IllinoisDave

Enjoy. I hear Guangzhou is lovely in June.

Congrats. Personally, I subscribed to the "a watched pot never boils" theory during our process. Meant a lot less stress. But, I realize it's not for everyone. Best of luck the rest of the way.

Did you walk to Guangzhou?

From a purely technical standpoint, no, it doesn't matter. There is no requirement. From a non-technical standpoint? Others have already given very good answers for that. Good luck.

The "ideal family life" is different for every family, no matter the culture. And as always, over-generalizations of any country or culture are never good. While some may consider the lack of "closeness" among some families in the US after fledglings have left the nest to be a cultural deficiency, others may find the same defiency in the practice of some Chinese families to leave their children in the countryside while they work in the city and only seen them once a year for a week or two. There are many dynamics at play in both countries that account for differences in the definition of the "ideal family life."

Was a missionary to Taiwan. Adopted daughter from China. Fluent Mandarin. A lot of ambassadors have been appointed to countries with far less impressive credentials specific to those countries.

Very cool. Too bad he didn't stop in Shanghai.

Noun 1. apologist - a person who argues to defend or justify some policy or institution; Seems some have misconstrued the meaning of the term while others have justified my use of it.

Nobel Prizes are a dime a dozen these days. Still, China raises valid points and analogies. I think major concessions will be made to encourage China to get onboard. Yeah, I used to display mine on the mantle. But now I keep it in the basement next to my Heisman Trophy. What I thought was interesting about his piece is that he wasn't dismissive of those points and analogies. He even acknowledged their validity. He did, however, point out that whether they're valid or not doesn't change the fact that the planet may not be sustainable if China and others continue increasing levels of carbon emissions. A very pragmatic, rather than confrontational, argument IMO.

Some common sense from a Nobel Prize winner: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/opinion/...amp;ref=opinion

The CCP smear machine is no doubt being gassed and oiled up as we speak. And I'm sure it won't take long for the apologists to come out of the woodwork to help it along.

Could you provide a link with credible facts?

I agree.. but it could also be said "... sending a tax cheat to visit those we need to trust us." It doesn't get any more clever no matter how many times it's parroted here. Some folks need to find a new tune to whistle.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Bob Seger used to smoke 5. holy crap. If you chain smoked for 16 hours straight, you would have to smoke more than 6 cigarettes per hour to get that. I mean, I'm sure he didn't always get 8 hours of shut-eye, but he pretty much had to be drawing in smoke for every waking breath. His lungs must have looked like dried up rat turds. Not sure he meant it literally: http://www.metrolyrics.com/trying-to-live-...-bob-seger.html

So whenever Geithner's name is mentioned it should be taken as having no connection whatsoever to the Obama administration or it's economic policies right? Any criticism of anything Geithner does is to be considered criticism of him only and not reflective of the present administration correct? Just want to be clear what the rules are. It means when he does a really stupid thing he can be called on it. Poking a stick at the one you need to keep you alive is stupid; now he has to go hat in hand. That's stupid. Are you sure you're not thinking of the Fed Chairman? I don't believe the Sec. of Treasury has any more obligation to remain neutral than any other appointed cabinet member. From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States...of_the_Treasury I think you're right. Tricky Dick used the IRS to do his 'dirty tricks' campaign and the IRS is part of Treasury. In a way that's even worse if Timmy is speaking for his boss about China being a money manipulator. Glad we cleared that up.

So whenever Geithner's name is mentioned it should be taken as having no connection whatsoever to the Obama administration or it's economic policies right? Any criticism of anything Geithner does is to be considered criticism of him only and not reflective of the present administration correct? Just want to be clear what the rules are. It means when he does a really stupid thing he can be called on it. Poking a stick at the one you need to keep you alive is stupid; now he has to go hat in hand. That's stupid. Are you sure you're not thinking of the Fed Chairman? I don't believe the Sec. of Treasury has any more obligation to remain neutral than any other appointed cabinet member. From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States...of_the_Treasury

So whenever Geithner's name is mentioned it should be taken as having no connection whatsoever to the Obama administration or it's economic policies right? Any criticism of anything Geithner does is to be considered criticism of him only and not reflective of the present administration correct? Just want to be clear what the rules are.

Thanks LE. It's nice to get good boots-on-the-ground info. When I head back I don't think I'll take a chance on making that blacklist.

Just saw a story on ABC about a boy who lost both his legs when his school collapsed in the quake. His dream had been to be a basketball player like his hero Kobe Bryant. After his legs were amputated he wrote an email to Bryant not expecting to hear back. A couple weeks later he got a signed basketball from Bryant. Classy.

CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Here's a helpful guide: http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/Employment_Letter

So much for cultural diversity.