GDBILL

I think his job might have something to do with it. Smart man! It's easy to tolerate a screwed up place when you have the ability to pull the plug and leave any time you choose. Besides, even when I am back in the States I do not think I am in heaven. The States are also f'ed up in various aspects. No place is perfect. But I know of a place close to it. If you are ever down Georgia way, come on down and we can spend a couple of days checkin out the mountains and doing some fishin. You must be a mind reader! I've been telling the Missus that it's time to pull the plug and GTF outta Dodge and settle somewhere down in the Deep South -- where things are civilized. And a breath of fresh air sounds good too, eh? Good? It's great! There will be fresh air in China when people in hell get ice water.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04...ent_9788598.htm A majority of Chinese people polled against the decision Beijing - The international community has applauded the decision by the Chinese government to lift a two-decade-old travel ban on foreigners with HIV/AIDS, despite a recent survey showing a majority of the Chinese public does not support the decision. ------- Most people expected that the Chinese government would not overturn the ban on HIV+ travelers entering China, but it looks like the unexpected happened. I' for one, never thought I'd see such a progressive move by the government. We'll have to wait a while before the actual implementation regulations are formulated to see what the actual conditions will be. I wonder how they will handle the aspect of free medical care currently offered to HIV+ individuals. I also wonder if there will be a no-discrimination policy. I mean, it's one thing to say that nobody will be refused a work visa because they are HIV+ and another to actually find a company willing to hire someone who is. It could also turn out to be something like the relaxing of visa conditions for those convicted of a crime. Supposedly the regulations state that if you have been convicted of a misdemeanor you will not be refused entry into China, but in fact people who reveal this pesky little detail on their immigration forms are almost always denied visas.

It would seem that the powers that be have realized that the insane property market has the potential to cause havoc. A little while back they came up with new rules allowing banks to refuse mortgages on those buying their third or more house and to raise the downpayments to up to 50%. Now, however, it seems that individual cities have decided to take it a step further by placing definite limits on who can buy property and how many properties they can buy. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04...ent_9787181.htm It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Pretty accurate! Housing prices around the 4th Ring Road are at least 20k RMB per m2 -- and in the area around Beijing Normal University and Wu Dao Kou prices can easily reach 30k because of the good primary and high schools in the area. Clothing, food, transportation and even medical expenses can be relatively cheap as long as you stick to a predominantly Chinese routine, but as soon as you start to deviate you'll find that things can get pretty expensive. It is extremely difficult for older females to enter the labor force and without Beijing hukou it is virtually impossible. Some notable exceptions to that may be for those working in KTV bars and as an "aiyi" (maid). You show me an older female who has no Beijing hukou and has recently entered the Beijing labor market landing a job that pays 8k RMB per month and I'll show you an exceptionally "skilled" and industrious KTV girl.

I think his job might have something to do with it. Smart man! It's easy to tolerate a screwed up place when you have the ability to pull the plug and leave any time you choose. Besides, even when I am back in the States I do not think I am in heaven. The States are also f'ed up in various aspects. No place is perfect. But I know of a place close to it. If you are ever down Georgia way, come on down and we can spend a couple of days checkin out the mountains and doing some fishin. You must be a mind reader! I've been telling the Missus that it's time to pull the plug and GTF outta Dodge and settle somewhere down in the Deep South -- where things are civilized.

I think his job might have something to do with it. Smart man! It's easy to tolerate a screwed up place when you have the ability to pull the plug and leave any time you choose. Besides, even when I am back in the States I do not think I am in heaven. The States are also f'ed up in various aspects. No place is perfect.

You know, by now everybody knows that, if anything, I am an equal opportunity asshole. And try as I might, I just cannot see lumping the US in the same canoe as China when it comes to human rights.

