hypoclear

Ok people how hard is it to sign your name? come on do something and be active... now is not the time to be passive.. Simon And Garfunkel - The Boxer Lyrics I am just a poor boy Though my story's seldom told I have squandered my resistance For a pocket full of mumbles such are promises All lies and jests Still a man hears what he wants to hear And disregards the rest When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy In the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station running scared Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters Where the ragged people go Looking for the places only they would know Lie la lie ... Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job But I get no offers, Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there Lie la lie ... Then I'm laying out my winter clothes And wishing I was gone Going home Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me Bleeding me, going home In the clearing stands a boxer And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of ev'ry glove that layed him down Or cut him till he cried out In his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains Lie la lie ... Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Great Luck.. Bea got her CR1 but we were married over 2 years before she hits the states shores. INS officer at NYC stamped her passport with a IR1 and her paper works as well.. but she only got a CR1 green card.. so now we are following this up from here.. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

The more things change the more the stay the same.. Steivie Wonder from "Songs in the key of Life." Saturn Packing my bags -- going away To a place where the air is clean On Saturn There's no sense to sit and watch people die We don't fight our wars the way you do We put back all the things we use On Saturn There's no sense to keep on doing such crimes There's no principles in what you say No direction in the things you do For your world is soon to come to a close Through the ages all great men have taught Truth and happiness just can't be bought - or sold Tell me why are you people so cold I'm.... Going back to Saturn where the rings all glow Rainbow, moonbeams and orange snow On Saturn People live to be two hundred and five Going back to Saturn where the people smile Don't need cars cause we've learned to fly On Saturn Just to live to us is our natural high We have come here many times before To find your strategy to peace is war Killing helpless men, women and children That don't even know what they're dying for We can't trust you when you take a stand With a gun and bible in your hand And the cold expression on your face Saying give us what we want or we'll destroy I'm.... Going back to Saturn where the rings all glow Rainbow, moonbeams and orange snow On Saturn People live to be two hundred and five Going back to Saturn where the people smile Don't need cars cause we've learned to fly On Saturn Just to live to us is our natural high Sing it Stevie!!! Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Well I knew you were a good man John.. now I know why.. coz you are Irish!! Happy Saint Pat's day !!!!! I watched a great show on Ireland last night 9'000 year history almost twice that of China. I have never been there but after seeing this, it's on my list of places to see. Seems we have relations back in county Cork. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Well Trigg I'm sorry to say you are officially among the ...aged population acording to the http://www.diabetes.org/type-2-diabetes.jsp web site.. sigh I tried but seems you just don't fit into the other catagories. On the bright side, as you get up each day and look out at the big green exspanse of your back yard.. you can take comfort in know.. "Yup any day now I will have eaten that much in greens and than some!" This is a good time to eat healthy and with a Chinese wife how can you not, think young.. well try and think anyways and get out there and exercise.. nope Spil chucking even if done daily ain't xer'siz en. For me eating three meals aday and walking I think has dropped a few pounds.. well at least I have moved is it up or down a belt notch?? Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Say it seems there are a few of us expats, waiting for visa guys hanging around SZ. How about a get together? PM me if interested. Bea and I live right next to a park and on the other side is a hotel with a pretty good weekend Dim Sum and of course plenty of noodle shops and a McDonalds. Nice area for a quick coffe get together or something more. Good weather is coming... hmm???? soon will be time for more outings as well. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Hey John and Hai Yan!!! Best of luck and god's blessing.. Another soon to be old timer.. we need more like you. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Hey.. I live in Shenzhen.. will that get me a beer? heheh Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Maybe Hong Kong would be the best choice. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

hmmm well if you can get past the cut and paste form letter and the "Read the fine print" cover my a## aspects.. it's a good letter. But on the other hand they did respond and there is info which is still head and shoulders above GZ. Best of luck and I hope this last snag clears up quickly. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Say while we are all in the letter writing and congressman sending mode... how about one dealing with the pediphile issue we all recently read of here? Maybe it should not be sent together with this one but certainly to all the same people that get this one. Seems like we should strike while the iron is hot..? Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Alex; Great going! I understand the pains doing something like this can cause. From the sounds of things it will work out for the best. At least this woman seem guienlinely concerned. Let's see if Ms Hartly responds. Inxsfan.. sounds like you are just the person to help with the other group letter that is now forming. Do you have any other insights in how to make the best of this letter and Alex's awsome fax? Seems we might have GZ in a place of having to be accountable to some one, hate to see them slip off the hook now. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

