Stands to reason, the most pernicious cyber attacks all originate there as well.

I think I'll do my own boycott of these Olympics and wait for the 2010 Winter Games.

It's shameful that we are participating in these Olympics. I won't be watching one moment of it.

/on the other hand Brownback could just be missing the limelight along with Ron Paul.

I hate to be really pithy about this but:

Well, DUH!

Completely unsuprising.

We won't be watching them here, except for any Tae Kwon Do coverage, since little Hawk studies that.

Ancient Chinese secret?

/

re: #3 patrickafir

It's shameful that we are participating in these Olympics. I won't be watching one moment of it.

Yeah, I really wish our country had taken a stand and boycotted it. All these activities make it very clear that China isn't the bastion of unity and world citizenry that most Americans would want.

re: #2 Honorary Yooper

I think I'll do my own boycott of these Olympics and wait for the 2010 Winter Games.

Where are those being held?

No porn for the visitors.

Lately I've been getting hits from other areas than Beijing on my site, it's like the great firewall of China is starting to leak.

Will there be video of what goes on in the rooms?

I will not be tuning in this time either. However, my wife the once gymnast, sports junkie, and daughter of a university coach will. I will use that time to catch up on a bit of neglected reloading while she is occupied.

suprise suprise they are commies after all.

In the off chance that I wind up in a Beijing hotel during the Olympics, let me just explain in advance regarding my internet use that I am doing a study on educational trends for Japanese teenage girls. Yeah, that's the ticket.

re: #10 vxbush

Where are those being held?

Vancouver, BC.

If you are going over for the games, just be careful what bus you get on.

I won't be tuning in, either.

China has installed Internet-spying equipment in all the major hotel chains serving the 2008 Summer Olympics

And this is surprising, in what way? The Olympics are exceptionally boring, anyway. It's Summertime! Why the hell is anyone inside, anyway? Get some exercise, instead of watching others exercise!

I have nothing to hide!
But it's still none of their business.

I do so hope the air clears up in Beijing and all the little nothing terroristas stay home. I hope everything is just a marvelous experience for all of the young participants.
The olympics shouldn't be a political stomping ground.
You listenin' President Carter?

I wish I could boycott the whole thing, but I want to support the US athletes. Anyone got any clever ideas about how to send a thwak to the hosts while cheering on our peeps?

Sponsor boycott perhaps? I dunno. *scratching head*

re: #16 Occasional Reader

Aha, comrade what are the whips and chains for?

I heard Al Gore is one of their top advisors on this project. Don't you remember; he "invented the internet"
SPITS

Wasn't there an Obama speech where he said we needed to be more like China?

I can't find it.

I wish the competitors the best of luck. That being said, I've got no interest in watching any of the events.

re: #25 MAV

I heard Al Gore is one of their top advisors on this project. Don't you remember; he "invented the internet"
SPITS

Will Comrade Gore have to declare these overseas earnings before they end up in Zurich?

What do the Dem's have to say about that?

Get the ACLU right away!

There was an article in the WSJ about this same issue. People have fired up their blackberries in China and found new programs installed.

re: #26 Silhouette

Wasn't there an Obama speech where he said we needed to be more like China?

I can't find it.

memory hole

Just another tactic in their devious plan to sweep Olympic World of Warcraft Gold Farming.

Hurray for SSH tunnels and 4096 bit keys...

Please, everyone, watch the olympics!
Cheer the American athletes and savor every victory over the Chinese. Your not watching affects the Chinese Govt. in no way. You are only denying yourselves the chance to witness some astounding American achievement.

I've lost 2 Folding@home machines in the past week.
Dang.

re: #14 ackomanyuki
Reloading?
You violent warmonger you!
LOL,;-)

I saw a photo of the Olympic Stadium in the paper yesterday. Looked like Beijing was having a sandstorm. Very nasty pollution.

re: #31 Capitalist Tool

memory hole

Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.

re: #35 Capitalist Tool

I blame the Guild Navigators.

If the Chinese spyware doesn't catch you...Google will report you.

Iraq Banned From Chicom Olympics

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The International Olympic Committee has confirmed a ban on Iraq from competing in the Beijing Games in a major blow to seven Iraqi athletes who had hoped to travel to China this August, an IOC letter said.

In the letter dated July 23 and addressed to the Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sports Jassim Mohammed Jaffer, the IOC said it was moving ahead with a ban first imposed on Iraq's athletes last month.

"In spite of all the joint efforts of IOC and OCA (Olympic Council of Asia), over the last months to find a positive solution with the Iraqi government authorities, we regretfully inform you that the decision of the IOC executive board dated 4 June 2008 to suspend the National Olympic Committee of Iraq is confirmed," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP on Thursday.

"We deeply regret this outcome which severely harms the Iraqi Olympic and Sports Movement and the Iraqi athletes but which is unfortunately imposed by the circumstances."

The IOC suspended Iraq for "political interference" in its national Olympic committee which was sacked last month and replaced by a new panel headed by Jaafar.

The IOC had warned of sanctions after Iraq disbanded its Olympic committee and other sports bodies on May 21, 2008.

After the initial suspension it was believed that up to seven Iraqi athletes would still participate in the Games beginning on August 8.

However the IOC made clear in Thursday's letter that the chance for Iraqi athletes to compete under the Olympic flag in lieu of the national flag was over.

"The quota places obtained through the qualification systems and the invitation places offered by the Tripartite Commission to Iraqi athletes have been withdrawn and re-allocated to other NCOs," the letter said.

re: #30 Dianna

There was an article in the WSJ about this same issue. People have fired up their blackberries in China and found new programs installed.

I have long assumed that there is massive, pervasive e-spying on business and government travelers in China.

re: #16 Occasional Reader

In the off chance that I wind up in a Beijing hotel during the Olympics, let me just explain in advance regarding my internet use that I am doing a study on educational trends for Japanese teenage girls. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Not Brazilian swimsuit models?

The Olympics really need to just go away. The "spirit of competition" really gets watered down by pervasive corporate sponsorship mention in every sentence uttered; by national "interests" that have to be served/kissed up to; and of course, someone winning must mean that their performance was "enhanced' somehow. Give this BS a rest! The final one should've been Athens to recognize the Centennial of the modern Games, and then consigned to the history books.

re: #34 redshirt

Please, everyone, watch the olympics!
Cheer the American athletes and savor every victory over the Chinese. Your not watching affects the Chinese Govt. in no way. You are only denying yourselves the chance to witness some astounding American achievement.

I will not watch (well, except as I have noted above). And I hope NBC chokes on their useless ads.

Another reason to watch: 30,000 (read that somewhere) reporters in country to cover the games. There is no way in hell the chicoms can censor everyone of them. Many truths will come out of that country heretofore unknown. China will regret hosting the games after it is done. Mark my words...

Communists are such power-mad paranoid control freaks. Bunch of Putins.

re: #37 Bobblehead

I saw a photo of the Olympic Stadium in the paper yesterday. Looked like Beijing was having a sandstorm. Very nasty pollution.

If only Bush had signed Kyoto...

/

No to the watching these Olympics for me, and when I find out what hotels allowed this edict to be enforced I will boycott them also.

re: #43 Kosh's Shadow

Not Brazilian swimsuit models?

They'll be in the hotel with me, so it's not really a "cyber"-related matter.

re: #34 redshirt

The coverage is boring, 98 percent of the time. I'll pass. But, you go ahead and watch, and be one of the hundred thousand or so that tune in.

