Rakkasan

I would go ahead and let your daughter use the photo for several reasons, 1) You noticed it and thought others might be offended. Your daughter didn't notice it and chances are her classmates will be more enthraulled by the shear size of the statue that they will not notice it either. 2) To prohibit the photos use by your daughter is to allow political correctness and iggnorance to prevail over intelligent thought and education. Remember the D.C. councilman who was forced to resign for his proper use of the word "niggardly", because the media was iggnorant of its meaning and thought it was a racist term. 3) School is supposed to be a place of learning and this will provide an excellent learning opportunity for all of the students. The decision about use of the photo should be left entirely up to your daughter. Inform her about possible responses she may receive and let her decide. Then support her decision 100%, to me that is part of being a parent. She will respect you for allowing her to make the decision. 4) Never let others decide how you should conduct your life. This should also be passed on to your daughter. To often now in the U.S. were are being forced to curtial our activities or told what to say or not say because there is a chance we might offend some minority or group. Look at how the NCAA was not going to let teams with names like "Indians" or "Braves" into their tournaments because someone thought use of those name might offend "Native Americans". 5) The swastika was around long before the Nazi party and should not be banned from the planet because of its use by a group of misguided racists. Look at this as an opportunity for your daughter to help reclaim the swastikas true meaning. To make her point that the symbol was around before the Nazi party, she can point to the floor tiles at St. James Episcopal Church as shown below. St. James Episcopal Church (1927), http://altairdigital.com/stjohns.jpg Let this be her decision with your full support. This is a chance to bond with her by being in her corner.

My understanding is that in most states when the children reach 13 years of age they can decide where they want to live. Unfortunately for my son, his mother is a master manipulator and guilts him into doing what she wants. Hopefully one day he will rebel, run away or jap slap her. His old girlfriend after 3 years still holds a torch for him. She called me the other day leaving a voicemail wanting his address so she can write him and try to regain contact. I think she is just going to get hurt again, but her parents consented to my giving it to her to try. Personally I think she wants to arrange a meeting for him and myself, to see if she can undo the damage the courts and his mother have done. Her parents believe this also, but since his girlfriends mother is a family counselor and has no problem with her attempt I will defer to her judgement. I also think she wants to make sure he knows about my lung cancer in case he wants to make contact before it's to late. WE have no idea if his mother has informed him or not. I think mom probably told him I have cancer and it is Gods way of punishing me for being everything bad that she imagines that I am. It always amazes how some people are blessed with the ability to read Gods mind. Most say after he leaves for college he will realize how he was screwed with by his mother and will then try to make contact with me. I, of course, plan to be at his High School graduation in 2008 with my new beautiful Chinese wife (his new beautiful stepmother) and maybe a baby sister too.

Mine was and is referred to as PBFH = Psycho B**ch From Hell. She is the one who when we needed an agreed order signed by her, bypassing a court hearing, refused because she though I was faking cancer and I was forced to have my oncologist write a letter to the Judge attesting to the fact that i do in fact have Stage 4 lung cancer. Arrgghhh!!!! Now does anyone think there is a need to ask me why I am interested in women from the other side of the planet.

Geeeezzzz... This is an easy question for me. Absolutely yes. I have a 16 year old that I have not seen in 3 years because a Kentucky Court terminated all contact (not parental rights). If you do not think there is bias all you need to do is look at the numbers. 50% of marriages end in divorce, of those with children over 90% of the time the mother gets primary custody, not because she has demonstrated that she is the better parent, but because she is the mother period. The father is reduced to a part time visitor 4 days per month. If Dad fails to pay child support he can lose assets, have licenses suspended, be jailed, have tax refund siezed, wages garnished and be publicly humiliated. If mom violates the same court oder by denying parenting time to the father the worst that will happen is the judge will tell her to not do that again, and he will tell her this several times and never punish her with jail time or reimburse the father for his attorneys fees or lost time from work. There was one case in the south where the children were removed from the home by the state because mom and her live-in boyfriend were leaving drug paraphinalia laying around and the fly infestation from the piles of garbage was disgusting. Dad was given temporary custody until a formal hearing could be held. After several months of living with dad the kids were thriving. At the court hearing the State social worker testified that the children should be returned to mom because....[ARE YOU READY FOR THIS] mom and her boyfriend had been taking classes on how to take out the garbage and how to keep their drug needles out of the reach of the children and the judge went along with this crap and returned the kids to the mother. In my case I had taped telephone conversations of my EX telling my son I was a loser, mooch, heathen and a jerk. At one point my EX wanted my son to ask me something and my son whispered "It is OK if I say Dad?". My sons girlfriend who was 13 at the time testified that not only did I never get mad or yell, but she thought their were times when they should have been yelled at and I still never lost my temper. Done of this mattered to the judge. After 8 hours of testimony he made his decision in 3 minutes without ever leaving the bench. Time and time again in the past my EX has violated the courts orders, and the court turned a blind eye. However, when I shock my head from side to side at my disappointment with a Judges decision i was threatened with several weeks in jail for contempt. Of course this Judge does not like me because in open court after the EX once again violated and order and was not held in contempt I did asked the Judge if the court felt women were not smart enough to understand court orders and therefore should not be held accountable. My attorney about shit. I now stand in front of his bench at Parade Rest. I never look side to side, I only stare straight ahead at him and blink only when he is not looking. When he is up for re-election in 2 years I have a friend who will be making 1000's of bumper stickers with the Judges name and the words "Anti-Father / Anti-Family" beneath it. We are also thinking of using the identical color scheme with Arrogance and Incompetance have no place on the bench". We won't mention his name but it will implied through the color scheme if people see the other bumper sticker. If you realy want to see gender bias, get divorced while owing Federal taxes. There is a something called "Innocent Spouse Relief" where a woman can claimed she was forced to sign a tax return without providing proof and be released from all tax laibility, the liability then transfers to the man 100%. When my EX did this and I appealed, I called this division of the IRS and asked to speak to a man in the department. Guess what? There aren't any. If you appeal to a civil court your chances of winning aren't any better and you will also end up having to pay court costs and your EX's attorneys fees. Now raise you hands if you think there is not Gender Bias. Here is another site for you. If you take time to read some of these posts take a sedative first or you will come away seriously pissed. S.P.A.R.C. Separated Parenting Access & Resource Center