FAQ What do the numbers represent? These numbers represent the number of requests we received from government entities for the removal of content or the disclosure of user data from July 1, 2009-December 31, 2009. There are limits to what this data can tell us. Some requests seek the removal of multiple pieces of content, or seek data for more than one account. There may also be multiple requests that ask for the removal of the same piece of content, or data for the same account. Because of the complexity of these requests, the numbers we are sharing do not reflect the total amount of content that we are asked to remove, nor the total number of accounts subject to data disclosure requests by governmental agencies. Also, this initial report doesn¡¯t indicate whether Google complied with or challenged any request for user information, although we do provide percentages about our compliance with requests to remove content. We haven¡¯t yet found a way to provide more detail about our compliance with user data requests in a useful way, but we plan to in the future. Is this data comprehensive? No. While we have tried to report as accurate a number as possible, the statistics are not 100% comprehensive or accurate. For example, we have not included statistics for countries where we¡¯ve received fewer than 30 requests for user data in criminal cases during the 6-month period. Where the numbers of requests are relatively low from a particular country, revealing the statistics could place important investigations at risk and interfere with public safety efforts of the authorities. For content removals requested by government agencies, we haven¡¯t released specific numbers for those countries in which we received fewer than 10 requests. Many of those one-off requests may coincide with our own content policies, so when the numbers get small enough, they don¡¯t necessarily reflect anything about the level of censorship in that country. Similarly, if a governmental agency used a web form to demand removal of content, we generally have no way of including those reports in our statistics. What is the difference between removal requests and data requests? Removal requests ask for removal of content from Google search results or from another Google product, including YouTube. For purposes of this report, data requests ask for information about Google user accounts or products. Do your statistics cover all categories of content removals? No. Our policies and systems are set up to identify and remove child pornography whenever we become aware of it, regardless of whether that request comes from the government. As a result, it¡¯s difficult to accurately track which of those removals were requested by governments, and we haven¡¯t included those statistics here. We counted requests for removal of all other types of content (e.g., alleged defamation, hate speech, impersonation). In addition, for YouTube, we have not included government requests for removal of copyrighted content. The vast majority of requests for removal of copyrighted material on YouTube are received from private parties; some may come from state or foreign governments, but that number is very low. Regardless, such requests are not reflected in these statistics. Do your statistics cover all categories of data requests from governments? No, the statistics primarily cover requests in criminal matters. We can¡¯t always be sure that a request necessarily relates to a criminal investigation, however, so there are likely a small number of requests that fall outside of this category. For example, we would include in the statistics an emergency request from a government public safety agency seeking information to save the life of a person who is in peril even though there is not necessarily a criminal investigation involved. As we improve our tracking, we may add more categories. How is removal different from blocking services? Some governments and government agencies choose to block specific services as a means of controlling access to content in their jurisdiction. The numbers we¡¯ve reported do not include any data on service blockages. We are working on a separate tool to show you when Google services have been blocked by governments or government agencies. How many of these requests did you comply with? The ¡°removal request¡± numbers represent the number of requests we have received, and the percentage we complied with in full or in part per country. The ¡°data requests¡± numbers reflect the number of requests we received about the users of our services and products from government agencies like local and federal police. They don¡¯t indicate whether we complied with a request for data in any way. When we receive a request for user information, we review it carefully and only provide information within the scope and authority of the request. We may refuse to produce information or try to narrow the request in some cases. We would like to be able to share more information, including how many times we disclosed data in response to these requests, but it¡¯s not an easy matter. The requests we receive for user data come from a variety of government agencies with different legal authorities and different forms of requests. They don¡¯t follow a standard format or necessarily seek the same kinds of information. Requests may ask for data about a number of different users or just one user. A single request may ask for several types of data but be valid only for one type and not for another; in those cases, we disclose only the information we believe we are legally required to share. Given all this complexity, we haven¡¯t figured out yet how to categorize and quantify these requests in a way that adds meaningful transparency, but we plan to in the future. Do you ever remove content that violates local law without a court order or government demand? Yes. The statistics we report here do not include content removals that we regularly process every day across our products for violation of our content policies (for example, we do not permit hate speech in Blogger and other similar products) in response to user complaints. In many cases, those removals result in the takedown of material that violates local law, independent of any government demand or court order seeking such removal.