My daughter got back from Beijing about 10 days ago after taking part in a language competition there. She could only use skype in her hotel. I'm not sure why . MSN was blocked and so were some other things .Since she was a VIP (representing Turkey in an Internatlional competition) she had her own "guide" who wouldn't leave her alone at all.. even in the bathroom. THe more things change.. the more they stay the same!

i read somewhere Britain is holding 2012 Olympics and a huge Mosque has been built next to where competitions, i am uncertain if it means anything but i had wondered about a smallish country trying to manage secuirty

And try to not be enticed by the local fauna, regardless of how enticing, lest you end up having to explain a situation like this:

[Link: www.timesonline.co.uk...]

re: #41 Ackomanyuki

The IOC suspended Iraq for "political interference" in its national Olympic committee which was sacked last month and replaced by a new panel headed by Jaafar.

Hmmm. Do you think the Chinese Communist Party has ever influenced its National Olympic Committee in the run up to the Peking Olympics?

Tough speech form Governor Patterson of NY. 97% decline in bank tax revenues to state, deficit up 22%.

re: #34 redshirt

Oh, I'll read about the victories afterward, but I find most of the summer olympic events to be rather dull. I mean, how much pole vaulting can one watch?

Now, I'll be glued to the TV for the winter games. Hockey, curling, luge, bobsled, etc.

re: #26 Silhouette

Wasn't there an Obama speech where he said we needed to be more like China?

I can't find it.

FOUND IT! Everyone "report" this to Charles, please, as I believe it will make a great update.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says the White House is still asleep at the switch, when it comes to network defense.

"We know that cyber-espionage and common crime is already on the rise. And yet while countries like China have been quick to recognize this change, for the last eight years we have been dragging our feet," he said in a speech today at Purdue University, focusing on unconventional threats.

Obama thinks we should be more like China when it comes to internet security.

sorry for the repetition of the word "entice".

re: #55 Ackomanyuki

I'm sort of curious if the communist countries still give their athletes steroids. I remember watching a documentary about the East German olympic team and doping and because of all the steroids and chemicals they gave their athletes I t hink 3 of them ended up having to have sex changes.

I wonder....would the Olympic Committee have chosen a different country to host the Olympics if they knew at the time of voting that China would be pulling this crap?

I would hope so, China has no business hosting the Olympics.

re: #42 Occasional Reader

Most people who are paying attention are in agreement.

re: #53 willowone

The London 2012 Summer games will be worse, in many aspects. The unofficial homicide-bomber games that I feel are likely there, really concern me.

Just say "no" to the Olympics.

re: #56 lifeofthemind

Tough speech form Governor Patterson of NY. 97% decline in bank tax revenues to state, deficit up 22%.

I believe that is usually time to trim the state budget. Of course, Patterson is a Dem, like my governor, Blagojevich, so trimming the budget is a serious no-no.

re: #63 6pat6

But wait how can scantily clad women running track dare to be within looking distance of a mosque? I see some intolerance and racism here. *not*

Note - All Olympic hotel guests MUST log-on to the The Onion at least daily.

Barrack H. Obama is a Marxist tool

re: #50 Occasional Reader

They'll be in the hotel with me, so it's not really a "cyber"-related matter.

Riiiight

By 2012, the UK will have completely capitulated to the caliph, so the women's participation in those games won't happen, anyway. "Sensitivities", you know.

re: #53 willowone

i read somewhere Britain is holding 2012 Olympics and a huge Mosque has been built next to where competitions, i am uncertain if it means anything but i had wondered about a smallish country trying to manage secuirty

The last I remember hearing, the megamosque was on hold. Anybody have an update?

OT: Getting bitch-slapped by a Command Sergeant Major hurts.

if Senator Obama isn’t comfortable meeting wounded American troops without his entourage, perhaps he does not have the experience necessary to serve as commander in chief.

re: #9 vxbush

Yeah, I really wish our country had taken a stand and boycotted it. All these activities make it very clear that China isn't the bastion of unity and world citizenry that most Americans would want.

What, they're pernicious Commies? Shocking and yet boring, mainly boring. I can't believe that this would actually surprise anyone.

On the other hand, since all of our jobs and money are in China anyway, the least that they can do is provide us with some free entertainment.

re: #64 Honorary Yooper

I believe that is usually time to trim the state budget. Of course, Patterson is a Dem, like my governor, Blagojevich, so trimming the budget is a serious no-no.

No indictments for Blago yet?

re: #55 Ackomanyuki

Hmmm. Do you think the Chinese Communist Party has ever influenced its National Olympic Committee in the run up to the Peking Olympics?

No. The first National Olympic Committee voluntarily decided, en masse, that they'd rather work (cheerfully) in the uranium mines. They were replaced by the New People's National Olympic Commitee of the 18th of October, who, by a remarkable coincidence, just happen to agree with the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party about absolutely everything.

/

re: #60 baconeatingkaffir

The Chicoms probably have a lab run by their military larger than Fort Detrick Maryland just for developing undectecable perfomance enhancing substances for their althletes.

I wouldn't put anything past them.

Bizzare

re: #70 Ward Cleaver

The last I remember hearing, the megamosque was on hold. Anybody have an update?

Apparently someone spread the rumor that it was a Wal*Mart and someone filed a whole bunch of lawsuits.

/

re: #72 SeattleSE

What, they're pernicious Commies? Shocking and yet boring, mainly boring. I can't believe that this would actually surprise anyone.

On the other hand, since all of our jobs and money are in China anyway, the least that they can do is provide us with some free entertainment.

Funny thing is, since China is so dependent on selling cheap crap to us, they are starting to suffer a slowdown as we buy less of it. A good part of this is due to the higher fuel prices now. It costs more to ship something from China than it does to make it in the US.

re: #73 Ward Cleaver

No indictments for Blago yet?

Not yet. I think Rezko is still performing his canary impersonation.

If you get caught on the interweb, you might have these guys at your hotel door:

Chinese SWAT

OT

House poised to apologize for slavery, Jim Crow

Can you say the door's wide open for r-e-p-a-r-a-t-i-o-n-s.

re: #71 experiencedtraveller

OT: Getting bitch-slapped by a Command Sergeant Major hurts.

Did that make it into any newspapers?

re: #74 Occasional Reader

No. The first National Olympic Committee voluntarily decided, en masse, that they'd rather work (cheerfully) in the uranium mines. They were replaced by the New People's National Olympic Commitee of the 18th of October, who, by a remarkable coincidence, just happen to agree with the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party about absolutely everything.

/

In similar circumstance,
the still- living members of Iraqi olympic cmte. got canned and replace by the Iraqi govt for being corrupt, and the IOC has now banned the Iraqi team.
IOC thugs.

re: #71 experiencedtraveller

OT: Getting bitch-slapped by a Command Sergeant Major hurts.

JustMyView will now drop in to explain how:

a) the Pentagon actually prohibited Obama from visiting the hospital,

b) Obama voluntarily and very manfully decided not to visit the hospital so as not to "politicize" it, and

c) both a) and b) are somehow simultaneously true.

re: #57 Honorary Yooper

Oh, I'll read about the victories afterward, but I find most of the summer olympic events to be rather dull. I mean, how much pole vaulting can one watch?

Now, I'll be glued to the TV for the winter games. Hockey, curling, luge, bobsled, etc.

Oh come on, Swimming alone is worth tuning in!

re: #80 gordan the fisherman

If you get caught on the interweb, you might have these guys at your hotel door:

Chinese SWAT

Heh. Wonder how good they are at shooting while driving one of those things.

re: #79 Honorary Yooper

Not yet. I think Rezko is still performing his canary impersonation.