New editorial and best of luck to others abroad. A Travel Advisory Published: March 14, 2005 José Ernesto Medellín, a Mexican on death row in Texas, has been a problem for the Bush administration. In response, the White House has taken a step that could imperil American tourists or business travelers if they are ever arrested and need the help of a consular official. Mr. Medellín was arrested for a gang-related killing at 18 and assigned a lawyer, who, unbeknownst to the court, had been suspended from the bar for ethics violations. He called not a single witness at Mr. Medellín's trial and only one in the penalty phase that ended with a sentence of death. Mexico's consular representatives learned of Mr. Medellín's case only when he had been on death row for three years. Mexican authorities argued that if Mr. Medellín had been able to notify them at the time of his arrest, he might have had competent representation at his trial. This month, the Supreme Court will hear Mr. Medellín's petition. But meanwhile, the issue of Mr. Medellín's access to consular help was addressed last year by the International Court of Justice, sometimes known as the World Court, the United Nations' top court for resolving disputes between countries. In a case brought by Mexico, the court said Mr. Medellín and 50 other Mexicans on death row in the United States should get new hearings because they were not given access to consular officials, as required by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which Washington has been a signatory for decades. The administration surprised everyone at first by accepting the court's judgment and supporting Mr. Medellín's right to review. It said, in what seemed like a promising change of heart, that "consular assistance is a vital safeguard for Americans abroad" and that if America did not comply with the court ruling, "its ability to secure such assistance could be adversely affected." That was good reasoning. It applied in 1963 when the United States itself designed the optional protocol, the part of the Vienna Convention that allows the World Court to hear disputes over consular access. It applied in 1979 when America became the first country to use the protocol by successfully suing Iran for taking American hostages. Now, in a climate of global hostility toward Americans, the right to consular help is all the more important. But this administration is not always given to sound reasoning when it comes to institutions like the World Court - especially on red-meat issues like the death penalty. Last week, just days after accepting the court's judgment, the administration revealed its hand: it said it had withdrawn from the optional protocol. Apparently forgetting its concern about citizens arrested abroad, the State Department said it wanted to end the court's meddling in the American judicial system. In other words, ideology triumphed over sound judgment and Americans abroad are all less secure as a result. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Recent Opionion peice in The Standard of Hong Kong http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Opi...n/GC14Df01.html China takes on America March 14, 2005 Thirty-three years after President Richard Nixon's ice-breaking visit to Beijing in 1972 kicked off more normal relations between the US and China, the Chinese still don't quite know what to make of Americans. While nearly half of mainlanders see the United States as China's main rival, the other half view the US as a friendly country and a model for China to learn from, according to an exhaustive new poll. In general, most mainlanders say they are satisfied with the current relations between the two countries, although at the same time nearly 60 percent of them believe Uncle Sam is doing its best to contain the Middle Kingdom diplomatically and militarily. The recently published survey was sponsored and conducted by the Global Times with the help of the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The Beijing-based, thrice-weekly Global Times is a sister publication of the People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship newspaper. The sampling survey was conducted in five major Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Wuhan (capital city of the central province of Hubei). It is believed to be the mainland's first-ever large-scale opinion poll on how the Chinese view the US. Since the survey covers only urban residents, its results are better regarded as more sophisticated than the mainland as a whole. Reflecting the growing trade and economic ties between China and the US, some 62 percent of respondents say good Sino-US relations are helping to speed up China's economic development and nearly half believe such ties are contributing to China's opening to the world. The US has remained China's largest trade partner after replacing Hong Kong around the turn of the new century. China's US-bound exports grew sharply, from US$54.3 billion (HK$423.54 