Blog @ MoreWhat.com

After hearing on Hannity that Geithner was laughed at in China a little net surfing turned up some of the items below. Hannity suggested there would be little coverage on this from the MSM. Aside from blogs and a few non-MSM business sites it seems the suggestion was right on in terms of the American press. The report below is from the UK.

Geithner insists Chinese dollar assets are safe

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was laughed at by an audience of Chinese students after insisting that China’s US assets are safe.

Here’s a challenge. Find the part of Geithner’s speech transcript that caused the laughter at Peking University. Okay, so maybe his insistence that China’s US assets are safe came from another exchange. (no pun intended)

Full Text of Geithner’s Speech at Peking University

Some reporting and commentary from a Chinese source on US-China relations including some discussion about Geithner, Pelosi and Clinton’s recent overtures toward the Chinese and downplaying of all their previous complaints. Funny how being broke will do that to ya.

China won’t pick up the tab for US financial woes

As Geithner goes begging to China for Barack Obama he has softened talk of China manipulating their currency. Recently he was criticized by China for saying they do manipulate their currency. And in the report below from April 2009 Geithner was again retreating on the Chinese currency manipulation claim. Which is it Tim? Oh that’s right, this is the guy who couldn’t properly submit a tax return with the help of Turbo Tax. And he’s the current Treasury Secretary of the United States arriving in China this week with his tail between his legs. Talk about not saving face.

US Treasury Says China Not Manipulating Currency

All in a day’s work at the Obamanation and we are merely observers as our elected representation is out of control.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

One argument suggests the conditions at Gitmo are better than what detainees would have access to in their home countries (assuming they have one). The same can be said for conditions of another group there… the Uighers. There is no conclusion being drawn here on the guilt or innocence of any detainee. And even though the conditions at Gitmo can be considered superior to what may otherwise be available to a detainee or the fact that detainees are being held, President Obama holds some very different views of the detainee pop as the following link explains.

Barack Obama has decided to fight the release of the 17 Chinese Uighers at Guantanamo Bay into the US, Jake Tapper reports — and he’s choosing an interesting argument to use. While Obama has wasted no opportunity to paint Gitmo as a stain on the nation’s reputation and all but the gulag Dick Durbin called it a few years ago, the administration paints quite a different picture of it in court:

The point is that Obama supporters including the MSM largely express opinions that the Messiah is right on just about everything. Let’s try to remember that the one characteristic all elected officials have is that they are politicians. Much of what gets played in the press puts a spin on the political positions of those we have selected, as a group, to represent our interests in Washington and elsewhere.

For instance, while this blog maintains a conservative slant on public affairs there is no hesitation to call out elected officials for their failure to maintain a similar approach if they are or ever have expressed their preference or belief in conservative principles. BTW, that would naturally explain why liberals rarely receive positive or complimentary reports in these posts.

And since some noise has been made that a significant number of liberals are displeased with Mr Obama’s performance thus far the story above about the Uighers and other elements related to Gitmo and other highly charged issues underscores the campaigning Obama versus the President Obama. This is not an attribute unique to Barack Obama but needs to be understood when analyzing or appraising his record on the issues. If most people voted for Barack Obama based on his campaign promises they might want to carefully review the chronology to determine whether or not they may suffer from buyer’s (or voter’s) remorse.

Then again they may have gotten exactly what they wanted. The person they chose for President in which none of what was just described matters.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Why this story did not get much play is a bit of a mystery. China wants to be king. But so do many countries. Amid criticism over the last few years China has exported tainted goods, conspired with major IT companies to limit their citizens access to the internet, been accused of cyber-espionage and other bad behavior. While Olympic athletes choked on their smog dominated air the US continued to play nice as China joined in the greed that put the world finances in the tank as well as sponsoring out of control US debt. But even then the US was chastising them for manipulating their currency. Gee Timothy, what changed?

