Chargers top Bills, keep playoff hopes alive - USA Today

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? The San Diego Chargers finally are playing well.

By Christopher Hanewinckel, US Presswire

Philip Rivers threw three TD passes as the Chargers eliminated the Bills from playoff contention.

By Christopher Hanewinckel, US Presswire

Philip Rivers threw three TD passes as the Chargers eliminated the Bills from playoff contention.

The way Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos are playing, though, it could be too late.

Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes, two to Antonio Gates, and the Chargers kept their slim playoff hopes alive while beating Buffalo 37-10 Sunday to eliminate the Bills from postseason contention.

The Chargers (6-7) have won two straight following their six-game losing streak. Minutes after the Chargers game ended, Denver beat Chicago in overtime to improve to 8-5 atop the AFC West with three games to go. Also ahead of the Chargers are the Oakland Raiders (7-6), who lost at Green Bay.

To get the latest sports news from USA TODAY, including game results, columns and features, follow us on Twitter at @USATODAYSports.

"Until they say we're done, there's always a chance," said safety Eric Weddle, who converted a first down on a fake punt and had an interception, both of which led to touchdowns. "Even if we were done, we'd be playing our hearts out."

Chargers coach Norv Turner hadn't heard the Denver score until it was brought up in the postgame news conference.

"I'm glad you told me that because I didn't hear the results yet and I won't bother watching it now that you gave me the rundown," Turner said. "We have to take care of ourselves. We know all the math, but there's nothing we can do about that. It's get ready to play a game."

The Chargers host Baltimore (10-3) next Sunday night.

Buffalo (5-8) lost its sixth straight game and was eliminated from playoff contention for the 12th straight year.

The Bills, like the Chargers, started the season 4-1. They were 5-2 after a 23-0 victory against Washington on Oct. 30 and haven't won since.

"I think the last few weeks we made some progress. Today obviously we took a step backward," Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. "We didn't do anything well."

In this matchup of desperate teams, the Chargers took control early and never let up.

Rivers was 24-of-33 for 240 yards. Ryan Mathews gained 114 yards on 20 carries, the first time he's had three straight 100-yard games.

The Bills made it a game when Rivers fumbled while going back to pass early in the third quarter. The ball rolled into the end zone and Bryan Scott shoved aside the QB to recover for a touchdown that pulled the Bills to 16-10.

"Fortunately, it didn't cost us today," said Rivers, who's had some costly turnovers this season. "It was good to win again."

Just like that, though, San Diego regained the momentum with the fake punt on the next drive. With the Chargers in punt formation at their 32, Weddle, the up-back, took the snap and ran 10 yards for a first down.

Vincent Jackson had consecutive catches of 16, 17 and 13 yards. Rivers scrambled for 9 yards and an apparent touchdown, but it came back on a holding call against right tackle Jeromey Clary. Three plays later, Gates broke free in the end zone for a 2-yard scoring catch.

"Momentum is big in the NFL," Weddle said. "Once we got the momentum back, we figured it was over there. Once we converted the fake punt and then scored, it was a two-score game."

Said Buffalo coach Chan Gailey: "We had a very small window to make that a game and we didn't stop that drive when they faked the punt," Gailey said. "We didn't stop that drive and we couldn't get anything going offensively consistently."

On Buffalo's next play from scrimmage, Steve Gregory intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown and a 30-10 lead.

"We felt like we came out in the second half with some confidence and it was all gone after that pick-6."

Rivers also threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Patrick Crayton.

Fitzpatrick was 13-of-34 for 176 and two interceptions.

The Chargers scored on their first three drives. Rivers was 6-for-6 for 63 yards on the opening possession, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Gates.

Weddle intercepted Fitzpatrick when the ball bounced off the back of linebacker Na'il Diggs and returned it 26 yards to the San Diego 45, Rivers completed two more passes for 20 yards and Mike Tolbert finished the drive with a 1-yard run. The PAT was blocked and San Diego lead 13-0.

Mathews' 37-yard run up the middle on the next drive set up Nick Novak's 47-yard field goal for a 16-0 lead that held up at halftime.

The Bills had an impressive drive to open the second half, including Stevie Johnson's 53-yard catch-and-run, to reach the Chargers 9. But two incompletions by Fitzpatrick and a sack by Antwan Barnes forced the Bills to settle for Dave Rayner's 37-yard field goal.

NOTES: Gates became the 27th player in NFL history with 75 touchdown catches. He's within five catches of overtaking Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner, the team's receivers coach, for all-time receptions (586). … Rivers' lost fumble was his fifth, giving him an NFL-high 22 turnovers. … Fitzpatrick set a career high with 3,013 yards passing, making him the second Bills QB with consecutive 3,000-yard seasons (Jim Kelly 1988-89, 1991-95).

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

What Pearl Harbor Can Teach Us Today - NextGen Journal

Noah Glyn is a senior at Rutgers University, where he majors in economics and history, and minors in Jewish studies. He writes from a conservative perspective on economic, cultural, political, educational and foreign policy issues.

Today is a day that will live in infamy.

Seventy years ago today, the Imperial Japanese Navy struck the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor. The Japanese intended the damage to be severe, as to convince the American people not to enter World War II. It was a devastating attack indeed, as the Japanese killed 2,402 Americans and destroyed much of the United States Navy. The Pearl Harbor attack ultimately failed to accomplish its mission. On Dec. 8, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Imperial Japan. His request was granted within the hour.

On Dec. 11, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, which they agreed to do in the Tripartite Pact of 1940. This marked the second time during the 20th century that the United States found itself fighting a war in Europe. A war that many had tried to avoid.

In 2008, Christopher Hitchens wrote:

Is there any one shared principle or assumption on which our political consensus rests, any value judgment on which we are all essentially agreed? Apart from abstractions such as a general belief in democracy, one would probably get the widest measure of agreement for the proposition that the second World War was a “good war” and one well worth fighting.

Of course, this was not the case at the time. Before the Pearl Harbor attack jolted the United States into war, groups like America First and prominent citizens like Joseph Kennedy and Charles Lindbergh went to great lengths to prevent any intervention in the conflict. Even recently, author and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan wrote a book calling the second World War an “unnecessary war.”

No author writes in a vacuum, and in many ways Buchanan’s book ? published in 2008 ? is as much a response to American intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan as it is to WWII. After all, critics of the Bush administration frequently use the term “unnecessary war” to argue that the U.S. had no business fighting wars in Mesopotamia and Central Asia.

In the 1930s and early 1940s, there was a strong isolationist faction of American politics that warned America to follow the advice of George Washington: to avoid foreign entanglements, especially in Europe. In a sense, to avoid “unnecessary wars.” After the attack on Pearl Harbor, isolationists quieted their rhetoric or changed their opinions. Ever since WWII ended, the U.S. has become the leading nation in the United Nations, NATO, World Trade Organization, the World Bank and many other international bodies.