billion) in 2001 to US$70 billion in 2002, US$92.5 billion in 2003 and US$124.9 billion last year, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. While 46.1 percent of the respondents say increasing economic exchanges promote friendship between the Chinese and the Americans, however, 43 percent also worry that trade friction will intensify. This schizophrenic view of relations between the two countries deepens when 70.9 percent of the Chinese say they are satisfied with current Sino-US relations. But at the same time, 56.7 percent believe the US is doing its best to keep China in check. Taiwan is obviously a big bone of contention, with 60.5 percent regarding it as the main factor affecting the development of Sino-US relations. Asked for the key issue that inspires discontent with the US government, 37.6 percent said ``US arms sales to Taiwan,'' with the Iraqi war trailing at 31.7 percent. Analysts say the results serve as yet another confirmation that Taiwan is the very issue that touches the nerve of Chinese nationalism. Because of it, they say, Beijing must maintain a strong domestic stance against any move that might lead the island to become independent. The survey shows that nearly 50 per cent are not concerned with Wash-ington's repeated criticisms of human rights in China. Nearly half regard Washington's concerns as a ploy to hamper China's internal stability with another 10.4 percent believing the criticism is aimed at putting China in a bad light. Nearly 20 percent believe the criticisms arise only because the US public knows little about China's civil rights circumstances. Only 15.7 percent understand that human rights concerns are behind Washington's ambition to promote democracy in China. About half of the people interviewed don't think Sino-US relations have progressed in recent years, although neutral analysts believe relations between the two countries have rarely been better. Only 27.3 percent of the respondents think ties between the two countries have been improving. And 45 percent don't expect any particular thaw during George W Bush's second term, while 11.7 percent think there will be setbacks. As to the influence of American culture, the Chinese are in two minds. Some 55.7 percent say the impact is both positive and negative. Only 22 percent believe the influence is mainly positive. Despite that, nearly half of the re-spondents say American culture is acceptable to them. In the breakdown, 27.5 percent say they appreciate very much US cultural products while another 31.9 percent say American cultural products are acceptable. About a quarter say they welcome US consumer goods that are available and nearly half say that not only do they have no bias toward American goods, they would buy goods of good quality regardless of where they come from. The overriding message from the poll stresses that as the economy continues to grow, people are becoming increasingly self-confident. ``The zeal of blindly chasing after American culture in the 1980s and 1990s is fading,'' a sociology researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says, with mainlanders looking on the US's politics, culture and products more realistically. Indeed, China's urbanites no longer envy American prosperity as much as before. Only 17.9 percent of the respondents say they envy the prosperous life of the Americans. Another 20.9 percent say they admire the rule of law. What impresses them most about the US? Nearly half say its advancement in science and technology. Interestingly, the survey has found that 62.7 percent of Chinese urbanites have learned about the US through the mass media. Another 20.7 percent say it was Hollywood movies that did it. Nice article and it gives some what of a picture of the pulse of China. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Y,us a real right smart feller en I's trus yuy's at a boy! Thank ping me for these links from page 5 if you need to find the address of your senators, here is one link that i think they can be found: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_info...enators_cfm.cfm most of them i think by now have their own websites where you can get their address and send email. this site seemed to have both senators and representatives addresses for each state. http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ Trigg just say the word when you have mailed out the hard copy as I am stating in my sig letter that I am Carbon Copying my reps and will send out these emails a few days after you mail out the letter. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Trigg Please add CR1 to this list. I will be adding our CFL time line to my sig page as an example of this long process. I'm not sure how others have fared with this process, hopefully trheirs was quicker and less bumpy. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth... P.S. Yes!!! how IS the TIME for Spell Checking!! heheh I's knows i's idiot.. but's yu's has ta guessed dat..