Well, I hope they're coming.

It would be fun to go if I could sneak in a case of Bibles for the house churches. I hope that The Bible League is doing just that!

re: #81 jorline

OT

House poised to apologize for slavery, Jim Crow

Can you say the door's wide open for r-e-p-a-r-a-t-i-o-n-s.

Oh, oh, can I have some too please? My first ancestor was an indentured servant, so I, as white as I am, should get some too.

/Reparations were done, it's called blood for freedom.

re: #81 jorline

OT

House poised to apologize for slavery, Jim Crow

Can you say the door's wide open for r-e-p-a-r-a-t-i-o-n-s.

Fine, I feel pretty good about giving $500Million to each and every person that was a slave prior to the emancipation proclamation. Provided that descendants are ineligible.

re: #34 redshirt

Please, everyone, watch the olympics!
Cheer the American athletes and savor every victory over the Chinese. Your not watching affects the Chinese Govt. in no way. You are only denying yourselves the chance to witness some astounding American achievement.

I promise to show as much interest and enthusiasm for the Olympics as I do any other sporting event.

OT: Petraeus - Violence in Iraq Approaching 'Normalcy'"

A buddy of mine moved to Beijing roughly 10 years ago. He still lives there. Anyway...I sent him what I thought was a funny email when he'd been there for maybe 6 months. I threw in a few zingers at the Chinese govt. Dave quickly got back to me, thanked me for the email, and then politely told me to NEVER send him another email mentioning anything that the ChiCom gov't wouldn't "appreciate." I got the hint and kinda felt like a fool. I should've known better.

They're bugging the rooms too, I bet.

My friends in security tell me that whenever dignitaries visit China, everyone is briefed to assume that the hotel rooms are bugged.

Because they are.

Some flaunt it a purposely spend all room time naked.

re: #92 karmic_inquisitor

OT: Petraeus - Violence in Iraq Approaching 'Normalcy'"

But, the surge didn't worrrrrrkkkk!
-Barack Hussein "Messiah" Obama

What's disgusting is China COULD be helping us fight Al Qaeda with China's billion man army, or billion spy network.

But noooooo, they're busy undermining the free world.

re: #93 obscured by clouds

A buddy of mine moved to Beijing roughly 10 years ago. He still lives there. Anyway...I sent him what I thought was a funny email when he'd been there for maybe 6 months. I threw in a few zingers at the Chinese govt. Dave quickly got back to me, thanked me for the email, and then politely told me to NEVER send him another email mentioning anything that the ChiCom gov't wouldn't "appreciate." I got the hint and kinda felt like a fool. I should've known better.

Yeah, he could have wound up in a "career" making toys for Wal*Mart.

/

re: #93 obscured by clouds

Geeze, I hope he didn't get a visit from anyone.

BTW, nice avatar. Caddyshack is freaking hillarious.
"My dingy's bigger than your boat."

re: #84 Occasional Reader

He wanted to avoid being asked to heal someone's ear.

re: #92 karmic_inquisitor

OT: Petraeus - Violence in Iraq Approaching 'Normalcy'"

B-b-b-but what about those car bombs yesterday?

Quagmire! Redeploy!

/obama, dems, moonbats, msm

OT/
Today I got a text message from a friend in Billings, Montana. She and her dog are fleeing the terrible forest fire there (they're being evacuated). Her house and everything she has is most likely going to be destroyed. :(

/puts my problems in perspective

re: #71 experiencedtraveller

OT: Getting bitch-slapped by a Command Sergeant Major hurts.

Bravo Zulu Top Kick

Oddly enough, China "sees no evil" in evil Sudan, or wherever else human life is cheap and tyrants rule.

Just Released!

Secret footage of rehearsals for Opening Ceremonies!

re: #94 Ben Hur

They're bugging the rooms too, I bet.

My friends in security tell me that whenever dignitaries visit China, everyone is briefed to assume that the hotel rooms are bugged.

Because they are.

Some flaunt it a purposely spend all room time naked.

I'd flaunt it with a constant chorus of whoopee cushions and my obsessive rants about China's toxic pollution and corruption.

/probably end up lost in some dank prision.

re: #101 obscured by clouds

OT/
Today I got a text message from a friend in Billings, Montana. She and her dog are fleeing the terrible forest fire there (they're being evacuated). Her house and everything she has is most likely going to be destroyed. :(

/puts my problems in perspective

Let's pray that it goes around her house.

Lemons From Lemonade Dept.: They could add an Olympic net security and debugging event.

re: #61 Maximu§

They were deliberately being very "International" when they picked China to host the Olympics. If the prison slavery and organ harvesting didn't bother them, why would they complain because the hotel internet doesn't pass an Ad Aware scan?

Of course they'd have given China the nod.

re: #94 Ben Hur

They're bugging the rooms too, I bet.

My friends in security tell me that whenever dignitaries visit China, everyone is briefed to assume that the hotel rooms are bugged.

Because they are.

Some flaunt it a purposely spend all room time naked.

Told my students that the East German Stasi bugged Katerina Witte's bed. That being an adolescent's ultimate nightmare it gave them the right feeling about communism.

re: #107 Occasional Reader

Lemons From Lemonade Dept.: They could add an Olympic net security and debugging event.

And an Olympic hacking event.

/to hack into the chi-com govt computers

re: #109 lifeofthemind

Told my students that the East German Stasi bugged Katerina Witte's bed.

Her actual bed? Really?

And while Obama globetrotted, everyone laffed about McCain meeting with the anti-Chinese Dalai Lama.

McCain cares about a billion poor Chinese living under communist tyrants, while Obama praises their "Dear Leaders" & their spyware.

how soon will a moonbat claim that Bush/Cheney fascist state does the same thing here under FISA and Patriot act.

re: #109 lifeofthemind
My stepdaughter is Turkish and attends a shall we say religious university (on scholarship!)but she studies chinese. She spent 8 months over there last year with a bunch of scarfies. So I thought it was quite fitting that she got to see both evils. hehe! Then again she was baptized 2 years ago the last time we were in the states.

re: #99 Ben Hur

He wanted to avoid being asked to heal someone's ear.

He was already exhausted from feeding that crowd of 200,000,000 Germans with three bratwursts and two steins of beer.

re: #44 6pat6

I'm guessing you were never much of an athlete.

The Olympics are great.

The only thing I would change is the superfluous coverage. Give me more sport and less biography on the athletes.

re: #111 Occasional Reader

Her actual bed? Really?

* * *
Well, the Stasi paid for her athletic performance enhancing hormones, so they figured they owned her!

(Remember back in the day we joked about the manly East German women athletes? Katerina Witt was THE exception)

If I were going to Beijing I'd be sure to visit as many unsafe websites as possible.

re: #113 beens21

how soon will a moonbat claim that Bush/Cheney fascist state does the same thing here under FISA and Patriot act.

Wait two seconds. The last claim was a mere three seconds ago.

re: #117 alegrias

* * *
Well, the Stasi paid for her athletic performance enhancing hormones, so they figured they owned her!

(Remember back in the day we joked about the manly East German women athletes? Katerina Witt was THE exception)

Everyone should see The Lives of Others.

re: #118 bosforus

If I were going to Beijing I'd be sure to visit as many unsafe websites as possible.

German Pron and online Viagra distributors for everyone!