Now, there is a growing call to return to pre-World War II “normalcy,” to sever our military, diplomatic and economic ties with the rest of the world. Among the leading proponents of such a policy is U.S. Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. More than anything, the neo-isolationists want to end the “unnecessary wars.”

These wars, though, were not unnecessary. World War II was a just war to end Italian fascism, German Nazism and Japanese imperialism. The war in Afghanistan was a sensible war to take out the terrorist network that killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 ? another day that will live in infamy ? and the government that sponsored it. The war in Iraq was the natural and necessary consequence of official American policy from the Clinton administration to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein.

The neo-isolationist arguments, whether articulated by Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul or anyone else, rest on the assumption that no one in the world truly wishes harm on the the U.S.? The arguments presume that American interventions cause the hatred that makes attacks ? like those on Sept. 11, 2001 ? possible.

These positions do not take the lesson of Pearl Harbor into account: Enemies of America will try to strike the United States regardless of American policy.

After World War I, isolationists convinced America to leave the world stage; to leave post-war Europe to fend for itself. The result was another war, with more dead and more destruction. By the end of the 1940s, the United States realized that it could not retreat across the Atlantic: it had to ensure a stable peace. To that end, it organized European resistance to communism, and spent the next sixty years containing and defeating threats to world peace and stability.

The neo-isolationists are wrong. If America leaves the world stage, it’s presence won’t be replaced with a similarly benign force. Isolationism will only invite more attacks, more death and more destruction. If there’s one thing we learn from Pearl Harbor, hopefully it’s that.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Peruvians unhappy with Lori Berenson's holiday parole (video) - Christian Science Monitor

The Christmas ordeal of Lori Berenson, the paroled American who spent 15 years in jail in Peru on charges that she aided Peruvian rebels, has ended, as she and her 2-year-old son landed in the Newark, N.J., airport for the holidays Tuesday morning.

Skip to next paragraph

It is the first time she has been on US soil in 16 years, and many in the US have sympathy for the woman whose image softened while she was behind bars. But in Peru, where many still view her as a terrorist, it is renewing examination of her role in the nation’s violent history. Many argue that she shouldn't be given special treatment, and wonder whether she will even return by the deadline of Jan. 11.

Former presidential candidate Lourdes Flores Nano criticized the court decision that allowed Ms. Berenson to travel to the US for the holidays in the first place. Ms. Flores said to RPP Noticias that the treatment given to the American was “surprising and wrong.”

Julio Galindo, the anti-terrorist attorney general, told the publication Peru21 that Berenson should not be able to leave the country because “the exit from the country of those convicted of terrorism is prohibited,” the paper writes. He also warned that there was no guarantee that she would return.

Berenson was convicted of collaborating with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in 1996, in a plot to attack the Peruvian Congress and overthrow the government. She was given life in prison, but the sentence was later reduced on appeal to 20 years. After serving three-quarters of that sentence, she was released on parole in May 2010. (She was briefly jailed again in August 2010 on legal technicalities, and then re-released in November 2010.)

Her parole sparked anger in Peru, still reeling from its 20-year conflict which ended in 2000 after some 70,000 lives were lost. Headlines across the country labeled her a “terrorist.”

Although the MRTA was far less violent than the Shining Path, it became famous for its storming of the Japanese ambassador's house in December 1996, holding 72 hostages for over four months.

Berenson initially was barred from leaving Peru by authorities at the airport on Friday, despite court approval granting her permission to leave the country between Dec.r 16 and Jan. 11. On Monday, she was finally given an exit order that allowed her to travel to the US, the AP reports.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

China Hackers Hit US Chamber - Wall Street Journal

A group of hackers in China breached the computer defenses of America's top business-lobbying group and gained access to everything stored on its systems, including information about its three million members, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The WSJ's Jerry Seib details a cyber attack against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in which emails were stolen. Correction: An earlier caption incorrectly said more than 300 Internet addresses were breached.

The break-in at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is one of the boldest known infiltrations in what has become a regular confrontation between U.S. companies and Chinese hackers. The complex operation, which involved at least 300 Internet addresses, was discovered and quietly shut down in May 2010.

It isn't clear how much of the compromised data was viewed by the hackers. Chamber officials say internal investigators found evidence that hackers had focused on four Chamber employees who worked on Asia policy, and that six weeks of their email had been stolen.

It is possible the hackers had access to the network for more than a year before the breach was uncovered, according to two people familiar with the Chamber's internal investigation.

One of these people said the group behind the break-in is one that U.S. officials suspect of having ties to the Chinese government. The Chamber learned of the break-in when the Federal Bureau of Investigation told the group that servers in China were stealing its information, this person said. The FBI declined to comment on the matter.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Geng Shuang, said cyberattacks are prohibited by Chinese law and China itself is a victim of attacks. He said the allegation that the attack against the Chamber originated in China "lacks proof and evidence and is irresponsible," adding that the hacking issue shouldn't be "politicized."

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a daily briefing that he hadn't heard about the matter, though he repeated that Chinese law forbids hacker attacks. He added that China wants to cooperate more with the international community to prevent hacker attacks.

The Chamber moved to shut down the hacking operation by unplugging and destroying some computers and overhauling its security system. The security revamp was timed for a 36-hour period over one weekend when the hackers, who kept regular working hours, were expected to be off duty.

Damage from data theft is often difficult to assess.

People familiar with the Chamber investigation said it has been hard to determine what was taken before the incursion was discovered, or whether cyberspies used information gleaned from the Chamber to send booby-trapped emails to its members to gain a foothold in their computers, too.

Chamber officials said they scoured email known to be purloined and determined that communications with fewer than 50 of its members were compromised. They notified those members. People familiar with the investigation said the emails revealed the names of companies and key people in contact with the Chamber, as well as trade-policy documents, meeting notes, trip reports and schedules.

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg The Chamber of Commerce building in Washington, D.C.

"What was unusual about it was that this was clearly somebody very sophisticated, who knew exactly who we are and who targeted specific people and used sophisticated tools to try to gather intelligence," said the Chamber's Chief Operating Officer David Chavern.

Nevertheless, Chamber officials said they haven't seen evidence of harm to the organization or its members.

The Chamber, which has 450 employees and represents the interests of U.S. companies in Washington, might look like a juicy target to hackers. Its members include most of the nation's largest corporations, and the group has more than 100 affiliates around the globe.

While members are unlikely to share any intellectual property or trade secrets with the group, they sometimes communicate with it about trade and policy.

U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers have become alarmed by the growing number of cyber break-ins with roots in China. Last month, the U.S. counterintelligence chief issued a blunt critique of China's theft of American corporate intellectual property and economic data, calling China "the world's most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage" and warning that large-scale industrial espionage threatens U.S. competitiveness and national security.