According to one website that offers exchange rate data, nothing. Even the US gov’t data on China’s currency valuation does not appear to reflect Geithner’s rosy report of 16% appreciation. Why do you suppose Turbo Tax & cheat wonder boy Geithner gave such a positive spin on China’s currency?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has declined to name China as a currency manipulator - a position that is in contrast to the government’s stance in January.
In the Treasury Department’s semi-annual report on the currency practices of key trade partners, Mr. Geithner says there is no evidence that any major U.S. trading partner had manipulated its exchange rate. The findings are in a report submitted to Congress Wednesday.

During his January confirmation hearing, Mr. Geithner said that President Barack Obama believed China was “manipulating” the value of its currency to gain unfair trade advantages.

However, in the new report, he says China has taken steps to “enhance exchange rate flexibility.” He also says the Chinese currency “appreciated” by more than 16 percent between June 2008 and February 2009.

U.S. politicians, labor leaders and manufacturers have long complained that China intervenes in foreign exchange markets to keep the value of its currency artificially low. The move would give Chinese products a price advantage on world markets.

In the new report, Mr. Geithner also says “virtually every advancing economy and many emerging markets are in recession.”

He also says many currencies depreciated against the dollar in the second half of 2008 and into 2009.

crossposted to:
Maggie’s Notebook
Conservative Thoughts

This month President Barack Obama caused the eyes of many to glaze over with his wandering message expressing an interest in a world free of nuclear weapons. Those who applauded the announcement were from one of three groups. Those who share membership in the not so exclusive nuclear club of planet Earth or wannabees who are delighted the new American President will try to disarm the US. Or uber liberals with reality issues who still believe surrender and appeasement will bring peace to the world. Or really nice folks who thought it impolite not to applaud the person on stage accepting blame for everything on behalf of the country he represents.

Yo Barry. Here’s a heads up for you. Most people accept the events in history that led to the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China and France being the original, and for a time only, members of the group known as the Nuclear Club. Well, except maybe for France, but that’s another story. They’re the same ones who support the US strategy in Afghanistan but won’t send troops or ones that can fight. Oh ya, and they’re the ones like some others in the EU who support the G20 idea of providing a trillion in stimulus but are fine with the US contributing more than their share. And apparently, Mr Obama, you agree.

In addition to the original members of the Nuclear Club are India and Pakistan. Just like Iran and North Korea now, no one had a clue how to prevent these two countries from joining. And there are about a dozen other countries included in discussions of who has the ability to go nuclear. (Israel’s ability is assumed but not declared ) So the number is at or approaching a couple of dozen. Are you following this so far, Mr President?

If you understand the previous few paragraphs then why the hell are you making these public statements about a nuclear free world? This is one time most Americans would hope you are offering another promise you will break. Otherwise one can only assume the pressure is getting to you and you’re losing it. If the problem was so simple to solve and all the people of the planet could get along as you and your followers believe, don’t you expect it would have been achieved by now? Has it ever occurred to you that the reason the problem has not been corrected is that no one has the answer yet? It is fair to assume that what was once feared as the ultimate fate of a nuclear armed Earth still remains.

But a likely alternative expectation, given the UN’s typical failure to respond to the DPRK’s missile launch, is that with proper handling avoiding catastrophe can be achieved in much the same way as it was in the past. All parties will be attracted to their nuclear power of choice while the nuke powers will maintain a balance still based on mutual assured destruction if the worst would happen. At some point thereafter this game will be exhausted and other circumstances yet to arrive will cause nations of the world to abandon this stupidity. Not because we will then be wiser but some other equally scary threat will require extraordinary cooperation between all the people on this planet in order to survive. And no, Mr Gore, it’s not Global Scamming Warming. It’s those peaceful Muslims carrying suitcases. (hint, hint)

We may then have a taste of peace long enough to become addicted to its benefits. But it won’t happen due to some idealistic fantasy that we can all get along because that is the way ti is supposed to be. That may come within time but for now you are trying to put the cart before the horse at best or transforming the human race to an endangered species at worst. Starting with the United States for whom you took an oath. It may be time for you to read it again for the first time.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

If the reports below are any indication of what can be expected from the G20 summit in London this week anyone skeptical of good news resulting will not be disappointed. It is likely the optimistic expectations suggested by President Obama of the US and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain will not come to fruition.

