, and I assume that your fiance has returned the DS-230 part I, and the OF-169. Just be positive with her. Go over the possible questions that can be asked, and hope for the best.
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Good going on your part for telling her not to get her hopes up too high. It is a realistic attitude. Hope for the best, but if you don't get it, you have given it a good shot. Best of luck to you both.
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You may recall that some months past there was a big uproar over the arrest of the Chinese staff of the mining giant Rio Tinto. They are going on trial next week. They were arrested for bribery and industrial espionage.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out since the Australian government is very concerned because one of the accused is an Australian citizen. Another interesting thing is that I have yet to read about the fate of the Chinese business men who were bribed by the Rio Tinto execs.
Here is the link for those interested : http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100317/wl_as...plomacyriotinto
Life in America
in Stateside
Posted
Hi Michael, nice to hear things are going well.