Two people familiar with the Chamber investigation said certain technical aspects of the attack suggested it was carried out by a known group operating out of China. It isn't clear exactly how the hackers broke in to the Chamber's systems. Evidence suggests they were in the network at least from November 2009 to May 2010.

Stan Harrell, chief information officer at the Chamber, said federal law enforcement told the group: "This is a different level of intrusion" than most hacking. "This is much more sophisticated."

Chamber President and Chief Executive Thomas J. Donahue first learned of the breach in May 2010 after he returned from a business trip to China. Chamber officials tapped their contacts in government for recommendations for private computer investigators, then hired a team to diagnose the breach and overhaul the Chamber's defenses.

They first watched the hackers in action to assess the operation. The intruders, in what appeared to be an effort to ensure continued access to the Chamber's systems, had built at least a half-dozen so-called back doors that allowed them to come and go as they pleased, one person familiar with the investigation said. They also built in mechanisms that would quietly communicate with computers in China every week or two, this person said.

The intruders used tools that allowed them to search for key words across a range of documents on the Chamber's network, including searches for financial and budget information, according to the person familiar with the investigation. The investigation didn't determine whether the hackers had taken the documents turned up in the searches.

When sophisticated cyberspies have access to a network for many months, they often take measures to cover their tracks and to conceal what they have stolen.

To beef up security, the Chamber installed more sophisticated detection equipment and barred employees from taking the portable devices they use every day to certain countries, including China, where the risk of infiltration is considered high. Instead, Chamber employees are issued different equipment before their trips?equipment that is checked thoroughly upon their return.

Chamber officials say they haven't been able to keep intruders completely out of their system, but now can detect and isolate attacks quickly.

The Chamber continues to see suspicious activity, they say. A thermostat at a town house the Chamber owns on Capitol Hill at one point was communicating with an Internet address in China, they say, and, in March, a printer used by Chamber executives spontaneously started printing pages with Chinese characters.

"It's nearly impossible to keep people out. The best thing you can do is have something that tells you when they get in," said Mr. Chavern, the chief operating officer. "It's the new normal. I expect this to continue for the foreseeable future. I expect to be surprised again."

--Owen Fletcher in Beijing contributed to this article.

Write to Siobhan Gorman at siobhan.gorman@wsj.com

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Kardashian family denies claim that China factories making their clothing ... - New York Daily News

Kim Kardashian and her family are rebutting claims some of the products underpinning their multimillion-dollar fashion empire come from Chinese sweatshops.

Kardashian family spokeswoman Jill Fritzo called suggestions of worker mistreatment "100% not true" in a statement to the Daily News.

"They absolutely have no knowledge of this and would never condone this, which is why we checked this out when it was brought to our attention today," Fritzo said.

The sweatshop scandal erupted early Wednesday with a Star magazine report claiming the Kardashian clan was selling or endorsing products built in Chinese sweatshops where workers ? some as young as 16 ? were “virtually imprisoned."

A human rights group is investigating the famous family and is particularly interested in the K-Dash by Kardashian label, the Kris Jenner Kollection sold on QVC and ShoeDazzle, Star reported.

The human rights group told the Daily News that it has not yet infiltrated any Kardashian-connected factories to document mistreatment.

"We're in the initial stages of research. It takes a long time to find these factories and get people inside, so our investigation hasn't been launched yet," Charles Kernaghan, the executive director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, told The News.

He said his group is targeting the Kardashians based on their celebrity status and import-export paperwork suggesting their factories are in regions of southern China notorious for bad working conditions.

"We're still going forward with the investigation, and I would be completely flabbergasted if they're good factories. In these areas, typically these are low-wage sweatshops," he said.

"Workers typically work 12 hours a day and still go back to filthy dormitories, enduring 100-degree heat," he said. "If we can get people into these factories, I feel we'll find something."

Kardashian family momager Kris Jenner told TMZ.com that while she hasn't visited the China factories personally, she believes them to be humane.

"As far as I know, the factories that are used to manufacture the Kardashian clothing and shoes have nothing terrible going on at all," she said. "The factories are very well policed and meet factory standards."

ndillon@nydailynews.com

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

First Trailer & Poster For THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Arrives - WhatCulture!

As previously announced by Warner Bros. the first trailer and poster have arrived for Peter Jackson’s mega-anticipated prequel to The Lord of the Rings. The trailer will be showing before the Jackson and Steven Spielberg collaboration The Adventures of TinTin which opens in the U.S. today, but is available for viewing online now!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?takes place well before LOTRs as most avid and casual fans would know, and it is the first in a two part film that chronicles the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, of Bag End of course, now played by the lovable Martin Freeman.

The first part of the two part story-arch, An Unexpected Journey,?is set for release on Dec. 14, 2012 in both 3D, 2D, and IMAX 3D, with the follow-up,The Hobbit:?There and Back Again, to be released the following year. The film follows Bilbo as he joins Thorin Oakenshield and his 12 dwarf companions to reclaim the treasures of their dwarf kingdom, Erebor. The treasures which have been claimed by the mighty dragon, Smaug, are of untold wonders. Their travels lead them through mazes of treacherous tunnels and mountainsides, lands invested with orcs and goblins, battles along the slopes of ?the mighty Lonely Mountain, ?and a run in with a peculiar creature by the name of Gollum.

It is this run in that grips the fate of Middle-Earth, and brings out valor and courage in Bilbo, that ?a Baggins has never shown before. What starts as games of riddle and wit, ties Bilbo to something much greater.

Take a look at the trailer at Apple Trailers HERE or embedded below;

Tags: Aidan Turner Andy-Serkis Benedict Cumberbatch Brian Blessed brian-howe Cate-Blanchett Christopher-Lee Elijah-Wood Evangeline Lilly featured Hugo Weaving Ian-McKellen Lee Pace Luke Evan Martin Freeman Peter-Jackson Richard Armitage Steven-Spielberg Trailers

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Creating a Smart Foreign Policy - The Moscow Times

Install

Get the latest updates as we post them ? right on your browser

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

China's rebellious villagers halt protest after apparent intervention - MiamiHerald.com

WUKAN, China -- A tense standoff between rebellious villagers and local officials in this fishing town on China's eastern coast appeared to come to an end Wednesday, though the tentative agreement did not untangle allegations of official corruption and land grabs.

Stretching more than a week, the takeover of Wukan from police and officials was arguably the most dramatic example of social unrest in a year marked by bursts of tumult around the country.

Like similar incidents, the end of the episode here seemed to raise as many questions as it answered. Taken as a whole, such cases have pointed to a complicated matter for Beijing - the nation's development efforts are at times implemented by crooked officials.