Is Obama's the parable of the droves and wishes?

re: #117 alegrias

(Remember back in the day we joked about the manly East German women athletes?

And more broadly (no pun intended), there was definitely a meme in the culture that all women behind the Iron Curtain were ugly and butch.

When, of course, they're most definitely not.

re: #114 baconeatingkaffir

Is she cute?

Has anyone else heard the Prager ad for the carpet cleaning company that claims to use revolutionary "refabricated water" to clean your carpets.

How does one "refabricate" H2O such that it cleans better than pre-refabricated H20?

/If Al Gore can sell CO2 causing global warming, I guess Dennis can sell us "refabricated" water.

A Chronicle on the Chinese Creative Team that Designed The Bejing 2008 Graphic Slogan

Choking smog, speech restrictions and secret police surveillance. All the elements of a GREAT Olympics.

re: #124 lifeofthemind

Is she cute?

I got this one, BEK. He's closer to me than you.

/rack

/BANG

re: #98 Honorary Yooper

BTW, nice avatar. Caddyshack is freaking hillarious.
"My dingy's bigger than your boat."

This is my favorite scene, where the disheveled Bishop's in the bar after being struck by lightning:

Tony D'Annunzio: Another Rob Roy, Bishop?
Bishop: You never ask a navy man if he'll have another drink, because it's nobody's goddamned business how much he's had already.
Judge Smails: Wrong, you're drinking too much your Excellency.
Bishop: Excellency, fiddlesticks, my name's Fred and I'm a man, same as you.
Judge Smails: You're not a man, you're a bishop, for God's sakes.
Bishop: There is no God...

I laugh just thinking about it!

No suprise. Communist countries treat everyone as a potential traitor or spy. Paranoia comes naturally.

re: #122 godfrey

Is Obama's the parable of the droves and wishes?

"Blessed are the Sophisticates, for they shall hear God say, 'Merci beaucoup'."

re: #120 lifeofthemind

I agree. I was in East Berlin before the wall came down and it was one dreary place. This whole "ostalgie" movement in Germany now with films like "Good-bye Lenin" which depict the DDR as some sort of comedy soft warm fuzzy place make me ill. The lives of Others really was straight on. Five years ago I worked in Leipzig in what used to be the east. I have friends who were put in prison and had their kids confiscated from them because of their differing political views. The Germans have yet to clean house on all the trash that worked for the STASI.

re: #78 Honorary Yooper

Funny thing is, since China is so dependent on selling cheap crap to us, they are starting to suffer a slowdown as we buy less of it. A good part of this is due to the higher fuel prices now. It costs more to ship something from China than it does to make it in the US.

The not so funny thing (for them anyway), is that they need to keep growing to placate the countless hordes in the countryside who want to be a part of the "economic miracle". The inability to sustain a high growth rate will likely make the have-nots restless and destabilize the central government. It will be interesting to see how this plays out if fuel prices remain where they are. And, since I read yesterday that domestic oil production here is actually spirally downward, I really can't see how it could be otherwise.

re: #122 godfrey

Is Obama's the parable of the droves and wishes?

If he does a press conference with Robert Reich and Madeline Albright you'll have the parable of the dwarfs and witches.

re: #123 Occasional Reader

And more broadly (no pun intended), there was definitely a meme in the culture that all women behind the Iron Curtain were ugly and butch.

When, of course, they're most definitely not.

They can however, be both cute and somewhat scary.

re: #125 karmic_inquisitor

Has anyone else heard the Prager ad for the carpet cleaning company that claims to use revolutionary "refabricated water" to clean your carpets.

How does one "refabricate" H2O such that it cleans better than pre-refabricated H20?

/If Al Gore can sell CO2 causing global warming, I guess Dennis can sell us "refabricated" water.

Down at the beer joint we could show you how to reprocess water.

Quick, name the most succesful counter-terrorism agency in the US?

The DEA

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has, quietly, become a very effective counter-terror agency. The arrest of international arms dealers Victor Bout and Monzar al-Kasser (in operations worthy of movie scripts) were only one example. The agency had at least a peripheral role in the Betancourt rescue – a DEA operation inserted bugged satellite phones into the FARC, a crucial tactic that has made a tremendous contribution to the FARC’s overall breakdown. In general the agency seems to have adapted well overall to the counter-terror mission, among other things doing a competent job at building up its analytical capabilities.

Last Friday, the DEA’s chief of operations Michael Braun gave a presentation at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (hosted by co-CT Blogger and Washington Institute Fellow Michael Jacobson) that provided important insight into the DEA’s adaptation to the counter-terror mission.

re: #109 lifeofthemind
Ever see the movie "The Lives of Others"?

re: #41 Ackomanyuki

Cool

I'll add Iraq to the countries I hope do well.

re: #135 CyanSnowHawk

They can however, be both cute and somewhat scary.

Well, let's go ahead and tag that as NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Too late for ME, of course.

The Olympics have not been Olympian for some time. China's hosting of the Olympics is symptomatic of the decline. The Olympic Committee needs an honest competitor; it's own performance is seriously lacking in integrity.

re: #128 OldLineTexan

hehee. Yeah she's cool. The only thing is that she has a steady boyfriend of 3 years who really impresses the hell out of me. He has a dual major (electronic and electrical engineering) and speaks English better than I do. Also.he's a "war child" from Bosnia who (his choice of words) who seems to have his head screwed on right.

re: #125 karmic_inquisitor

Other funny advertising claims: "Liquid Oxygen" in a cosmetic product.
"Enriched Oxygen" from an electronic product used on the skin.

/The enriched stuff was O₃ a known poisonous substance.

This is gonna be data mining. Look comrades, this journo is lloking at kiddie pr0n. We can blackmail him. Or any number of variations on this theme.

re: #128 OldLineTexan

I got this one, BEK. He's closer to me than you.

/rack

/BANG

Jeez and I thought I was desirable being single even.

re: #140 Occasional Reader

Well, let's go ahead and tag that as NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Too late for ME, of course.

Aye, same here. Should have known better. I'm loading my printer paper box as of now.

re: #90 CyanSnowHawk

Fine, I feel pretty good about giving $500Million to each and every person that was a slave prior to the emancipation proclamation. Provided that descendants are ineligible.

Right. Paying reparations to those actually aggrieved by the action of the government is one thing. But paying the decedents is visiting the sins of the fathers on the children. Which, now that I think about it, is remarkably like huge budget deficits, which I also oppose.

re: #142 baconeatingkaffir

hehee. Yeah she's cool. The only thing is that she has a steady boyfriend of 3 years who really impresses the hell out of me. He has a dual major (electronic and electrical engineering) and speaks English better than I do. Also.he's a "war child" from Bosnia who (his choice of words) who seems to have his head screwed on right.

Rack on, fellow father-of-daughter(s).

/My one (so far) son-in-law is a great guy

It's odd to me how much anti-olympic sentiment there is on this board.

The world has lots of rotten stuff going on, but the Olympics are great.

One can find fault in anything, but the Olympics are worthy of enjoyment regardless of the faults.

re: #147 SeattleSE

But wait my ancestors came over as indentured servants and worked in the mines in appalachia. According to the government I am appalachian therefor I qualify for minority status. Do I as an "applo-american" qualify for a piece of the guilt money?

re: #140 Occasional Reader

Well, let's go ahead and tag that as NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

Too late for ME, of course.

I thought about doing that, but she was fully covered (admittedly in latex) and there was no nudity featured on the site.

re: #145 lifeofthemind

Jeez and I thought I was desirable being single even.