Apparently those in charge of releasing a collective statement for leaders in attendance are having difficulty deciding what to say. After embarrassing leaks and reports of numerous revisions this may demonstrate the feeble performance yet to appear from the world’s, ah hem, leaders.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

The Times understands that the money will come in three separate packages.

The first are new lines of credt worth more than $100 billion to encourage countries to trade more.

The second is a possible tripling to $750 billion in the resources held by the International Monetary Fund to rescue struggling economies. The extra money will come from Japan, the EU, China and others.

The third is a one-off allocation of “special drawing rights” that enable countries to swap their own currencies for IMF backed resources.The effect is to give those countries more confidence to deplete their reserves and expand.

The report above is from the Times and the one below from the Telegraph (UK)

A version that surfaced in Germany last week appeared to show that leaders are still not agreeing on what to say about “fiscal stimulus” measures to boost economic activity by borrowing.

British officials have insisted that that the German leak was out of date and failed to reflect the intense negotiations carried out by “sherpas” and other officials ahead of the actual summit.

In fact, the text being circulated in London today commits leaders only to make “the scale of sustained effort necessary to restore growth” and contains no detail about the size and type of stimulus countries should undertake.

For a little entertainment you may wish to follow the link from the excerpt below.

The G20 protests

Wagging the dog

Apr 2nd 2009
From Economist.com
On the barricades and behind the cameras in London

OUR day of covering the protests starts with a failure: the Whitechapel Anarchist Group, whom we had emailed about interviewing, fail to answer their phone (too busy preparing to spread mayhem if other press reports are to be believed, though their blog huffily decries these accounts). At 7am, the City is quiet. Work traffic is light for a weekday, and my camera-wielding colleague and I are keen to get shots of the City prepared for protests, so set off looking for banks and offices that have shut for the day. HBOS and Halifax both sport locked doors, but security guards prevent us from filming. Frustrated, we head toward London Bridge where one of the marches is due to start.

Seriously: “Send in the Clowns” on Queenzbop playlist (Michelle Malkin)

crossposted at:
Maggie’s Notebook
Conservative Thoughts
Screw the UN

More on the Obama Adminisration and troubling trends are in the news. It is not a surprise nor necessarily atypical for a President of one political party to undo that of a former President of another party. The Obama Administration rescinded the Mexico City Policy ban on funding foreign abortions which has a history of reversals with each change in President of the opposing party. He appeared to be reversing policy on Gitmo but the jury is still out on that one. And the liberal fringe is not happy about the new President’s action or inaction on Iraq and Afghanistan or some other matters.

Does it seem odd to you that the President Obama’s first foreign trip was to Canada while his new Secretary of State headed for Indonesia and China and the rest of Asia? It is not unlike an opinion voiced by Rush Limbaugh on news the President does not favor the Fairness Doctrine. El Rushbo suggests we should not be optimistic about the news in that Obama did not say something like he would not sign or would veto such legislation. Alternatively, Limbaugh suggested it as a trait of the new liberal President to not spend political capital when he can get others to do it. That may also explain his trip to Canada. And Hillary is simply trying to add to her lacking resume’ for 2012. But Canada is boycotting Durban II. Hmmm.

That brings us to this issue, Durban II. The US and Israel were the only countries to vote against it in 2001 or beyond. Now that Obama is in office funny how the UN’s agenda on race again takes center stage. In the past there was the suggestion that opponents of Israel would use the opportunity to gain advantage by using international events to portray Israel and/or the US as racist. Given Obama and Holder’s notable quotes on the topic this may be of some concern to the public at large. Another reversal of Bush 43 policy which may also prove to be dangerous.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Op-Ed: Boycott Durban II

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - Feb 18, 2009
The April 2009 Durban II conference promises to top that fiasco, despite the Obama administration’s decision to attempt to influence the process. …

Can the United States fix Durban II?