There's ample argument that as the nation continues its economic ascent, the widespread practice of individual farmers working tiny plots of land, as was the case in Wukan, will have to be transformed. That idea folds neatly into central leadership's desires to shift from cheap, labor-intensive industry to an economy that creates wealth from domestic consumption, high-tech innovation and an expanding service sector.

But when villages like Wukan explode with anger, it is almost inevitably accompanied by accusations that those in charge of the transition are guilty of thefts, large and small.

In a meeting earlier this week, the Chinese Communist Party secretary of the city with oversight of Wukan bemoaned the difficulty of dealing with common people during an address to officials in Shanwei.

Dressed in a black Ralph Lauren windbreaker, the pudgy man with bags under his eyes, Zheng Yanxiong, noted they are becoming "harder to control."

Across Wukan, locals said that in the last two decades most of the village's farmland was whittled away by greedy officials without notice or payment. By the end of that process, capped by construction workers breaking ground on a controversial project in September, many here said they were left with literally nothing to do for a living. Riots followed.

The Communist Party secretary of Wukan, Xue Chang, ruled the village for decades in a style that residents described as dictatorial. Xue and another senior official in the village have reportedly been taken in for questioning. Locals, though, angrily pointed out that they had begged authorities for years to intervene and were ignored until staging a revolt.

The problem appeared so intractable that Wukan protest leaders dropped the return of their land from a list of demands presented to Guangdong's deputy party secretary, Zhu Mingguo, on Wednesday morning. If no agreement had been reached in the meeting, organizers planned a march of thousands on a government building in the neighboring town of Lufeng - leaving open the possibility of a chaotic confrontation with police.

The prospect of violence made some villagers nervous and seemed to have the same effect on officials in the nation's most populace province and the center of its export industry.

The Communist Party secretary of Guangdong Province, Wang Yang, is frequently mentioned as a likely candidate for the nation's ruling politburo standing committee next year.

Wang's lieutenant agreed to deliver the body of a Wukan advocate who died in police custody, release three men currently being detained and recognize the legitimacy of a temporary council formed by villagers, said de facto village leader Lin Zuluan.

Speaking with a group of reporters crammed into his living room, Lin said he was pleased with the outcome.

A lack of cooperation wouldn't have helped either Wukan or the government, said the 65-year-old retired businessman. The full range of details about land will be discussed later, Lin said.

He waved off the fact that he was previously pointed out by officials as a principle troublemaker subject to prosecution.

As to whether the calm would last, Lin sounded less confident, saying there could always be more trouble in the future.

The day before, thousands of people blocked a highway in a separate protest in Guangdong.

About 70 miles up the coast in the town of Haimen, the crowd was concerned about pollution to fishing waters from a proposed coal-fired power plant. There were unconfirmed but widely spread accounts that police dispersed the gathering with brutal beatings.

In Wukan on Wednesday, a long line gathered to welcome the provincial delegation. As sport utility vehicles and cars passed by the spot that only a day before was blocked with felled trees, several of the license plates belonged to the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary force.

Watching the vehicles, a man surnamed Chen said he was getting anxious.

"The police do not give me a sense of security," said Chen, a 30-year-old driver who asked that his first name not be used.

Standing nearby, a 43-year-old farmer surnamed Shi had similar feelings.

"I'm worried that things will go back to the way they were before," he said.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Reframing the Mandate - Mother Jones

Sarah Kliff points us today to yet another Kaiser poll on Obamacare, which yet again finds that people hate the individual mandate. However, the Kaiser folks also find that some arguments in favor of the mandate reduce the level of opposition:

This got me thinking. I just finished reading Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow, which naturally got me thinking about Prospect Theory, one of my favorite socio-econo-behavioral theories of the past few decades. There's a lot to Prospect Theory, but its most famous aspect is its focus on loss aversion. Most people, it turns out, aren't so much risk averse as they are loss averse: they prefer a sure gain over a gamble for a bigger gain, but they prefer a gamble when the alternative is a sure loss. Bottom line, people really, really hate to lose things that they already have.

This sounds obvious, but it turns out to have a lot of useful and nonobvious applications. And now, I'm wondering how it could apply to the mandate. In its usual form, the individual mandate forces people to take a guaranteed loss. Basically, this is the question people are being asked:

Would you rather take a sure loss now (i.e., be forced to pay for health insurance) or take a gamble that you'll be healthy for the next year and won't have to pay anything?

Put that way, people tend to be loss averse and they dislike the mandate. So here's the question:?is there a way this can be reframed into a sure gain vs. a gamble for a bigger gain? If it can, then most people will prefer the sure gain. However, I'm not very creative and I can't really think of anything. It would probably be something along these lines:

Almost everyone gets sick eventually. Would you rather be guaranteed proper treatment when you get sick, or take a gamble that you'll never get sick and you'll come out ahead on health insurance premiums?

That's not very convincing. But maybe the hive mind can think of something better. There's not really much going on for the rest of this week, so this is as good a question to ponder as anything.

Political Blogger Kevin Drum is a political blogger for Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. RSS | Twitter

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Chinese Government: Christian Bale 'Should Be Embarrassed' - Reuters

By Joshua L. Weinstein at TheWrap

Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:18pm EST

Christian Bale has become a public enemy in China.

The actor, in Beijing to premiere his movie "The Flowers of War," took a long van ride to a village in Shandong province to visit the activist Chen Guangcheng. But plain-clothes police roughed him up and turned him away.

A CNN crew took video (below) of Bale's scuffle.

Now, Reuters reports, the Chinese government is criticizing the Academy Award winning actor.

Asked whether Bale had embarassed China, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "If anyone should be embarrased, it's the relevant actor, not the Chinese side."

Also read: Human Rights Groups Rebuke Relativity Over Chinese Co-Production

The spokesman, Liu Weimin, continued, "What I understand is that the actor was invited by the director Zhang Yimou to attend the movie premiere. He was not invited to any village in Shandong to create news or make a film. .. If he wants to create news, I don't think that would be welcomed by China."

Bale's movie -- the communist nation's Oscar entry for best foreign language film -- opens in limited release in the U.S. this week.

The activist Chen, meanwhile, remains under house arrest. He served four years in prison on a charge of "blocking traffic." The blind, self-taught lawyer is known for exposing forced abortions in Shandong province.

See video of Bale's scuffle here:

Related Articles:? Crack-Housing With Christian Bale

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Redskins hurt Giants playoff bid - USA Today

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) ? If the New York Giants miss the playoffs once again, they have only themselves and the Washington Redskins to blame.

Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Washington Redskins defensive end Stephen Bowen sacks New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning during the fourth quarter.

Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Washington Redskins defensive end Stephen Bowen sacks New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning during the fourth quarter.