/BANG

I advise you to play dead.

re: #150 baconeatingkaffir

My ancestors died like flies at Fredericksburg, VA. Irish FOBs.
Who has my check?

re: #139 DeafDog

Cool! Thanks for the update.

re: #115 Occasional Reader

He was already exhausted from feeding that crowd of 200,000,000 Germans with three bratwursts and two steins of beer.

a bratwurst and a bier would sure hit the spot right about now...

re: #132 baconeatingkaffir

I agree. I was in East Berlin before the wall came down and it was one dreary place. This whole "ostalgie" movement in Germany now with films like "Good-bye Lenin" which depict the DDR as some sort of comedy soft warm fuzzy place make me ill. The lives of Others really was straight on. Five years ago I worked in Leipzig in what used to be the east. I have friends who were put in prison and had their kids confiscated from them because of their differing political views. The Germans have yet to clean house on all the trash that worked for the STASI.

On the features section of the DVD they point out that the major departure from reality was in the design elements. They eliminated all use of the color red but were worried if I remember that they didn't want to be as dreary as the reality.

re: #149 DeafDog

It's odd to me how much anti-olympic sentiment there is on this board.

The world has lots of rotten stuff going on, but the Olympics are great.

One can find fault in anything, but the Olympics are worthy of enjoyment regardless of the faults.

I've got nothing against the Olympics. I also have nothing for the Olympics. I hope they go well for the people who care about them. Otherwise, I could really care less.

re: #148 OldLineTexan

Its hard to have 2 daughters.My house is pink fuzzy sweet. I'm bored of chick flicks and listening to the moaning about how my house cleaning standards (or lack thereof) dont jive with theirs! If I ever have another child I really hope its a boy. hehe. Girls are cool but quite expensive on the financial and emotional side.

re: #143 BlueCanuck

Other funny advertising claims: "Liquid Oxygen" in a cosmetic product.
"Enriched Oxygen" from an electronic product used on the skin.

/The enriched stuff was O₃ a known poisonous substance.

O₃ is also known as Ozone.

40 acres.
mule, 1 ea.

Imagine that.

re: #159 baconeatingkaffir

Its hard to have 2 daughters.My house is pink fuzzy sweet. I'm bored of chick flicks and listening to the moaning about how my house cleaning standards (or lack thereof) dont jive with theirs! If I ever have another child I really hope its a boy. hehe. Girls are cool but quite expensive on the financial and emotional side.

We have four, but I have a foolproof method to avoid complaints.

Heh heh heh.

It's very similar to the military method, from what I understand.

/and yes, they cost a bundle!

re: #160 CyanSnowHawk

Good for killing bugs, microbes, lungs. . . . . . .

/I knew some one would decode that.

re: #159 baconeatingkaffir

Its hard to have 2 daughters.My house is pink fuzzy sweet. I'm bored of chick flicks and listening to the moaning about how my house cleaning standards (or lack thereof) dont jive with theirs! If I ever have another child I really hope its a boy. hehe. Girls are cool but quite expensive on the financial and emotional side.

You've got to catch them early. I've got the only 2 5-6 year old girls on my block who can tell you the difference between a base of fire and a maneuver element.

OR, I am happy to report that Ukrainian Booty Call was also highly satisfactory. Whether they will fruitfully multiply is another matter.

re: #159 baconeatingkaffir

My house is pink fuzzy sweet

Build what is known as a "man cave" immediately. Your life depends upon it.

re: #121 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

German Pron and online Viagra distributors for everyone!

Let's download some P2P software while we're at it.

The Chicoms want to block internet communications telling of how bad the air is.
No wonder- they are all buying giant cars on government subsidized fuel while we are driving lawnmowers!
[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

re: #158 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

If you like to watch sports, and I do, there is no better competition. When it comes to the Olympics, I watch all sorts of sports that I don't give a darn about and it's all good. Even gymnastics. (Don't tell anyone, but I cheer against the USA in basketball when they play Lithuania.)

re: #157 lifeofthemind

I visited the STASI museum in Leipzig. It really gives another meaning to the phrase "man bringing me down". They had pastors on the payrolls, spouses spying on each other, etc. I left there with a lump in my throat. It seems there really is quite alot of revisionism these days. As my friends in Leipzig used to tell me .. yes they have freedom now to say what they think and travel where they want and buy what they want... but they're unemployed and without money. Another prison within itself I suppose.

re: #169 bosforus

Let's download some P2P software while we're at it.

Perhaps some scat sites as well and arrange some financial transactions thru some Nigerian businessmen

re: #170 LEGION

The Chicoms want to block internet communications telling of how bad the air is.
No wonder- they are all buying giant cars on government subsidized fuel while we are driving lawnmowers!
[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

I'm thinking those cars are not CA pollution control certified either.

re: #171 DeafDog

I agree, and if doping ever plagues the Olympics like it does the Tour and much else, I will turn it off and never turn it on again.

Reparations are impossible, if only because of the logisitics.

Documenting who is decended from whom, what fraction of bloodline, and whose ancestors came from elsewhere, etc. simply could not be done Should someone who is African who arrived yesterday be paid? Whose ancesters arrived in 1866? What percentage African is "enough" to qualify? 1/64th? How do you prove that? Not everyone has their "roots" documented, and can you imagine the governmental nightmare trying to do 300 million geneologies?

There is no way it could ever work, which is precisely what "leaders" have chosen it as a Cause. It is a Cause they can use forever because it will never be fulfilled and make them un-necessary.

re: #168 godfrey

Done and done! I hvae my own "boars nest" ofa sort but my wife being the typical Turkish family oriented frau doesnt cotton well to me spending too much time there.

I was speaking on the phone with a co-worker in China and he asked me if I wanted him to bring anything back. I told him to bring me a couple more bricks out of the Great Wall like he did last time. ( a joke) He didn't think it was so funny. You never know who might be listening in.

re: #174 CyanSnowHawk

I'd QUAKE in my boots if they were CA certified!

re: #172 baconeatingkaffir

Only to the extent that freedom throws you back on your own resources. The GDR was a soul-killing surrealist totalitarian nightmare. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies (hmm...), and any nostalgia for it is really nostalgia for something it never was.

re: #177 baconeatingkaffir

Done and done! I hvae my own "boars nest" ofa sort but my wife being the typical Turkish family oriented frau doesnt cotton well to me spending too much time there.

My Aunt called my Uncle's little backyard shed/retreat his "pout house".

re: #177 baconeatingkaffir

"Boar's nest"! ROFL I love it.

re: #178 Mich-again

You never know who might be listening in.

Oh, I know who it is.

ITS THAT DAMN KARL ROVE AGAIN!

re: #176 Silhouette

To say nothing of those of us whose ancestors didn't get here until after the Civil War! Why should we have to pay reparations?

The only good thing I can think coming from all this is the potential for this Olympics being the biggest foul up in the recent history of the games. There doesn't appear to be a lot of public interest in it compared to other years, and that means lost money for the advertisers willing to pander to the Chinese. Hitting them in the pocketbook is sweet karma.

re: #181 Capitalist Tool

Ahhhh baloney on them nagging wimen folk!

re: #166 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Outstanding! My smallest (11) and my wife went shooting one afternoon the last time I was in the US. Gotta love girls who love guns. My wife really had a good time with my dad's M-1 carbine. Once we move back permanent I may buy her one for her birthday!

re: #168 godfrey

Build what is known as a "man cave" immediately. Your life depends upon it.