Reuters - Feb 18, 2009
Israel and Canada have already announced they would boycott “Durban II,” as the conference is being called, and the Bush administration was opposed to the …

Obama officials meet US Jews to explain their Durban II policy

Human Rights Tribune, Switzerland - Feb 18, 2009
Jerusalem fears that the “Durban II” summit, set to be held in Geneva this April, will be used by Arab nations and others as a forum to criticize Israel as …

So much changes and so much stays the same. While visions of Chinagate danced in her head. Hillary Rodham Clinton figured the scandal was dead. Opponents claim with evidence to support. Obama is a third Clinton term with more espionage to thwart. Right outta the Gates warning of preparedness with who flung poo, Clinton seeks more with China as if selling secrets is not taboo.

A Clinton Administration via President Obama is not a suggestion off the mark based on staffing since The One assumed office. A little background refresher of only one chapter from the Clinton book of scandals raises serious questions about a new Secretary of State focusing on China after Chinagate.

Try to make the argument that this is not something about which we should be concerned. For those of you who voted for Clinton and/or Obama in the 2008 campaign and/or election, did you consider this before entering the voting booth, mailing your ballot, doing the driveby or letting ACORN vote for you?

There are reports available suggesting President Clinton supported transferring sensitive technology as a method to insure no single nation had military dominance over the others. Liberals are a nightmare even terrorists could appreciate…… and do.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Exhibit 1
From approximately 1994 to 1998, Bernard Schwartz, who was the chairman of Loral Space & Communication Ltd., became the single largest donor to the Democratic Party by making contributions totaling approximately $1.5 million to various Democratic Party entities, including President Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign.

Exhibit 1a
Congressional and other related investigations subsequently found that, when a Chinese rocket attempting to launch a Loral-manufactured satellite failed, Loral helped China to identify the cause of the failure, thereby advancing China’s missile program and threatening U.S. national security. Loral subsequently paid a $14 million fine relating to this transfer of sensitive U.S. technology.

Exhibit 1b
“The Amended Complaint alleges that Hillary Rodham Clinton devised, agreed to participate in and implemented this unlawful scheme, and that President Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore authorized, agreed to participate in, and also implemented the scheme.”

For the lazy among you…..

The Idiot’s Guide to Chinagate (from Newsmax)

Exhibit 2
This is the same Justice Department that has botched up the investigation of the theft of information on the W-88 warhead, that has refused to appoint an independent counsel to investigate campaign fundraising illegalities, and that continues to cover up vital information in defiantly refusing to release the LaBella and Freeh memos suggesting that crimes may have been committed in the Chinagate scandal.

Exhibit 2a
Is this the first time the Clinton administration has been involved in lawbreaking and corruption? Hardly. It has almost become a way of life: Travelgate, Filegate, Buddhist Temple fundraisers, illegal foreign campaign contributions, the compromise of high-technology nuclear secrets to China, not to mention perjury and obstruction of justice–the list goes on and on.

Exhibit 2b
On the one hand, there is the mind-boggling story of how the Clinton administration deliberately changed almost 50 years of bipartisan security policies–relaxing export restrictions, signing waivers to allow technology transfers, ignoring China’s violation of arms control agreements, and its theft of our nuclear secrets, opening up even more nuclear and high technology floodgates to China and others–thus harming U.S. national security.

On the other hand, there is the continuing coverup–the effort to hide from Congress and the American people the true damage that has been done to national security and the Clinton administration’s central role in allowing so much of it to happen on their watch.

A face only an anarchist could love.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for a “comprehensive dialogue” with China, extending beyond economic issues.

Secretary Clinton Tuesday said U.S. economic problems mean that people are losing jobs not only in America but also in China. So Clinton said that while the economy will always be a centerpiece of the U.S. relationship with China, the new U.S. administration wants it to be part of a broader agenda.

She said the Bush administration turned the strategic dialogue with China into an economic one.

Clinton did not mention what other issues she would bring up with the government in Beijing.

Human rights activists have called for renewed U.S. pressure on China to improve its human rights record and freedom of expression.

The French news agency said groups such as Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, and veteran Chinese dissident Harry Wu expressed hope at a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday that President Barack Obama will give China’s human rights problem a high priority.