Rex Grossman threw a touchdown pass and the Redskins put a major hurt on the Giants and their playoff hopes with a dominating 23-10 victory Sunday in a game in which New York showed little desire with much on the line.

"I'm very disappointed in how we played today," coach Tom Coughlin said after the Giants (7-7) fell a game behind Dallas (8-6) in the NFC East with two games left in the regular season.

"I accept responsibility for it. But I expected to see more ? quality execution ? and we didn't get that."

Surprisingly, Washington (5-9) looked very much like a playoff team in winning for only the second time in 10 games and embarrassing the Giants for the second time this season.

Grossman and the offense held the ball for 35 minutes, while the defense picked off Eli Manning three times and didn't allow a touchdown until the final minute.

"They had a lot at stake and obviously we didn't and I'm pleased the way we played," Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said.

Coming off an emotional win over Dallas on Sunday night in a game that gave them control of their own destiny, the Giants showed nothing after a couple of early interceptions.

"I didn't see the passion in us today," running back Brandon Jacobs said. "We didn't play well. We disappointed each other and our fans, and we've just got to play better. I can't tell you why."

The Giants still control their destiny. If they beat the Jets and the Cowboys in their final two games, they will win the division.

The Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend and could wrap up the division if the Giants fall in their rivalry game with the Jets.

"I still have confidence," Giants defensive captain Justin Tuck said. "We laid an egg today, but I've seen us rebound from things like this a lot of times. There's no quit in our guys. This was kind of an eye-opener. We have to keep the intensity going the whole game, and we didn't maintain it today.

Washington never trailed in spoiling what the Giants hoped would be another step in their run to the playoffs. The Redskins took the crowd out of the game early, opening a 17-0 lead and they were never threatened.

Grossman threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Santana Moss, Darrel Young scored on a 6-yard run after one of the Redskins' interceptions and Graham Gano kicked three field goals.

Former Giant and current Redskins defensive tackle Barry Cofield enjoyed spoiling the party hopes of his former teammates.

"A party broke out for us. I'm proud of how we came out and played," Cofield said, adding Washington has played well in recent weeks.

This loss was the fifth in six games for the Giants, who are in danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight year.

The scenario has been the same each season. New York starts the season quickly and then falters down the stretch, playing some unbelievably bad games with the postseason on the line.

This season it has been another collapse after a stunning win over New England left them at 6-2. They lost four in a row and then last week seemed to grab command again by rallying in the fourth quarter to beat the Cowboys in Dallas.

Again, with the playoffs in their grasp, they came out flat against the Redskins, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Even a couple of gift interceptions by Grossman in the first quarter didn't help.

Gano gave Washington the lead on its second series with a 36-yard field goal that was set up in part by a 19-yard pass from Donte' Stallworth on a third-and-12 from the Giants 39.

Grossman, who finished 15 of 24 for 185 yards, pushed the lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter with his TD pass to a wide-open Moss on third-and-8.

If the touchdown had the fans muttering, there was no hiding their feelings minutes later after Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted a pass that deflected off the hands of running back D.J. Ware and returned it 26 yards to the Giants 41. Nine plays later, Young scored and the fans let the team know it was sick of being let down.

Manning, who finished 23 of 40 for 257 yards, finally got the Giants on the board just before halftime, setting up Lawrence Tynes for a 40-yard field goal.

Instead of gaining momentum, the Giants gave the points right back. DeAngelo Hall made a one-handed interception on the second offensive play of the third quarter. His 26-yard return set up Gano's 43-yard field goal for a 20-3 lead.

After Tynes missed a 44-yarder on the next series, Gano opened the fourth quarter with a 25-yarder to make it 23-3.

Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 3-yard run with 33 seconds to play for the Giants' touchdown.

The Giants were their own worst enemy. Hakeem Nicks dropped what might have been a 54-yard scoring play on their second series on a play in which he got behind the defense and had the pass hit off his facemask as he looked back into the sun.

That's the way the day was for the Giants, who had only a few faithful fans in the stadium when they scored their touchdown.

NOTES: Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul followed his NFC defensive player of the week award with a 16-tackle performance that included a sack. …Giants DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) and C David Baas (neck) each missed their third straight game. …London Fletcher led the Skins with 12 tackles. …CB Josh Wilson had Washington's other interception, picking off Manning in the end zone in the fourth quarter. …CB Corey Webster and S Kenny Phillips had the Giants interceptions.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Texans relish playoff berth after long wait - USA Today

CINCINNATI ? The Houston Texans lost starting quarterback Matt Schaub to a season-ending injury to his right foot in Week 11. His primary backup, Matt Leinart, went down with a broken collarbone in the second quarter a week later.

By David Kohl, AP

Offensive players mob teammate Kevin Walter after he caught the game-winning touchdown pass from rookie T.J. Yates with two seconds left to give the Texans the win and the first playoff berth in the franchise's history.

By David Kohl, AP

Offensive players mob teammate Kevin Walter after he caught the game-winning touchdown pass from rookie T.J. Yates with two seconds left to give the Texans the win and the first playoff berth in the franchise's history.

Houston endured a six-game stretch without premier wideout Andre Johnson when he hurt his right hamstring. He was inactive Sunday because of a slightly strained left hamstring.

The Texans lost a starter or key contributor to injury in eight of their previous nine games, including linebacker and defensive stalwart Mario Williams, who is out for the season.

And yet, for all of the talent it has lost, for all of the years of losing since joining the NFL as an expansion team in 2002, Houston is finally where it wants to be.

The Texans, displaying a resilience that typifies their improbable season, rallied for 10 points in the final 5:31 to stun the Cincinnati Bengals 20-19 on rookie quarterback T.J. Yates' 6-yard scoring strike to Kevin Walter with two seconds left.

They hurried to the locker room to watch the last few minutes of the New Orleans Saints' 22-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans, which allowed them to secure the franchise's first AFC South title and playoff berth.

"This is what I got into the NFL for, to bring a championship to Houston," beaming owner Robert McNair said. "We haven't done that yet, but this is the first step."

Houston, which improved to 10-3 while extending its franchise record with its seventh consecutive victory, would not appear to have enough talent left standing to win it all. But how can anyone rule out a team that keeps to a postseason path, no matter how many wrenching turns its road takes?

Sixth-year coach Gary Kubiak was trying to wrap his arms around the magnitude of everything well after largely unknown Yates capped a memorable 13-play, 80-yard drive with his dart to wide-open Walter.

To get the latest sports news from USA TODAY, including game results, columns and features, follow us on Twitter at @USATODAYSports.

Yates became the first rookie since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to lead consecutive fourth-quarter game-winning scoring drives in his first two starts, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

"It will probably hit me sometime on the way home," Kubiak said. "We've been close, but we couldn't get over the hump. We just keep battling.