My fiance considers herself a traditional Chinese woman, she believes a marriage is a team effort. She is not doing her job if I am unhappy, and I am not doing my job is she is unhappy. When I was seriously ill she was prepared to move to the US to take care of me and work 2 jobs to pay our bills (not necessary, but I could not get her to understand disability pay), however if she fell ill she would expect me to work and care for her also. She will have input in household decisions, but the final decision is mine and she says she will respect that. This may be hard to adjust to and I am not so hardheaded that I would want absolute rule, but we will adjust and come to an understanding. This is probably why we seemed to be like old friends from the start of our relationship, mutual respect and likemindedness.

I keep seeing the same lines in this thread over and over....Criminal Courts or Normal Criminal Court System. These are NOT criminals, these are terrorists who are suspected of being involved in some manner of plotting terrorist activities. These ARE prisoners of war. The U.S. / Bush administration is treating them far better than the terrorists treat our soldiers when captured. Most of those in Gitmo will not reveal their real names and therefore can and will be held until such time as their true identity can be determined and proper investigations performed. You may not agree with the Bush administration or the way the war in Iraq is being fought, but there have been NO TERRORIST ATTACKS ON U.S. SOIL since Bush started detaining those with suspected ties to terrorist organizations. Gitmo has had Red Cross inspections and there are no abuse issues to speak of, other than those perpertrated by the detainees on U.S. military personel. I think that to detain thoese suspected of terrorist involvement is acceptable. Personally, I think all Islamic immigrants in the U.S. should be deported immediately and let them all apply for re-entry into the U.S. and be subjected to an intense background check and 2 year wait before being able to maybe return. And before anyone rips me about how many good Muslims there are and how this would be unfair to them, let me say "I don't care". This is our country and we should be able to do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves, fair or not. Killing innocent men, women and children through acts of terror is not fair either, but it happens regardless of what we think. Deport them all regardless of what they think. I have said this before, I would love for this war to be over, but I know it will never end, ever. While our troops are in Iraq, that country has become a magnet for every nutcase Islamic terrorist in search of 72 virgins. As much as I would love for our troops to come home, and I have many friends with children serving in Iraq, I know that as long as we have a military presence in Iraq, the terrorists will stay away from U.S. soil. One thing that must be understood about these people is that they have absolutely no respect for human life. If they are willing to kill each other in order to carry on a war that has been raging in their country for hundreds of years. Do you really think they will ever care about us? Their whole religious belief is one of "believe as I do or die". Regardless of whether you are Muslim or not, everything you do that is not in compliance with the teachings of the Koran is considered as an insult to Allah and therefore must be punished. You cannot reason with someone with this kind of mindset. Ship them all home and let them re-apply for re-entry in the U.S. As an aside I will say that I do not believe that the true teachings of the Koran is to kill all non-believers. This is proven by the terrorists who when on camera cover their faces to avoid being identified. The founding fathers of our country not only did not hide their faces when fighting for something they truly believed in, but signed their names and pledged their lives and fortunes in pursuit of a just cause. NUFF SAID!!!

Thank you, This is exactly what I told her. I think I have her convinced to go ahead and get it as soon as her National ID renews in December, currently it is expired. I guess I don't understand the system, if everyone needs this ID, why is there a wait when renewing the National ID? Of course maybe it's a technolgy thing, when we went to cash travelers cheques we needed a photocopy of my passport for the banks records. We had to leave the bank and find a photocopier because the Bank of China branch in Nanning didn't have a copier of their own. Sheesh, my 79 year old mother has a fax machine and photocopier in her home.

My fiance has been told that she does not need to apply for her passport until she receives the notice of her interview. This seem to be putting to much faith in the effeciency of the Chinese system. Any suggestions or ideas??

how about it is against the town code or home owners association rules Home owners association and town codes are trumped by environmental rules in Florida. Sunshine States Clothes Line Law

I don't see how. Blackgarfield says she arrived in early 2005 and married within the 90 days. Thomas' marriage didn't take place until 2006. ???