The Associated Press quoted Defense Secretary Robert Gates as telling a Senate hearing Tuesday that the United States is ready to handle any foreseeable military threat from China.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
Trackposted to Rosemary’s Thoughts, Allie is Wired, third world county, Political Byline, The World According to Carl, DragonLady’s World, Wingless - Cuba: Beautiful Country, People…Not so Beautiful System…, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, Conservative Cat, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

The world favors closing the Guantanamo facility.  Well, much of the world favors it.  After urging its closing for years European countries are now realizing the ‘political and security implications’ of releasing detainees.  Aside from the ‘activists’ and defense lawyers calling for the facility’s closure ‘much of the world’ may not be so comfortable with releasing detainees now that it is clear many have returned to terrorist groups.

China called for the return of 17 ‘nationals’ who are Uighurs.  And what exactly is China’s record with their Uighur population?  Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan suggests support for the war on terror will be easier to win if this happens.  While some say situations like the Gitmo story encourage recruitment among terror groups are we to take that information without qualification?  How do you determine how many would join terror groups with or without events like Abu Ghraib and keeping detainees in Gitmo?  And does the reaction to terrorism by the rest of the world really have an impact?  Have those who cowered to terrorism or the threat of it been spared the senseless violence?  If you have a powerful response to terror or a moderate one does it make a difference and who has the data or proof to offer?

‘A number of former Guantanamo detainees said the decision has come too late’ so what does it matter? And then there is the problem of where detainees go.  The second report raises the issue of how successful would countries be in receiving detainees without the threat of further terrorist activity?  After a DoD report on the number of released detainees who returned to terrorist groups and acknowledgment of that by such groups what is the litmus test on detainees?  Is their guilt or innocence to be determined by what they do after release?  How’s that for intelligence?

Yemen says they will get many detainees in the next few months and ‘make sure they do not escape and rejoin terrorist groups.’ That’s reassuring. NOT.  Is this the Obama Administration’s first major blunder in the making?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Much of the world is welcoming President Barack Obama’s decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, but the global response also indicates an awareness of the challenges involved in shutting down the unpopular detention facility.

In Europe, many countries that have been urging closure of the prison for years are now debating whether to take in ex-detainees after they are released - decisions with serious political and security implications.

In Afghanistan, where many of the detainees were captured, President Hamid Karzai said closing Guantanamo will make it easier to win international support for the war against terrorism.

Human rights groups said ordering the prison’s closure is a step in the right direction, but they also are urging the new administration to follow through.

Amnesty International said it “sends an important message to the rest of the world that the USA is now closing a dark chapter in its history.” Human Rights Watch official Jennifer Daskal said, “By shutting down a global symbol of abuse [it] will deprive terrorists of a powerful recruitment tool.”

China Thursday called again for the return of 17 Chinese nationals being held at Guantanamo. The men are Uighurs, a Muslim minority group living in part of northwestern China.

And Cuba called for the closure of the entire U.S. military base at Guantanamo. In an interview with Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency, Cuban President Raul Castro said the base should be shut down and the territory it occupies returned to what he calls its legal owners - the Cuban people.

In Saudi Arabia, the families of some detainees still being held in the prison have welcomed the decision to close it, hoping to be reunited with their relatives. But a number of former Guantanamo detainees said the decision has come too late.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Yemen’s president says his country is preparing to take back 94 Yemeni prisoners from the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh told Yemeni security officials Saturday the U.S. will release the prisoners within the next three months, and promised to make sure they do not escape and rejoin extremists groups.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed an order Thursday to close the controversial facility within one year, but there are questions about what to do with the terrorists suspects still held there.

Earlier this week, two men claiming to be former prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay facility appeared on a video tape, claiming they had rejoined al-Qaida and are now senior militant officials in Yemen.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry Saturday expressed support for the U.S. decision to shut the center, saying it adds what it called a “much needed moral dimension in dealing with terrorism.”

According to a list compiled by the Washington Post, there are currently six Pakistani nationals being held at Guantanamo. They include top suspects accused of planning the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Meantime, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says his government is seeking permission to meet with two Malaysians held at Guantanamo, and to have them serve their sentences in their home country. He also praised the decision to shut the facility.

Some U.S. lawmakers have voiced concerns that shutting Guantanamo may allow some dangerous detainees to be set free.