"We got over the hump because we refuse to let adversity take us the other way."

Playing it cool

The Texans enjoyed their only previous winning season when they barely missed the playoffs at 9-7 two years ago.

As injuries mounted and Houston turned to Yates, a fifth-round prospect drafted 152nd overall out of North Carolina, fans were surely braced for another flop. Yet he is making a seamless transition to a starting role ? even if his mother is wilting under the pressure.

"Yeah, I saw it in the locker room," Yates said of television replays. "My mom had her head in her hands, and she couldn't even watch. I'm used to that, but I'm happy that they (his family) were here."

Luckily for Mom, her son epitomizes cool. Was he jittery when Houston took over at its 20-yard line with 2:33 left and no timeouts?

"Not really," he said. "I was just kind of in the zone.

"You can't think about what's going on around you. You have to get things organized and communicate as much as possible. Even if you take a big hit, you just have to keep moving."

And move the 6-4, 220-pounder did, creating one of the biggest plays of the make-or-break drive with his legs. On third-and-15 at the Cincinnati 40 with 44 seconds left, he eluded heavy pressure and scrambled up the middle for 17 yards.

Yates credited a sideline conversation with Kubiak, whose future was in doubt when last year's team finished 6-10, for that critical run.

"On that scramble, he said if they were playing two men deep, that I should just take off," Yates said. "That really helped me make that decision quicker."

Kubiak, a former NFL passer, has turned into the perfect coach for a team desperately thin at quarterback. The Texans added Jake Delhomme, 36, and Jeff Garcia, 41, to back up Yates.

"During timeouts, he is always filling my head with reminders and little things that help calm me down," Yates said. "He sees the game through the quarterback's mind. He knows what I'm thinking out there. It really helps because he has the right thing to say, which really gives me confidence."

Kubiak also is an excellent evaluator of talent at the position. And he has always believed in unflappable Yates, who took his club 85 yards in 19 plays in a fourth-quarter drive that produced a 17-10 victory against the Atlanta Falcons in his first start.

Yates completed 26 of 44 passes for 300 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in dealing a huge blow to the AFC wild-card hopes of Cincinnati, which fell to 7-6 with its fourth defeat in five games.

"A rookie quarterback beat us today," safety Chris Crocker said. "He did it with both his arm and his feet. I don't even know what to say. Wow."

McNair said of Yates' savvy play: "It's unbelievable. But Gary has been saying all along that he liked this kid and thought he could be a player in this league. And he was saying that when Schaub was healthy."

Phillips makes big impact

Just as the decision to stick with a gritty rookie instead of launching a massive quarterback search is proving correct for the offense, the organization's willingness to make offseason changes on defense goes a long way toward explaining why the playoff barrier was finally cleared.

After years of swinging and missing, the Texans finally found the right defensive coordinator when Wade Phillips was hired Jan. 5 after the Dallas Cowboys had dismissed him as head coach months before.

His revamped defense began the afternoon ranked third in the NFL, allowing an AFC-low 15.8 points a game. The unit finished 30th last season, surrendering 376.9 yards. It began Sunday first, permitting 274.1.

"Wade has been a tremendous addition," McNair said. "Some have said he was the best free agent signing, and maybe that is true."

The offseason additions of cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning helped transform a bottom-of-the-barrel pass defense into one that ranked third through the first 12 games, allowing 183.4 yards.

The unit kept to that standard against Andy Dalton, Cincinnati's accomplished rookie, in limiting him to 189 passing yards (16 of 28, one TD).

Houston's offensive line allowed the two-headed running back tandem of Arian Foster and Ben Tate to percolate. Cincinnati controlled Foster (15 carries, 41 yards) but not Tate (eight rushes, 67 yards).

NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp envisions the Texans as one tough out once the playoffs begin.

"They can go all the way to the Super Bowl because you're talking about a solid defense and a running game," he said.

For now, the AFC's top seed is entitled to serious celebrating. A thunderous ovation could be heard outside the locker room when Kubiak presented Johnson, in his ninth year with the Texans, a game ball.

"This organization has been able to keep fighting due to his leadership," the coach said.

Johnson felt as if a tremendous burden had been lifted.

"I've had this haunting me since I came to the organization, not making the playoffs," he said. "I've had so many friends go to the playoffs and the Super Bowl, and it eats at you.

"I really can't use words to describe how I feel."

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

NBA analysts don't hold back on new season - USA Today

TV networks can sound like ad agencies for the sports they've paid millions to cover.

Dennis Wierzbick, US Presswire

Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane is about to become a TV star on NHL 36.

Dennis Wierzbick, US Presswire

Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane is about to become a TV star on NHL 36.

But some of the NBA's TV analysts must not be getting the talking points. ESPN/ABC's Jeff Van Gundy, working two of the season-opening Christmas TV games, says the "money-grab" of the lockout and shortened season will lead to "a season of skipping steps. …There will be some discouraging games for all teams."

The kvetching is varied. TNT analyst Steve Kerr, on San Francisco radio KNBR, said he was "angry all day" over the NBA nixing the Chris Paul-to-Lakers trade. Chris Webber, of the league's own NBA TV, says the new schedule with "back-to-back-to-back games is just unfair." NBA TV's Greg Anthony, asked whether LeBron James will hear as many boos now: "With him, I don't think you'll hear as much vitriol because of the lockout. The league as a whole will get the vitriol."

Reality TV: Ross Greenburg, who helped pioneer going behind-the-scenes with teams while presiding over HBO Sports, tonight (6:30 p.m. ET) debuts the first of his Versus series NHL 36, which will get all-access to a player or coach for 36 hours ? Wednesday night's show focuses on Chicago's Patrick Kane.

Asked about complaints HBO's latest 24/7 NHL behind-the-scenes series that also debuts Wednesday night (10 p.m. ET) ? "I can't stand it," New York Rangers coach John Tortorella told Newsday, "I just don't want people in our locker room ? Greenburg seems perplexed: "I don't understand it. When you do reality sports you're supposed to bring mike and cameras and be a fly on the wall…Reality TV has scripts. With Kim Kardashian, I don't know if that's her real life. Athletes have real lives and we just report them. And the NHL has opened its door to this type of TV, know it's vital to showcase the sport." HBO Tuesday had no comment.

ESPN to U.S. Senate: Speculation that ESPN/ABC college football analyst Craig James will meet a Thursday filing deadline to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for a Texas U.S. Senate seat isn't too surprising, given James' campaign-like texansforabetteramerica.org, where he's decried the "job-killing initiatives pouring out of Washington." ESPN's Mike Soltys Tuesday wouldn't speculate on whether James would be on-air for his next assignment ? ESPN's Dec. 18 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl ? if he's a candidate, saying only that "he told us today he hasn't decided if he wants to run."

