November 29, 2009
November 28, 2009
A Thanksgiving Prayer, by William S. Burroughs
A Thanksgiving Prayer, by William S. Burroughs
For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986
Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison —
thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger —
thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcass to rot —
thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes —
thanks for the AMERICAN DREAM to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through —
thanks for the KKK, for nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches, for decent church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces —
thanks for "Kill a Queer for Christ" stickers —
thanks for laboratory AIDS — thanks for Prohibition and the War Against Drugs —
thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind his own business —
thanks for a nation of finks —
yes, thanks for all the memories... all right, let's see your arms... you always were a headache and you always were a bore —
thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams.
SU - Koreans make plastics without fossil fuel chemicals - CNN.com
SU - Koreans make plastics without fossil fuel chemicals - CNN.com
Bioengineered plastics would be more environmentally-friendly than those from fossil fuel-based chemicals.
November 22, 2009
Three Key Lessons from Obama's China Tour - TIME
President Obama meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
China mine blast death toll hits 87 - CNN.com
Chinese rescuers prepare to enter the mine where the accident occurred.
November 21, 2009
November 15, 2009
(1of5) If We Had No Moon
Without the moon, humans wouldn't exist. Life, if it had started at all, would be in the earliest stages of evolution. Days would last four hours, winds would blow at hurricane force and there would be a dense and toxic atmosphere resembling that of Venus. Luckily, 50 million years after the formation of the solar system, our proto-planet was hit by a celestial body more than twice the size of Mars, which formed the moon. In this one-hour special, viewers will learn what Earth was like before the moon and what Earth would be like if the moon disappeared.
November 07, 2009
Counterfeiting: Vanguard
Angela Sun explores the world of fake Louis Vuitton, Versace and DVDs in China--the counterfeiting center of the world.
Penis Restaurant: Vanguard
Adam Yamaguchi samples a variety of animal penises in a Beijing restaurant.
Old Lady Hip Hop: Vanguard
Adam Yamaguchi tries to pick up some hip hop dance moves from some senior
citizens in Beijing.
City on Steroids: Vanguard
China is building mega cities like this at a pace and scale the
world has never seen before. Chongqing has 12 million people and counting.
It's part of the central government's plan to bring some of China's economic
boom to its impoverished interior province where three out of four Chinese
live. Vanguard takes you on a whirlwind tour of the city---from inside a
cramped boarding house where migrant workers to inside a starter apartment
of China's new class of yuppies; from inside ancient, crumbling teahouses to
gleaming new car factories.
November 01, 2009
Wo Weihan: Spy for Taiwan Intelligence Agency
Wo Weihan (Chinese: 沃维汉; pinyin: Wò Wéihàn; 1949 – November 28, 2008), a native Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang, was a Chinese scientist and entrepreneur of Daur nationality. He was executed at the age of 60 on 28 November 2008, by firing squad, along with missile expert Guo Wanjun, 66, allegedly for passing sensitive information to a Taiwanese NGO. Weihan was interrogated for ten months in 2005 and allowed access to a lawyer in 2006. Trial was held in secrecy in 2007.
Charges
The case against Wo related to alleged passing of sensitive national security information, which China argued justified special handling of the case.
Wo became a spy for Taiwan intelligence agency with the codename "YANG DONG". He got to know Mr Guo during a wedding ceremony in early 1990s. The Taiwan intelligence agency also invested USD 300,000 to help Wo's first wife, to set up a restaurant in Austria.
Mainland Chinese media and portals, including Global Times and Sina, released details of Wo and Guo's spying activities after the execution. In the early nineties, Wo Weihan bought critical information and documents on DF-31, from Guo Wanjun, a missile expert who had participated in the design of DF-31. Mr. Wo and Guo's activities resulted in the leakage of the top secret information of the DF-31, including internal design and structure of the missile, causing significant impact on Chinese national security. They both were accused of spying for Taiwan and US intelligence agencies by selling sensitive information on intercontinental ballistic missiles. Neither Taiwan nor US have made an official statement in this regard.