Well, ask and ye shall receive ... United States 3580 data requests 123 removal requests 80.5% of removal requests fully or partially complied with. 2 AdWords (court order) 1 AdWords 1 Apps (court order) 6 Blogger (court order) 6 Blogger 1 Book Search 1 Geo (except Street View) 1 Gmail (court order) 1 Google Video (court order) 4 Groups (court order) 1 Groups 1 orkut 2 Universal Search (court order) 20 Web Search (court order) 5 Web Search 7 YouTube (court order) 63 YouTube China Chinese officials consider censorship demands as state secrets, so we cannot disclose that information at this time.

"Government requests directed to Google and YouTube" Apples & oranges? Don, you should know better than that. Unless you can show that most of the requests made by the US didn't involve YouTube IPR issues, the comparison with China means little.

Does that mean there will be hookers and strip clubs there? Huh? Will be??? There already are! Ever since I can remember, there have been more hookers and strip clubs per square mile in Hainan than anywhere else in China -- even including Jilin Province.

Yep Sam that is my understanding from my wife too. At least for all the railroad workers. She also said that retiree's get preference and then the senior paid employees next, junior employee's last. Good to hear something nice huh. Larry It's a perk available to retired government employees. Considering the airlines, hotel and even the travel agent they use is also government owned, the cost is really minimal. This year it was Hainan because the government is trying to develope it as a gambling Mecca -- on par with Maccau and, gasp, Las Vegas.

Yes, obviously a wise choice.

If its now with DOS & USA legal system, better wait MANY years for any decision of course send many of thousands of $$$$$ to lawyers The "many years" part is correct, but the real reason is due to the corrupt, backwards and laughably incompetent Chinese legal system. China refuses to enter into an extradition treaty with the US so American pedophiles and various other felons are free to roam the streets of China until they decide to leave of their own free will -- if ever. Then it's really hilarious when China squeals like a stuck pig when -- due to the concept of reciprocity -- the US refuses to hand over Li Hong Zi or the never ending flock of Chinese bankers who steal millions of $$ and run to the USA.

None. The guy's still around. Saw him yesterday leaving the house in our compound where he tutors. Wife asked the legal attache if he needed any additional information on where guy lived or worked and he told her he's still awaiting word from D.C., but his guess is there'll be no follow up. When I spoke with the guy and gave him the letter from the Consulate he offered that he suspected they were going to also try and prosecute him for willful non-payment of child support. Sooner or later he'll have to leave China and, unless he has dual citizenship somewhere, return to the US. I was talking with a few colleagues at work about this and I guess the US isn't the only country to revoke passports in the case of past due child support. Looks like Canada and the UK do the same. Makes you want to think long and hard before you have kids.

Kinda like 'pound sand'. I for one, hope the Chinese stick to their own path and don't allow us to bend their arm...it wasn't them who got America into the dumpster, we should work it out on our own, without pointing fingers at others for our plight. Afterall, it was American businessmen who took the jobs offshore. I'm sick and tired of our ...Mommy, he stepped on my toes Where is the American spirit? Are we reduced to finger pointing? Just take the real crooks out of their ivory towers and vacation style federal pens, and shoot the bastards as examples of what NOT to do. Stick to your guns Hu...we should own up to our own mistakes and take credit for them for once. tsap seui The Chinese government should do what is best for their nation. That said, however, they do have to make the RMB into a freely convertible currency. That would solve all the currency exchange issues. I think under the terms of their WTO agreement they are required to have the RMB freely convertible by a certain time.

Looks like the predictions were worthless. I agree. Now for another prediction...the predictor? My wife. She says that the change will begin in May or June and at a slow rate. We will see... I would tend to agree with her. One thing is for sure, whatever is done will be done with Chinese characteristics.

Looks like the predictions were worthless.

Very interesting indeed. Can't find the original article mentioned, but there is one about Geithner's meeting here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Geithner-Chi...set=&ccode= Even a 3% rise would be nice. I'm going to hold off I guess on converting a bunch of RMB into US$.