Spice rack: In the latest underwhelming matchup to lead to Monday Night Football's ratings being down 8% so far this season, Monday's Seattle-St. Louis game drew 7.2% of U.S. cable/satellite TV households. …ESPN, which already owns and operates seven college bowl games, Tuesday announced its first line of official BCS apparel. Items won't come embroidered with calls for a college football playoff. …Another TV tidbit from spreading cultural phenomenom that is Tim Tebow: Robert Griffin III, reading Top 10 reasons he won the Heisman on CBS' David Letterman show, cited Tebow "for putting in a word with the man upstairs."

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Chinese hotel makes used bottle Christmas tree - Washington Post

Culture Connoisseur Badge

Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.

More about badges | Request a badge

Washingtologist Badge

Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Writer Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.

Post Recommended

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

China to release captive-bred pandas into wild - Xinhua

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Six pandas bred in captivity will be released into an enclosed forest in southwestern China next year, a major step forward in the country's drive to send the endangered animals back to nature.

The pandas, aged two to four, will be released into the "Panda Valley" -- 134 hectares of enclosed forest -- on Jan. 11, 2012, said Zhang Zhihe, director of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, home of the six pandas, on Wednesday at a news conference in Beijing.

Over the past 30 years, the Chengdu panda base has been trying to send captive-bred pandas back into nature, however, their efforts have seldom succeeded, as human-raised pandas have great difficulty surviving in the wild, according to a statement from the base.

Among the 10 pandas that have been released since 1983, only two are still living in the wild. Six have been sent back to the breeding center due to dramatic weight loss, one was found dead and the other is believed to have also died, it said.

Researchers believe that releasing six pandas together, unlike previous attempts to release them individually, will help them survive.

According to Zhang, after a year of observation on their health conditions and genetic backgrounds, the six -- named Xingrong, Xingya, Gongzai, Yingying, Zhizhi and Qiqi-- were carefully selected from 108 pandas living at the Chengdu base.

They will be the first group of pandas released into the "Panda Valley," which is also known as the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Release Research Center and is affiliated with the Chengdu panda base.

The center, located in Majiagou in Yutang town in the city of Dujiangyan and still under construction, is designed to train giant pandas born in captivity to live in the wild.

Upon the center's completion, it will host 30 to 40 giant pandas as well as other species, including 50 to 100 red pandas, Zhang said.

Construction at the center started in May 2010 and investment is expected to reach 300 million yuan (47.6 million U.S. dollars).

China started a giant panda training project in 2003 to teach the animals to live in the wild. But the project suffered a major setback when Xiang Xiang, a five-year-old male panda, was found dead after a fight with wild pandas in a remote part of the Wolong Nature Reserve in 2007.

Xiang Xiang, who was among the ten pandas sent into the wild, was released in April 2006 after nearly three years of training.

Researchers are confident that this time the pandas will survive in the wild as the six are young and strong and their training has been improved over the years.

Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming will attend a ceremony as an image ambassador on the day of the pandas' release, Zhang said.

Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species. About 300 giant pandas have been bred in captivity and 1,596 others live in the wild.

Zoologists believe releasing giant pandas into the wild will reduce the risk of inbreeding among the animals' wild partners.

The separation of habitats, resulting from human activities, fragmented the wild population of giant pandas, which could limit mating alternatives and lead to a high possibility of inbreeding.?

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

China urges US to correct wrong-doing by stopping CVD on Chinese products - Xinhua

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday called on the U.S. to correct its wrong practice of slapping countervailing duties on Chinese imports when it does not give official recognition to the market economy status of China.

A statement on the ministry's website said the U.S. side has for many years kept launching countervailing probes against Chinese products, which violates WTO rules and lacks legal support of U.S. laws.

The statement came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) decided Monday that the U.S. CVD law should not apply to "non-market economy" (NME) countries.

The ministry said that the U.S. Department of Commerce had started anti-subsidy investigations against China since November 2006 even though current U.S. law states that government payments cannot be characterized as "subsidies" in an NME context, thus countervailing duty law does not apply to NME countries.

However, at the same time, the United States is one major developed nation that has loitered for years in officially recognizing the full market economy status of China, the world's second largest economy, the ministry said.

"The U.S. has more frequently resorted to AD and CVD duties against Chinese products, particularly after the global financial crisis broke out," the statement said, adding that the U.S. government's AD plus CVD probes against Chinese products totaled 30 during the past five years, without the authorization of U.S. laws.

The misuse of trade remedy measures is typical trade protectionism, the statement said.

"The U.S. Commerce Department is slapping anti-dumping duties on Chinese products through the method of seeking a surrogate nation, at the same time, it also wants a CVD, that's unfair treatment for Chinese companies and does harm to their interests," an unidentified official in charge of the Bureau of Fair Trade for Imports and Exports under the ministry was quoted as saying.

The official said the appellate body of the WTO also ruled in China's favor this March, declaring that the imposition of such a double penalty by the U.S. against Chinese products broke WTO trade rules.

A Chinese scholar of foreign trade said Wednesday that the ruling by the CAFC was an "epoch-making" victory for Chinese exporters who have long suffered unfair countervailing duties from the U.S. on top of anti-dumping duties.

"The ruling has provided clear judgment on the suitability for the U.S. to levy both anti-dumping and countervailing duties against a non-market economy," Tu Xinquan, associate director of China National Institute of WTO at the University of International Business and Economics, said in a comment reported by the Shanghai-based daily China Business News.

The CAFC decision came after Chinese tire maker Hebei Starbright Tire Co. Ltd. and its U.S.-based parent company GPX International Tire Corporation appealed to the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) following a decision by the U.S. Commerce Department to levy a 14-percent CVD on Hebei Starbright Tire in August 2008, the newspaper reported.

The CIT had ordered the U.S. Commerce Department not to impose CVD on goods from China because of the high likelihood of "double counting" when both CVD and AD were applied against goods from NME countries.

Sun Yong, an expert for legal matters with Double Coin Holdings Ltd. said this ruling showed that Chinese tire companies are seeking their rightful interests, and that the legal judgment of a "double slapping" of both CVD and AD by the U.S. Commerce Department is not sound.

However, Tu Xinquan warned that similar tricks from the U.S. government will not be stopped in future if its political motives for trade protection remain.

The MOC official said that as the world economy currently faces the severe risk of a downturn, it has become important that the two nations step up cooperation and reject trade protectionism.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Smoke On the South China Sea - Wall Street Journal (blog)

CCTVA screen grab taken from a CCTV news broadcast shows images of flames on the South China Sea tied to an undersea gas leak reported by China National Offshore Oil Corp.

Media photos of flames floating this week on the surface of the South China Sea appear to challenge a contention from China National Offshore Oil Corp. that an undersea gas leak it reported caused no environmental pollution.