"Man cave" Me like.

re: #176 Silhouette

Reparations are impossible, if only because of the logisitics.

Documenting who is decended from whom, what fraction of bloodline, and whose ancestors came from elsewhere, etc. simply could not be done Should someone who is African who arrived yesterday be paid? Whose ancesters arrived in 1866? What percentage African is "enough" to qualify? 1/64th? How do you prove that? Not everyone has their "roots" documented, and can you imagine the governmental nightmare trying to do 300 million geneologies?

There is no way it could ever work, which is precisely what "leaders" have chosen it as a Cause. It is a Cause they can use forever because it will never be fulfilled and make them un-necessary.

You misunderstand the mind of the aggrieved. For instance in Hawaii one drop of blood equals full reparations. Simple. You get more supporters that way and isolate white people quickly.

And watch out for chinese organ thieves.

re: #184 Dianna

To say nothing of those of us whose ancestors didn't get here until after the Civil War! Why should we have to pay reparations?

The whole thing is just another way to cause an idea of separation between us.
We can't get a clear idea of the real enemies in our midst if we're at each others throats.
Just part of the plan.

re: #184 Dianna

To say nothing of those of us whose ancestors didn't get here until after the Civil War! Why should we have to pay reparations?

Quite Whitey. We've had enough of your racism

/Sharpton mode

re: #184 Dianna

To say nothing of those of us whose ancestors didn't get here until after the Civil War! Why should we have to pay reparations?

I was only addressing the "who GETS paid" side. The "who PAYS" side is another nest, but could conceivably be untangled by just saything The State pays. Meaning you pay, I pay, and technically, everyone getting reparations pays too.

re: #184 Dianna

To say nothing of those of us whose ancestors didn't get here until after the Civil War! Why should we have to pay reparations?

You White Devil....how dare you question reparations!

/

re: #189 pat

You misunderstand the mind of the aggrieved. For instance in Hawaii one drop of blood equals full reparations. Simple. You get more supporters that way and isolate white people quickly.

In that case, I just remembered that I'm 1/64th black. Try to prove that I'm not. You can't, can you? So pay up, honky.

/

re: #180 godfrey

I agree. Too much revisionism. I get sick of some of the idiotswho I work with telling me they miss the USSR and the communist block. Jackasses don't realize that everyone and their brother had designs on taking Turkey down. It's so easy to be a communist when you're rich!
I have a beer drinking buddy who was a LTCOL in the East German Air Defense Forces when the wall came down. Rather than take a demotion of 2 rank and become part of the bundeswehr until retirement.. he opted out and now owns his own imprt export business and print shop. Reunification wasnt bad for everyone.
Now.. if I could just get my daughters bf to quit wearing that blasted che guevara shirt!

re: #191 Capitalist Tool

Well I have no interest in being at my neighbors' throats, and I think it would be dangerous for them to be at mine. So I oppose this notion of "reparations" entirely.

re: #184 Dianna

"Reparations" offends each and every molecule of justice.

re: #192 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Sorry, but I'm no racist. Al can go back to his radio station and church.

re: #196 baconeatingkaffir

Che was a hit man and killed innocent people. Show them the record.

I've been to China twice in the past few years and haven't had any problems with any websites being blocked in my hotel rooms. The Verizon cell network works well too, calls come right in and out without any problems and I didn't have to do a single thing with my phone.

For China, this is its "we have arrived as a modern nation" three week spectacle. These stories don't surprise me deep down, but I have never felt awkward or even suspicious that my movements and activities were being monitored in my travels there. I went anywhere I wanted, anytime. There's absolutely no comparison to my travels in the former Iron Curtain nations back in the day. That was kinda cool though, knowing that your room was bugged and all of that. All you had to wear were some white Nike sneakers and you were an instant celebrity on the streets, curious eyes always on your every movement. Somehow, someway, I must get into North Korea to experience that old school commie weirdness before it's gone forever.

Alas, a simple pack of western cigarettes doesn't open doors for you anymore in Moscow, now you need stacks of Euros.

Now, if someone could please tell me how to take a decent picture in China, especially in major cities without the blah grey color of sky appearing in the pics no matter how many filters I use, that would be much appreciated.

China = Chainre: #196 baconeatingkaffir

Now.. if I could just get my daughters bf to quit wearing that blasted che guevara shirt!

Oh thats easy. Try this.. "Hey dumbass. Take that idiotic shirt off or get the F* out of here."

re: #193 Silhouette

It's still my money. And I still say no. I'm not guilty of anything requiring reparations, and no one deserving reparations is still alive.

So, no. Just, no. Not one penny.

re: #194 Maximu§

I don't merely question, I reject reparations absolutely.

re: #202 Mich-again

Yeah, lol, but you want them to stop wearing it forever. Che was a thug!

re: #203 Dianna

I would've felt differently ca. 1870. I would've supported individual reparations, certainly.

re: #204 Dianna

I don't merely question, I reject reparations absolutely.

I was just teasing you, I feel the same way.

re: #201 mfarmer1

Somehow, someway, I must get into North Korea to experience that old school commie weirdness

I think it's a very different kind of weirdness. The average Russian 20 years ago knew his system was crap. The Norks, on the other hand, seem to have taken the Kool-Aid.

besides watching women's beach volleyball wasn't going to watch much of it anyway.

re: #198 godfrey

Yes, it does!

re: #209 yochanan

besides watching women's beach volleyball wasn't going to watch much of it anyway.

"Marrrrrge... I've been watching womens' volleyballll...."

-Homer Simpson, in the mood

re: #206 godfrey

However, it's not 1870, or even 1970.

I think I have found a compromise for the che t-shirt. The youngun wants a Tito t-shirt he found on ebay. I guess its an acceptable compromise. At least my daughter didnt bring him back any chairman mao memorabilia from China. That really would suck!

re: #208 Occasional Reader

A colleague of mine will be in NK soon for the official dog and pony show. Bleh. Where are the men who will smuggle things in and out? Can we please topple this nasty, decrepit embarrassment called NK? How long can it shuffle along like a zombie before someone kicks it over finally and tosses it on the fire? Faster, I say.

Howdy All,

This spy operation in Chinese hotels is really small potatoes. The serious threat of Chinese intelligence gathering is elsewhere, and hardly recognized, let alone understood, by American counter intelligence.

The greatest resource that the Chinese possess is an almost limitless supply of manpower. They can afford to have tens, even hundreds, of millions of people monitoring listening devices 24/7, and they do! Bits of conversation, seemingly random and unrelated, when assembled and analyzed create a wealth of information undreamed of in the Western World. Chinese intelligence agents are at this very moment at their headsets. Listening. They miss nothing. Where?

Why at "ALL YOU CAN EAT CHINESE RESTAURANTS" of course! Every table is bugged! Every word is heard, recorded, and analized. Haven't you ever wondered how these places can charge so little, offer an all you can eat menu, are patronized by the fattest people on earth, with the biggest appetites, and still remain in business? Easy! Profit is NOT the motivation, ther're ALL intelligence gathering operations run by the Chinese Government! Think about it!

Remember, you heard it HERE first !

KEEP MUM, and Bon appetite !

re: #207 Maximu§

I know you were, I really understand. But this is an outrage, and I will always articulate my rejection. It seems important to me.

re: #211 Occasional Reader

lol

re: #209 yochanan

besides watching women's beach volleyball wasn't going to watch much of it anyway.

The shorts on those volleyball girls gets shorter every year...not that I'm complaining, but last game I watched it looked like the girls were playing in their panties. God, I would love to be in that locker room after a hot, sweaty game.