The U.S. Defense Department says as many as 61 former Guantanamo prisoners have returned to terrorism. On Friday, U.S. security officials confirmed that a man released from the facility in late 2007 has become the deputy leader of al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen.

Mr. Obama has ordered a review of all 245 detainees at the center, to decide how to prosecute those that may have committed crimes.

Another report of how enthralled (had to add this, enthralled = beguiled, filled with wonder and delight) consumers are with electronics offerings from manufacturers. This post is another attempt to raise some issues regarding consumer electronics. Some long standing criticism from this blog toward those who market electronics and control the infrastructure on which much of it is used range from how internet access is manipulated between what is available, offered and how it is priced to similar issues living in other telecom areas like wireless communication. Have you noticed how cell phones are marketed and its relationship to the primary function of telephones. That’s right. Voice communication between humans has long been the need filled by telephone service. Text messaging, chocolate phones, camera phones and all manner of other bells and whistles have relegated speaking to another on the phone as an afterthought. Could it be that spending the money necessary to offer reliable and quality voice communication does not present the profit margin desired by the providers? Could it be the public has once again allowed the market to be driven by the easily manipulated younger demographic with all that loose change to spend being ‘cool’? The manufacturers know it. Ignore the more demanding demographic for the one you can manipulate and who may have the most discretionary income with the most liberal criteria for purchasing decisions.

The ridiculous nature of the coming switch from analog to digital broadcasts is a critical tipping point in electronics related markets that should require no explanation for using adjectives like ‘ridiculous.’ The reasonable method for introducing new products and services by offering value in terms of quality, utility, pricing and other factors has been supplanted by collusion between entities within the public and private sectors in the electronics industry just like the examples found in the current ‘financial crisis’ stemming from the subprime mortgage scheme and lack of regulation and oversight from Wall Street to Main Street to the halls of government.

That is all the angst this blog author can withstand for the current post on this topic. It would be gratifying if the consuming public could muster enough discretion over their buying decisions as an aggregate to apply the needed pressure on suppliers to do the right thing. The vendors certainly won’t do it on their own. But then the same could be said about the public reaction to activity in government. And we all know to well how that usually works out.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Retailers around the country are reporting a slower-than-usual holiday shopping season this year. But 2008 has been a terrific year for those who love consumer electronics - whether they are buying or just looking.

Despite the current economic downturn, large consumer electronics chains like Best Buy are doing brisk business this year

During lunch hour at the Midtown Manhattan outpost of Best Buy, the largest consumer electronics chain in America, the checkout line is 30 people deep and counting. That’s no surprise to Nicholas Thompson, a senior personal technology editor at Wired magazine.

“It’s been a cool year,” says Thompson. “There has been lots of stuff introduced that’s faster, smaller, sleeker, cheaper, better than anything we’ve had before.”

Thompson adds that product design also has improved this year, partly as the result of Apple products.

“Apple makes beautiful things, and these things sell. So now everyone is making beautiful things!”

Wired Magazine editor Nicholas Thompson says that in 2008, the smart money for portable music players is on the Sansa Fuze

One of the new products that Thompson believes deserve high marks for both design and affordability is the Sansa Fuze. It’s one of dozens of handheld digital music players on sale here.

“It’s about $80, which is much less than it would have cost a year ago, [and] you can watch TV shows. You can watch movies. You can listen to music, and you can look at photographs you can put on it, all your little media files.”

Thompson soon heads straight for the camera aisle, where he unhesitatingly picks up a stylish Sony T700. Unlike most digital cameras, which have smallish viewing screens, the entire back portion of the T700 is designed for viewing photos. He says people often put their photographs online, but relatively few people trouble themselves with viewing.

“But if you have a nice screen on your camera, it makes it a lot easier to share your photos with your friends,” he says.

The T700 digital camera has a screen almost as large as a traditional photograph

Another important feature of the Sony T700 Thompson touts is its Smile Shutter technology, which is able to detect when a person the camera is aimed at smiles. It then shoots the photo without the user having to press a button.