According to the verdict released by the High Court of Beijing after the sentencing in March 2008, the charges Wo Weihan was convicted of included: "...discussing the health of senior Chinese leaders." In PRC, the health status of senior leaders is declared top secret. Also included in the verdict were convictions of the smuggling of secret information of PLA's night time equipments. Wo was also accused of copying military photos from a magazine, which was public at the time but later declared classified.
Disputes
The execution took place on the final day of the China-EU Human Rights Dialog in Beijing. The US and EU strongly condemned the execution.
"We are deeply disturbed and dismayed by reports that the Chinese government has carried out the death penalty against Wo Weihan," Susan Stevenson, a spokeswoman at the US embassy in Beijing said.She said that Wo's arrest and trial had fallen short of international standards for due process. "Reportedly Mr Wo did not have access to legal counsel until after the prosecuting officials completed their investigation. His confession was coerced and the charges against him were questionable."
Their executions came at a time when China had been presenting itself as a reformed and more humane state, particularly on the eve of China's Olympic debut. The EU and US response to the executions indicate that the executions severely challenged the credibility of the SPC death penalty review reform, which aimed to reduce the number of executions in China (estimated at 7000 per year). The reason that Wo's execution caused dispute between China and EU is because Wo's 2 daughters, who are now Austrian citizens, resorted to Austria and EU to first request a fair and transparent trial for their father, and later pleaded for amnesty as the deficiencies in the prosecution of the case became clear. Diplomatic efforts made behind the curtains had no result for three years. Media coverage and an expanded advocacy campaign which included pleas by Condoleeza Rice, President Heinz Fischer of Austria and the EU Troika were also in vain.
Families of the alleged spies
Wo Weihan's wife and junior daughter saw Wo Weihan on the morning of November 27. Neither he nor they were given official confirmation that the sentence had been approved and that an execution was pending. The elder daughter of Wo expected to be able to see her father that week after the Chinese Ministry Foreign Affairs promised to the Austrian Embassy in Beijing that a second visit would be allowed for the elder daughter. However, Wo was executed on the morning of November 29th, to the surprise of the family and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This broken promise led to very strained relations between the Austrian and Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Austria viewed it as an intentional affront.
According to Qing Gang, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,".....Wo Weihan is a Chinese citizen.... He could not be treated in a different way only because he has some foreign relatives."
Mr. Guo's family were not allowed to visit Mr. Guo during the years of imprisonment, and only five days after the execution, which they had found out about through Wo's family, did they receive a notice that they could pick up Mr. Guo's ashes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wo_Weihan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wo_Weihan
Battle of Saipan: Vanguard
Once the ultimate globalization success story, the island of Saipan now faces one of the fastest economic collapses in history. After suffering a harsh history of military struggles as well as a temporary economic boom after becoming a U.S. commonwealth, the island now stands devastated. Scores of factories remain empty, rotting shopping centers litter the country, and former factory workers turn to the sex industry for survival. Adam Yamaguchi visits Saipan to document the rise and sudden collapse of a tiny piece of America.
Japan: Robot Nation: Vanguard
Japan, the world's second largest economy, is facing a demographic crisis that will shrink the population dramatically. The Japanese aren't having babies, and the country won't accept immigrants to help bolster the population. But Japan may have a unique solution --- Robots!
Chinatown, Africa: Vanguard
In "Chinatown, Africa", Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to Angola to investigate China's rapidly growing presence in Africa. While many welcome China's investment, others see reason for concern. Chinatown, Africa is revealing look at a growing superpower's adventures abroad.
Destination Anywhere: Vanguard
Poverty and underemployment drive much of the population out of the Philippines, where the number one export is people. There are about 11 million overseas Filipino workers around the world who send back over $20 billion in remittances a year, which keeps the Philippine economy afloat...sort of. This is a look at those families left behind and those longing to leave. Their destination? Anywhere.
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