Actually it depends on which state you are in as to what is legal and who must be aware of the recording. List of reconding laws for each state

W. Va. Code ¡ì 62-1D-3: Recording a wire, oral or electronic communication, or disclosing its contents, is not a violation of West Virginia law when the person recording is a party to the communication or has obtained consent from one of the parties, as long as the recording is not accompanied by a criminal or tortious intent. Under the statute, consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication. See definition of "oral communication," W. Va. Code ¡ì 62-1D-2. In West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Resources v. Wright, the West Virginia Supreme Court held that a woman whose children's screams could be heard by neighbors nevertheless had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her home, for purposes of the wiretapping law. 453 S.E.2d 646 (1994). Recording any such communication, or disclosing its contents with knowledge of the illegal interception, is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years and a fine of not more than $10,000. An individual whose communications have been unlawfully intercepted can recover civil damages in the amount of actual damages, but not less than $100 per day of violation, along with punitive damages, attorney fees and litigation costs. W. Va. Code ¡ì 62-1D-12. This reads to me that as long as he is not trying to record the meeting for the purpose of extortion he can legally record the meeting. Whether a court will allow the recording into the proceedings is totally up to the judge.

Since Halloween dates back to 5th century Europe, I have serious doubts about Mars-M&M's have been sponsoring this event for the past 15 centuries.

Whenever I am forced to give these kids a $20 bill I always memorize the last 4 characters of the bill right before I hand it to them. Then I simply ask the manager to explain how I know the last 4 digits of the $20 bill that is on top in the drawer. It seems to work for me.

My reply is for the employees of Wendys and McD's on Florida's west coast. When I order a "Plain double CHEESE burger" Please include the cheese with my order, otherwise it is a plain double hamburger. For the cute girl at Wendys in southern Indiana. You look as if the only reason you are at work is because your parents are making you pay your way. I have never seen such a cute teenage girl look so put out to have to do a simple task such as taking an order inside. Go home if you are in that much pain. To the mothers in front of me in the drive thru at lunch time. You are the parent, do not let a 3 year old pick what he/she wants to eat while others are waiting to place their orders. To my Ex-wife. It's a burger joint. You do not need to read the menu everytime you go through the drive thru. It is the same crap they had yesterday. Just order and move on.

Claims don't make fact! She can claim anything she wants but without proof it is all just words! This is true in divorce court. My Ex claimed sposual abuse, my attorney never asked if I abused her, he only wanted to know if there was a police report. If there was no report there was no abuse. As the text in previous posts showed that element of proof may not be necessary in immigration cases. Of course I suspect that even though it provides ways to obtain a green card by claiming abuse without you being informed, at some point this can be disclosed during divorce proceedings and unless she is an excellent liar, you may be able to catch her in a lie under oath. Not that many family court judges care about perjury anymore, but it may be worth a try to expose her. I do not know if these types of claims would have a negative impact on your future I-129F applications.

No offense skibum but I hear this same flawed complaint whenever the news reports gas prices have risen by .25 and how much it is "going to impact the vacations for a typical family of 4 this year". Consider this if you travel 1000 miles from your home to Disney World in a car that gets 20 miles per gallon the total increase in the cost of fuel for your trip would be around $25.00. If your vacation for a family of 4 hinges on $25.00 you should not be considering this type of vacation anyway. As far as the rmb is concerned, on my last trip I took approximately $1500 US with me. If I converted all of it at the current rate of 7.88 rmb I would have 11820 rmb, if I converted it at the preferred rate of 8.00 rmb I would have 12000 rmb. I sure hope my next trip to China doesn't hinge on 180 rmb. I sorry if this respose sounds rude, but these minor currency flucuations are only important if you are trading large amounts of currency, as in millions of US dollars.

When I was born in the 50's this was the practice at that time. Relatives came to visit the new mother in her home and bring food, etc to tide the household over for that time period. Of course now mom needs to take the baby and rush to Wal-mart to pick up whatever is on sale this week and swing by McD's on the way to introduce the newborn to its source of food for the next 20+ years.

When my SO's youngest brother in law died while I was visiting I was told that the house could not be cleaned for 5 days. SO all of the ashes from the incense just piled up on the floor.

My SO says that a man is not to buy a woman a pair of shoes. This is the Chinese equivalent of giving your SO her walking papers.

Huh? almost every home has TV's in every bed room Not me, I refused to have a TV in my bedroom even before I had ever heard of fengshui. The bedroom is for sleep and other interesting activites. There is no way I want her watching TV while I am busy giving her pleasure.

If your wife would have these books translated she could probably sell a ton of them in teh US. Why doesn't her publisher attempt to translate the books?

My SO is in Nanning, is that standardized rate applicable throughout China or is that just the standardized rate in Shanghai and its Province?

Can someone tell how much is costs to get a Chinese passport and how long it take to obtain one? I just found out my SO does not have one. Thanks

A sealed envelope might be of benefit, however if Chinese X-rays are anything like US X-Rays her name should be on the film so even if the envelope is opened they can compared the name on the X-ray to her passport.