Nearby, shoppers are snapping up a surprisingly small and simple looking video camera called the Flip Ultra.

“Video cameras used to cost $300 to $400,” recalls Thompson. “And for a lot of people, all you want to do is take a little video of your dog and stick it on YouTube. And why pay $300 for that?”

In contrast, at $129, the Ultra is relatively inexpensive. It also has what Thompson considers another virtue: almost no buttons.

“Buttons can sometimes be good, but they can also confuse you. This very simple, very nice present for someone.”

“Next in line, please” is a request this cheerful Best Buy cashier calls out hundreds of time a day

Video games are bigger than ever in 2008. Thompson’s favorite this year is the FIFA 09 virtual football game based on the teams in the World Cup.

“For example, say you want to be the United States, or you want to be Brazil,” explains Thompson, “You actually have the simulation of all the soccer players who play on that national team. And if Brazil plays the United States, Brazil wins!”

When this Voice of America reporter asks him just why Brazil is sure to win, Thompson is quick to laughingly opine, “Brazil is better!” He adds that in the football-oriented video games of the past, the players would all look the same

“… and they would kind of run in the same direction, kick as hard, run as fast as each other. Now everybody is an individual,” he says.

Samsung high-end, flat-screen televisions offer images that can be almost too realistic for comfort

Thompson says hard-core couch potatoes who want excitement from their electronic toys without exercise - even of the virtual kind - will love Samsung’s new top-of-the-line, large-screen flat televisions. The store’s demonstration model uses liquid crystal display technology enhanced with light-emitting diodes as backlights.

“The colors are truer. The blacks are a lot better, and it’s much easier to watch for a long time,” Thompson says. “You actually feel like you are in a movie theater even though are just sitting in your own living room.”

Soon, a chase scene from The Dark Knight, the franchise’s most recent Batman film, begins to play on the television monitor. But Thomson says that virtually zooming through the streets of Gotham City at 250 kilometers per hour in the Batmobile - while sitting in one’s own living room at the same time - is only one of the high-tech thrills in store for gadget lovers during the 2008 holiday season.

The Day of Infamy

The attack on Pearl Harbor was the culmination of a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States over the status of China and the security of Southeast Asia. The breakdown began in 1931 when Japanese army extremists, in defiance of government policy, invaded and overran the northern-most Chinese province of Manchuria. Japan ignored American protests, and in the summer of 1937 launched a full-scale attack on the rest of China. Although alarmed by this action, neither the United States nor any other nation with interests in the Far East was willing to use military force to halt Japanese expansion.

Over the next three years, war broke out in Europe and Japan joined Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance. The United States applied both diplomatic and economic pressures to try to resolve the Sino-Japanese conflict. The Japanese government viewed these measures, especially an embargo on oil, as threats to their nation’s security. By the summer of 1941, both countries had taken positions from which they could not retreat without a serious loss of national prestige. Although both governments continued to negotiate their differences, Japan had already decided on war.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a grand strategy of conquest in the Western Pacific. The objective was to immobilize the Pacific Fleet so that the United States could not interfere with these invasion plans. The principal architect of the attack was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Though personally opposed to war with America, Admiral Yamamoto knew that Japan’s only hope of success in such a war was to achieve quick and decisive victory. America’s superior economic and industrial might would tip the scales in her favor during a prolonged conflict.

While the payback for the greed in the subprime market continues to punish US financial markets and some of the perpetrators’ businesses, co-conspirators around the world are experiencing a similar fate. While liberal politicians in America love to criticize the Bush Administration for what they call failed policies including China’s practice of holding America’s debt, Asian financials are beginning to bleed just like those in the US. On news of money troubles in the US, markets in China, Japan, Korea, Australia and elsewhere across the region are duplicating stock market losses on Wall Street.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Hong Kong stocks tumbled Thursday as panic-stricken investors sold off shares across-the-board amid a raging global financial crisis, forcing the benchmark indexes down for a seventh straight session and to levels not seen in more than two years.