Cnooc Ltd., a unit of the state-owned oil producer, said late Monday that a leak in an offshore pipeline prompted an?emergency shutdown of production platforms off the coast of Zhuhai, in southern China.

“This incident neither caused any injuries nor environmental pollution, and the situation is under control,” Cnooc said in its official statement.

The statement noted how the company “endeavored to release the natural gas” in the pipelines, setting a perimeter around the area to ensure the safety of vessels and residents.

What the company didn’t say in the original statement was nevertheless demonstrated in dramatic television coverage and photos printed in newspapers. The gas was ablaze as it hit the water surface when released from the undersea pipeline.

In the photos, a bonfire of uncertain size appears to rage on the calm seas.

The China Central Television report on the matter explained that the fires were deliberately sparked as a safety precaution to release gas trapped in the long pipelines.

When asked about the state media coverage on Wednesday, Cnooc said the same in an emailed statement. The early evening statement noted that the flares were smaller than earlier in the day.

“The natural gas leaked from the offshore leakage point has been lit which helps lowering safety risk. The flame has also been reduced,”the email note said. “We would like to reiterate that the situation is under control.”

It was the release of gas with a so-called “flame off” of unwanted fuel ? an ocean version of the kind of flares often visible rising from towers high above natural gas depots and chemical companies.

Wearing a hard hat in the CCTV report, Gao Guangsheng, vice general manager of Cnooc’s Shenzhen branch, opaquely addressed the flare-off during an on-air interview, without specifically mentioning the burning fuel.

Apparently referring to how gas being released from the under the sea sent water surging to the sea surface before it was ablaze, Mr. Gao said, “At that time there was only a column of water in the ocean. We’ve also monitored the pressure declining inside our pipes. So we immediately carried on. ”

In its Wednesday night statement, Cnooc addressed questions about possible pollution by noting that no oil sheens have been observed by government monitors.

The oil and gas Industry considers venting fuel with flame-offs or flaring as a necessary bit of pollution. To others the sight of burning fuel often appears both polluting and wasteful.

It was unclear exactly where the Cnooc flame off took place, how long it lasted and whether there was only one. The gas leak itself was around 13 kilometers offshore from the Zhuhai terminal Hengqin, state media reports said.

Cnooc’s undersea pipelines link two offshore platforms separated by 136 kilometers, one of which is 229 kilometers from shore.

Smoke on the water is powerful symbol. The 1969 ignition of Cleveland’s Cayahoga River is credited with sparking a U.S. war on water pollution. Forty years later, the river in Northeastern Ohio was declared “teeming with fish.”

? James T. Areddy. Follow him on Twitter @jamestareddy

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Finland 'finds Patriot missiles' on China-bound ship - BBC News

21 December 2011 Last updated at 21:47 GMT The Thor Liberty is docked in Kotka The Finnish authorities have impounded an Isle of Man-flagged ship bound for China with undeclared missiles and explosives, officials say.

Police are questioning the crew of the MS Thor Liberty after what were described as 69 Patriot anti-missile missiles were found aboard.

Interior Minister Paivi Rasanen said the missiles were marked "fireworks".

The MS Thor Liberty had docked in the Finnish port of Kotka after leaving Germany last week.

Dock workers became suspicious after finding explosives poorly stored on open pallets, and the missiles were then found in containers marked "fireworks".

The managing director of the ship's owner, Thorco Shipping, expressed surprise. Thomas Mikkelsen told AFP news agency from Denmark that he was unaware of the matter.

Another company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the ship had been detained in Finland and said the missiles could have been loaded on to the vessel by mistake, AFP adds.

Police did not confirm Finnish media reports that the ship had also been scheduled to stop in South Korea, Reuters news agency reports.

'Quite unusual'

The MS Thor Liberty left port in Emden, northern Germany, on 13 December and docked two days later in Kotka, southern Finland, to pick up a cargo of anchor chains, said Finnish Customs spokesman Petri Lounatmaa.

Patriot missile systems are supplied to US allies

It was bound for the Chinese port of Shanghai but there was no indication for whom the military cargo was destined.

Routine checks by Finland's traffic safety authority revealed a load of up to 160 tonnes of improperly packed nitroguanidine, a low-sensitivity explosive with a high detonation speed.

"Actually in our investigation at the moment, we have got the information that we found 69 Patriot missiles on the ship and around 160 tonnes of explosives," said Detective Superintendent Timo Virtanen from the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation.

Interior Minister Rasanen said she had not heard of a similar case.

"Of course, there are legal transports of weapons or defence material [through Finland] but in this case the cargo was marked as containing fireworks," she told Finnish media. "That is quite unusual."

Mr Lounatmaa said customs officials and police had launched a joint investigation into a possible breach of Finnish export and weapons trading laws.

He said that the crew of about 32 were being questioned.

Patriot missiles, designed by the US company Raytheon, are supplied to "US and allied forces", according to the company's website. South Korea is among states which deploy them.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

First Christmas gifts carry same message today - McCook Daily Gazette

If Christmas seems expensive this year, we shouldn't be surprised.

In fact, the gifts at the first Christmas would be out of reach for most of us today.

The Bible indicates that the Wise Men from the East brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, among the most precious trade commodities of the day.

Frankincense, used as a sweet incense during worship, pointed to Jesus' divinity. Myrrh was used in anointing the dead, referring to Jesus' humanity and suffering. Gold symbolizes his kingship.

We all know where to get gold -- entire transcontinental migrations have been triggered by the answer to that question.

But frankincense and myrrh??They're hard to find and getting even tougher.

That's because they both come from parts of Africa subject to drought, overgrazing, insect attacks and political upheaval.

Dutch ecologists are warning that trees that produce frankincense -- tapped like maple syrup from the Boswellia tree -- are in danger of extinction if insects, fire and grazing aren't brought under control.

The aromatic resin has been traded for thousands of years, and it still finds its way into perfumes and cosmetics as well as Christmas candles and burner oils.

Myrrh is a similar fragrant resin that comes from a desert tree threatened by long-term drought.

The Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa estimates global demand for frankincense and myrrh at about 2,500 tons per year. Most of it goes to China and Europe, but the Middle East, United States and North Africa also import significant amounts.

So what would be the bill for gold, frankincense and myrrh under the tree today?

Gold, of course, has climbed to more than $1,600 an ounce, from $340 an ounce in 1999. Solid frankincense resins brings about $60 per kilo, and the price of myrrh is usually about twice that, though highly volatile.

Trying to reconstruct the original Christmas gifts would be a costly venture at today's prices.

But adding them up is a good reminder of the importance of giving sacrificial gifts to those who truly deserve them.

ⓒ Copyright 2011 McCook Daily Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.