I better STFU now.

re: #214 godfrey

Can we please topple this nasty, decrepit embarrassment called NK?

How dare you! The Norks are model citizens of the world. Just look at the evidence of their near-pristine carbon footprint.

re: #215 M. Bensson-Levi

Chinese A: I'd like a hamburger, please.
Chinese B: Yes! One hamburger!
(efficient Chinese production)
Chinese B: Here! One hamburger!
Chinese A: Thank you, and a blessing upon your ancestors!
BZZZTTTTT!
(a laser beam vaporizes Chinese A for doubleplusungood reference)

That about right?

re: #144 pingjockey

This is gonna be data mining. Look comrades, this journo is lloking at kiddie pr0n. We can blackmail him. Or any number of variations on this theme.

Exactly so.

But I think the Chinese play a more subtle and patient game.

Imagine if the detailed credit card information of, say, a past or future presidential candidate came to their government hackers. And having that information, they then quietly watched and recorded the pol's transactions involving, say, airline reservations, hotel activities, taxis and limos, restaurants, bars, clubs, etc.

Then suppose the Chinese found a way to present the candidate with a blunt choice: "Be our 'friend' and we'll 'help' you get elected (millions and millions straight into your campaign budget, and no worries about your FEC, the sports fans running that show were in the same hotel as you) or don't be our friend, and tomorrow morning, all the world will know you as we know you."

re: #215 M. Bensson-Levi

Profit is NOT the motivation, ther're ALL intelligence gathering operations run by the Chinese Government!

That would explain why all the fish items on the menu are always called "fish". Government creativity.

re: #218 Maximu§

The wife gets slightly upset when I show interest in volleyball season here. I love the uniforms with the sponsor's names on the backsides of the women! Oh yeah.. off topic did you ever see the website

www.grenzer.com

really interesting.

re: #58 Silhouette

Obama thinks we should be more like China when it comes to internet security.

And people in this country bitch and complain ie: Jesse Ventura about Bush and his Patriot Act. Ventura hasn't a clue about what really goes on in other countries.

re: #172 baconeatingkaffir

I visited the STASI museum in Leipzig. It really gives another meaning to the phrase "man bringing me down". They had pastors on the payrolls, spouses spying on each other, etc. I left there with a lump in my throat. It seems there really is quite alot of revisionism these days. As my friends in Leipzig used to tell me .. yes they have freedom now to say what they think and travel where they want and buy what they want... but they're unemployed and without money. Another prison within itself I suppose.

The problems of East Germany could be put in two categories. One is structural related to legal regimens and capital access. The other is cultural.

The legal and financial problems flow from the centralized top down socialist nature of the E.U. and the modern West European governance model. These are obviously better than the old communist systems they replaced but are not only a drag on developed Western nations like France and the Netherlands, they are particularly harmful to developing societies like those in Eastern Europe. Cutting taxes by 30% and eliminating all licensing regulations not directly attributable to health and safety would enormously speed up development. Eastern Europe suffers from a high level of environmental damage from the communist era but it also benefits from having much of the older desirable construction retained.

The cultural issues holding back growth in the East are a legacy of Totalitarianism. A joke went that Communism succeeded in making even Germans unemployable. Western Europe suffers terribly from the stultifying effects of the nanny state and class ridden jealousy. People from the East had the advantage of lower expectations. They knew that government was not the answer. However true self sufficiency is hard and it is possible that the siren song of collectivism, coupled with convenient scape-goating, will make inroads. Add to this the introduction of the negative example of Islamism, which is a lethal cocktail of self pity, supremism, collectivism and bigotry, and the possibility of massive social failure is real.

re: #11 jorline

No porn for the visitors.

Bastards!
/

re: #221 Clemente

Can you say "Bill Clinton?"

re: #13 Mike in Georgia

Will there be video of what goes on in the rooms?

Only if the occupants don't cooperate...

re: #220 godfrey

Chinese A: I'd like a hamburger, please.
Chinese B: Yes! One hamburger!
(efficient Chinese production)
Chinese B: Here! One hamburger!
Chinese A: Thank you, and a blessing upon your ancestors!
BZZZTTTTT!
(a laser beam vaporizes Chinese A for doubleplusungood reference)

That about right?

No, no, no, man! I'm talkin' about restaurants in the good old US of A, where you go in, eat, talk, and a little Chinese microphone is stuck under the table listening to everything you say! Gathering intel!

BTW, don't tell Oliver Stone about this, You know how he gets.

re: #203 Dianna

It's still my money. And I still say no. I'm not guilty of anything requiring reparations, and no one deserving reparations is still alive.

So, no. Just, no. Not one penny.

Oh, I agree. But perverting justice is possible. So I put aside arguing the injustice of it, and just pointed out it cannot physically be done. Ever.

The geneological records simply do not exist for every single person, especially people who were slaves.

re: #222 Occasional Reader

That would explain why all the fish items on the menu are always called "fish". Government creativity.

Yeah! You're gettin' it. And the menu's the same, no matter which one you go to!

re: #230 Silhouette

Oh, I agree. But perverting justice is possible. So I put aside arguing the injustice of it, and just pointed out it cannot physically be done. Ever.

The geneological records simply do not exist for every single person, especially people who were slaves.

Only 200 generations ago my ancestors were slaves in Egypt. Where's my money?

re: #225 lifeofthemind

Yes but the rapid privatizaiton of the east didnt help much either. I mean the guys from the west came in like the carpetbaggers of the civil war and bought up factoriees using statesubsidies and then kept them open long enough to take over the customers, pay back the money, and shut down.

re: #231 M. Bensson-Levi

Yeah! You're gettin' it. And the menu's the same, no matter which one you go to!

And they've probably obtained complete penetration of Mossad ops inside the US by staying open on Christmas all these years!

re: #189 pat

You misunderstand the mind of the aggrieved. For instance in Hawaii one drop of blood equals full reparations. Simple. You get more supporters that way and isolate white people quickly.

Right. Reparations are impossible, not because of the logistics but because the entire notion is wrongheaded. On top of which, while owning slaves may have been morally reprehensible, it wasn't against the law at the time. To pay reparations now for something that was legal then would be to pass an ex post facto law which is clearly unconstitutional.

This is completely different than paying reparations to Japanese-Americans interred during WWII since the actual victims were compensated and since the practice was most likely illegal when it happened.

re: #232 lifeofthemind

Only 200 generations ago my ancestors were slaves in Egypt. Where's my money?

The Egyptians (who of course are decended from the Arabs that invaded in the 6th century and not the ancient Egyptians) said the Jews stole all the gold when they left and they want it back, or the monetary equivalent, with interest.

Sadly, I am not joking.

Bold indeed to demand reparations FROM slaves, but especially if you weren't even the former slave masters.

re: #42 Occasional Reader

I have long assumed that there is massive, pervasive e-spying on business and government travelers in China.

When my guys with the government used to go to China they were not allowed to take any US issued electronic devices period. No laptops, blackberries, cell phones, etc. And for good reason, they would bring them back to the US and hook them up to a government network and Bam!@

I wouldn't in my WILDEST DREAMS believe the Chicoms would do this! /

re: #234 Occasional Reader

And they've probably obtained complete penetration of Mossad ops inside the US by staying open on Christmas all these years!

Yeah! You got! Clever these devious orientals, but inscrutable? Hardly!