here is Triggs sample sig: Sample signature letter:: This is in regards to above letter, I C. Trigg Minnick affix my signature and endorsement. Dear Ms Harty: I am presently finished with the visa process and have procured a Visa for my then fiancee through the consulate in Guangzhou China. My interests are in assisting you in any way possible in order to bring parody and thoroughness to the spouses and fiancee's of my fellow US citizens. If there is anything that I may do to help you or if you have any questions concerning this matter please feel free to contact me at ------ Sincerely, C. Trigg Minnick Ph. D., N.C.S.P. can we get this pulled and pinned Don? Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Wayne, Didn't you mention someone before had this happen and just bulled their way thru on it? Anyone good at searching the archives here? Seems it would be better if Mike could put the pressure on them now while he is here rather than waiting and spending more time and money. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

This sounds good, the sig pages as Bea and I are CR1 and had a 19 month wait which is something I would include in ours. Something along this line for each person would give people a better idea of wait times etc. and put a bit of a human face on this. I am also wondering if we shouldn't also include in our sigs. I have CC,ed: your congressman your senators Is this too threatening or more of just a simple notice that yes we firstly know who our reps are and secondly they know of our concerns? This may give us more ammo if this letter writting gets pushed up a notch? Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

I guess this begs the question.. "Does size really matter?" well I guess so but it all depends on who's ruler you are using. hmmm Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Robert S I haven't read this letter yet but your idea of how to mail it sounds great and the comments about please etc etc also seem right on, but of course it should not swing to the other side and become strident, just a straight forward statement and inclusive of all person's here. I did have one other thought or idea and will toss it out. If this were to be emailled to this woman, why not have each person CC not only their congressman but both of their senators? It seems we would be getting the message out to many many more people and less chance or more pressure to respond. It's kind of hard to be off putting in public so to speak and you will never know who your allies are if you don't approach them? hmmm re-thinking as I write this.. yes send a hard copy of the letter to the woman and an enclosure stating that an electronic copy of this letter has been sent to each and every signers congressman and senator...is this doable, workable, effect? The idea of a quick PM to the members of CFL works for me and if the wording is corrected so that it DOES NOT imply CFL is lobbing is best. I think the shear numbers and we could also post this on the other Visa web sites to add to those would be effective enough, in fact perhaps even better if the others worded theirs simalarly. This would than put more meat or pressure on these officials as it is no longer a few club members but more a movement by a large group of men and women from various backgrounds spread over a wider area. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

As a bit of an old timer here I am sorry to say I haven't been follow this area as much lately. I just finished reading "Dreams dashed...." and am now here to say.. "Where do I sign up!?" To see the support, caring and sharing that Mike and his SO recieved from the members in GZ is wonderful. But to see a celebration with them would be excellent! I feel this manner of dealing with people has got to stop and while there may be no law that says GZ must explain it's actions I would believe there are some laws as pingme points out, that can be used to hold their feet to the fire. Isn't it a basic principle that the government is NOT allowed to run rough shud over it's citizens? Isn't also a basic principle that it be an open government? Perhaps some of us old timers who are with our wives can now safely cause some flack and heartache for these same agencies? If I remember correctly King posted that there is a new person in town at GZ and "he's a gonna make his mark!" I say let us collectively left up.. our legs and make ours.. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

How about Stevie Wonder and his funk-a-fied protest "Higher Ground" and maybe "A summer Place." It would be interesting to see what the shift is in current music, more protest , more group building? or is it more anguhist? Mark and Bea and Elizabeth.. no she isn't a pasafist.. it's pasifier!

Great news and way to go Bing!!! hmmm I am some what concerned Carl about your wife's sudden leaning to the right has she been listening to too much talk radio? Let us know what we can do to move her back to the left!! hehehe Weather calls for cool this weekend .. finally some pics of the new out fit.. we promise!! Thanks Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

Certainly it is an editorial and my mistake for saying article. As for business as usual in our gov... that seems to be stretching that phrase just a little too much. Looks like a whole scare dismantleing of government and an extreme move to the right dictatorial repressive regeme. As for China, well yes it is still a communist gov and as such is not accountable to anyone. It is still at this point in time a more progressive government than our current one. The rights issues you speak of I am not aware of.. what rights? People in SZ seem to be going about their business with out interference. Real wages have increased as have wages for farmers and their taxes have been lowered if not abolished. I re-read a recent article and they are now offering free education to rural students up to the 9th grade. Now of course you can not compare these meager things to the great USA.. but when comparing them to this country China, it begins to smack of progressive liberialism.. yikes! As I have said before the difficult thing is not knowing the language so not getting a full picture of what is going on here, but my sense is that this country is moving forward and caususly as they fear an implosion such that the USSR experienced and perhaps because of lack of world experience. Given all this it does seem a country and society in a period of rapid change with a much better out come than the backward thinking, repressive looking, war mongering state of the states. Mark and Bea and Elizabeth