I hope you're right! I know the People's Bank of China is trying to soak up a lot of liquidity. I wonder if that has any significance. But then when you read China Daily all they talk about is how a currency revaluation will not be good for the world economy and the US in particular.

I live in Texas, and in fact the law here specifically protects you against legal action based on your reporting suspected abuse. Certain occupations are required to report suspicious things. That said, GDBILL isn't in America, and really doesn't have any suspicion to report, just the guy is in trouble in America somehow, and really that is best left to the legal folks. I don't agree with the way GBILL presents things, but I do agree that just because a guy has his passport yanked, is not a good reason to be suspicious of him. Reporting that he is now illegally in the country is honest, and might help the school avoid problems. That seems a reasonable thing to do, if any. Just my opinion, and we all know what that is worth. Gotta agree with you. To report suspected abuse you have to have more than just a sneaking suspicion. There has to be something that specifically indicates abuse other than one taking a wild trip on an overactive imagination. Someone mentioning to you that they may have a warrant out on them for some unnamed offense doesn't indicate child abuse. You might call the cops and tell them there is a fugitive living next door to you (unless, of course, they already know), but you're not going to call the guy's employer. Well, at least normal people like us wouldn't.

True. If I thought there was danger lurking around the corner, I might try doing something. But at this point I'll let Uncle Sam do what needs to be done -- if anything. Even if there were some safety related issues at stake, I'd let the cops handle it. Going to someone's employer is pretty low. Not only is there the issue of making a mistake and losing credibility, but there is the possibility of slander / violations of privacy. Personally, I don't agree with the government on passport denial just because someone is in arrears $2500. But that's the law ... they do it ... and it's good to take into consideration lest one be "surprised" one day. Heck, I was susprised they could do that and were I the one with no passport I'd be pooping bricks about now.

Please point us to any law in Oregon which requires one to report one who has had their passport revoked or denied to their employer(s). Besides, whether or not I think someone is crud doesn't mean I am going to get involved and interfere with the way they legally make their living. I can just imagine you the type of individual who would narc out a neighbor because they were a week overdue on their library book. Some of us have better things to do with our lives. If I had firsthand knowledge that the guy was an imminent danger, I'd report him as an illegal alien. Otherwise, I'll leave his fate in the hands of the State Department.

Thanks for your reply . You are right , that's what they did on her Hukou. Just put a rubber stamp indicating they have divorced. The issue is now there is only one hukou . Her ex may want to use it and she will definitely need to use it too when she applies for her marriage certificate at the Ming Zen Ju office . She went to them to ask if they could make a certified copy and they said no. Also, PSB doesn't want to make a certified copy either. Really, it becomes two divorced parties need to hold on to one Hukou and they can't get a certified copy so each of them can hold on to one. Strange in my opinion ... Any comment ??? Thanks again. Think of the hukou book as belonging to a particular address and not a particular person. Unless she or he changes their address, chances are only one hukou book. Many people live at a different address than the one in the hukou book. For example, you have two homes or use a relatives address because schools in that district are better than schools in others. Since hukou also can determine which schools you can attend, it can be a major issue.

Thanks for your reply . You are right , that's what they did on her Hukou. Just put a rubber stamp indicating they have divorced. The issue is now there is only one hukou . Her ex may want to use it and she will definitely need to use it too when she applies for her marriage certificate at the Ming Zen Ju office . She went to them to ask if they could make a certified copy and they said no. Also, PSB doesn't want to make a certified copy either. Really, it becomes two divorced parties need to hold on to one Hukou and they can't get a certified copy so each of them can hold on to one. Strange in my opinion ... Any comment ??? Thanks again. I hope this doesn't take us too far off topic, but my fiancee's first husband died in an accident some 15 years ago -- will she also have to get a new hukou or a stamp in her current one? Will she need other papers (death certificate or analogous Chinese document)? Nope. No new one. Just a little rubber stamp that says "Deceased".