Later alligators.

re: #208 Occasional Reader

I think it's a very different kind of weirdness. The average Russian 20 years ago knew his system was crap. The Norks, on the other hand, seem to have taken the Kool-Aid.

Good point. It's hard to know as the restrictions there are far more severe than anything the Soviets and their satellites had in play.

Have you ever checked out the DPRK Friendship Association? I won't bore you, but if you know what I'm talking about I've got some hysterical stories about its leader, Alejandro Cao de Benos. One of my past employees worked with that clown in Spain. A moonbat extraordinaire that guy, geesh.

Regarding reparations:
I can prove I had an ancestor who was in the Union Army killed in action. I declare myself immune from paying. I already payed the debt in blood.

This may be a bigger disaster than 1936.

re: #6 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

Completely unsuprising.

I'd be a hell of a lot more surprised if they weren't monitoring.

re: #243 SFGoth

Hmmmm Oil war in 3 years then?

re: #203 Dianna

It's still my money. And I still say no. I'm not guilty of anything requiring reparations, and no one deserving reparations is still alive.

So, no. Just, no. Not one penny.

My father's family immigrated to America right after the First World War. My mother's family is quite proud of their abolitionist history and that they lost several members in the Civil War - who had joined up to free the slaves. One of my great-great uncles was, according to family tradition, murdered in the Lawrence Kansas Massacre. "Jesse James" was a dirty word in my grandparents' home when Grandpa Ray was still alive.

Why would I owe "reparations"?

re: #22 Capitalist Tool

The olympics shouldn't be a political stomping ground.

Of course, they're political. They've always been political.

If they weren't, Iran and Saudi Arabia would be hosting them.

re: #241 mfarmer1

Good point. It's hard to know as the restrictions there are far more severe than anything the Soviets and their satellites had in play.

Have you ever checked out the DPRK Friendship Association? I won't bore you, but if you know what I'm talking about I've got some hysterical stories about its leader, Alejandro Cao de Benos. One of my past employees worked with that clown in Spain. A moonbat extraordinaire that guy, geesh.

What about John Paul Cupp?

::cuckoo::

I've never been able to determine if his "Songun Politics Study Group" is a parody or not, it's that nuts.

BTW, that second link has a cheesy 1990's MIDI theme playing, which I assume is the North Korean national anthem.

Who awarded these guys the Olympics anyway?

ooooh, I know, a bunch of corrupt, money-grubbing execs who head the Olympic Organizing Committee. They must be so proud of themselves.

re: #248 Spiny Norman

What about John Paul Cupp?

::cuckoo::

I've never been able to determine if his "Songun Politics Study Group" is a parody or not, it's that nuts.

BTW, that second link has a cheesy 1990's MIDI theme playing, which I assume is the North Korean national anthem.

No joke. These guys are for real. I thought it was all one giant parody until I hired a guy who knew the "diplomat" as he called himself working some lowly IT job for a university in Barcelona. Funny stuff. In my opinion, Alejandro is by far the more entertaining guy. You can youtube him standing at the DMZ screaming in English and really bad Korean "Yankees go home" and other tidbits of wisdom.

Guess they're afraid someone will discover the secret recipe for Chicken Soo Guy and email it to every Chinese restaurant in the USA.

Serious question:

Aren't there ways around this using "encryption"? That stuff is pretty difficult to crack, isn't it? They would be monitoring what would appear to them as gibberish, right?

Charles?

Rule of thumb: Any country that has a goose-stepping military cannot be trusted.

Oh Well -

This is REALLY SILLY on the part of the Chinese. I am trying to sublimate if NOT FORGET Tienanmin Square, 1989. It has been about 20 years, and for what was happening then, casualties were minimum. WHY RAISE QUESTIONS NOW? Discussion, Americans of Chinese background Most Welcome.

-S-

Um, Sam? They're commies. That's what they do.

All countries should boycott these games....would be some real exciting games with just Cuba and China participating.

re: #116 DeafDog

I'm guessing you were never much of an athlete.

Actually, I was in school. I even trained and tried for the '76 team, so that kinda blows your "argument" all to hell, doesn't it? That really doesn't matter here, anyway. There are plenty of national and internationally-sanctioned events and venues to competition. The modern Olympics are bullshit.

re: #11 jorline

No porn for the visitors.

It's because they make more money off the hotel hostesses.

(While the world's eyes are on them, they are probably down playing it, but in Chinese circles, a hotel is a common euphemism for a brothel. Beware phone calls form the front desk in the middle of the night.)

re: #231 M. Bensson-Levi

That would explain why all the fish items on the menu are always called "fish". Government creativity.

Yeah! You're gettin' it. And the menu's the same, no matter which one you go to!

Depends what the catch of the day is. Easier to print "fish" than change everyday. (Next time, ask for "mei-ren-yue." Is best fresh and uncooked.)

You could order "meat." By itself usually means pork.
Nio-ro = beef
Chi-ro = chicken.

(During difficult times, "ro" could mean almost any meat - rat, cat, dog, commisar, or foreigner (the other white meat))

/:-)

Doesn't surprise me one bit. When I was in Beijing around 5 years ago, the hotel we stayed at (4 or 5 star) had cameras in the bathrooms, and my room wasn't the only one with the camera in it.

I am 100% unsurprised. I guess people who don't keep track of China wouldn't know this stuff, but I assumed this would happen from the instant I heard the Olympics were going to be in China.

They actually don't have to use spyware or anything, they just come in your room sit their butt down while drinking a soda and help themselves to your computer, if you walk in on them they calmly take another drink and shut it down.
Be gentle. Be kind. But don't be stupid --do nothing on your computer involving banking !
I'd say the Chinese people should wake up one day and say -"-Hey there are more of us than them, " but their government is prone to being horrible and ruthless. So I don't blame the Chinese people for not fighting back.
Please Pray for Cai Zhouhua he is in Qianjin Prison making footballs and must remain completely silent. (10 to one he'd rather have to wear women's panties on his head at GITMO.) His horrible crime-- accused of distributing 200,000 Bibles. (Which the Chinese Govt insists is a legal book.)
As far as I can tell, they don't have a real legal system, they just have judges who arbitrarily enact punishments regardless of law or procedure. Travelers beware. That and city workers tend to go on lunch breaks leaving the manholes uncovered and unmarked.
I quit boycotting Chinese goods along time ago. It is better to interact than to boycott.

P.S. Tank man won the battle of Beijing! (outcomes are not always immediate)

Please note, they probably don't care about much about porn, it was sold on the streets by street vendors anyway and in video stores. It is probably just sites on democracy, free speech and religion they freak out about.

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to pass some disinformation on to the Chinese intelligence service.

I'll watch only if I hear that non Chinese athletes are going to do Falun Gong exercises before and after each event as well as when receiving medals in addition to waving Tibetan flags.

The U.S. embassy (and others as well) should offer uncensored and spy proof internet to U.S. reporters and U.S. athletes and publicly announce this as loudly as possible.

re: #190 warlock

And watch out for chinese organ thieves.

Are pianos safe? Should I worry about my synthesizer?

/

Wait... I don't get it.... The Chinese are doing these things, and they... are not even... CREATIONISTS?!

;-)

re: #42 Occasional Reader

I have long assumed that there is massive, pervasive e-spying on business and government travelers in China.

Basically, if you're traveling on business outside of the US to any country, but most notably Russia, China, and France, it's safe to assume your hotel room is "wired for sound". These countries will try to steal anything they can get from corporate America if it saves them money and time. For some reason people think it's only government agents/employees that are targeted, but really anyone and everyone is.