The market in China lost 7% after the American taxpayer bailed out AIG and it lost more than 15% in the previous two sessions. As much as other countries enjoy bad mouthing the US when it comes to finance and greed nations of the world share this common bond of human vulnerability. Markets in Japan, South Korea and Australia lost between 3 and 4% mimicing US losses that exceeded 4%. As far as credit markets are concerned, if those comparing current money woes to the Great Depression look around they will find the entire planet poised to take a beating on past and current practice in investing and lack of discipline.

As the US Fed punishes Lehman but props up Bear, Fannie, Freddie and AIG, Japan and Australia injected billions into the money markets while Chinese money pundits claim their is liquidity available. Now that one of the usual suspects in the subprime scandal puts itself up for sale, WAMU is being looked at by the likes of Citigroup and others who have had their own problems with holding too much bad paper. So much for those predicting the bottom of the financial crisis across the planet. Even though the US has weathered similar predicaments in the past and calls for measures duplicating the response to the S&L debacle of the eighties abound the common concern finds the growing panic focused on how bad, how long and what will this do to me.

One sensible approach suggested in current reports was the need for ailing banks to merge in an effort to shore up weak balance sheets. Misery may love company but the wisdom of this strategy still requires all players to abandon excesses of taking on unlimited risk and returning to practices that resemble the Puritan ethic of hard work and discipline as well as the old fashioned notion of simply doing what’s right. The odds seem very long on that probability.

Bank of America and Barclay’s withdrew interest in aiding the AIG bailout when the Fed refused to guarantee them against failure. But no one seems to mind risking the American taxpayer’s money in times like these. The classic example of Lee Iacocca and Chrysler being balied out by the Fed in the late seventies and eighties cites everything worked out and no one lost. It’s a nice fairy tale but according to the Heritage Foundation, ‘ And so is the myth of the Great Chrysler Comeback of the once dying automaker has become the favorite example cited by proponents of national industrial policy who call for massive and costly federal efforts to revive what they describe as a des perately ailing American economy.’ Sham stock certificates were eaten by holders of record, creditors took losses just like a normal bankruptcy, thousands of workers were laid off and in general the bailout was not a bailout or the perfect story often reported. This may be part of the public opinion guide to be used by observers of the current strategy of government intervention supported as usual by taxpayer funding.

As for the millions facing foreclosure some of the homeowners may not be of the speculator variety. Not that it si possible or even advisable in all cases but there seems to be some wisdom in attempting to right the ship of many borrowers and allowing the chance to repay debt even in the shadow of recent defaults. Besides, the typical scenario of liquidating foreclosed properties to the vultures in waiting may only exacerbate an already tenuous mirage of a remedy. As REOs are unloaded at auction real estate prices of the surrounding properties may also take a hit placing more pressure on falling home prices. The properties as collateral for outstanding mortgages on the remaining stock of homes across the nation are then at least changed in loan to value ratios causing more problems for the banking industry.

But with banks hoarding cash in an attempt to weather the storm finding sources for restructuring home mortgages may just be a pipe dream So like the FED bailing out AIG, allowing the remaining problems to sort themselves out or offering government assistance in the form of taxpayer subsidies or guarantees really offers no insight into how this whole mess will play out. But it would not be a surprise if all the little guys get crushed by the outcome while fat cats like the CEOs and their golden parachutes skate the justice of paying for their sins. Life’s not fair and whatever the final verdict there will be plenty of casualties and plenty of examples of those who were enriched at other’s expense. Maybe more a case of survival of the most sinister rather than the fittest and the whole thing will take longer than we would like to play out.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

By Stephanie Ho
Beijing
Ho report - Download (MP3)
Ho report - Listen (MP3)

Pro-Tibetan activists unfurled a banner proclaiming “Free Tibet” over an Olympics poster at the headquarters of China’s nationwide TV broadcaster. This is the latest in a string of unsanctioned protests during the first full week of the Olympics. Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.

Chinese police Friday detained five foreign protesters from the group, Students for a Free Tibet.

The group says two of the demonstrators had climbed up on the still under-construction headquarters of state-owned
China Central Television to hang the banner. The other three watched from below.

“While China has its coming out party to the world, people forget that in Tibet right now, there’s a vicious military crackdown that’s been in place since March,” said a protester.

There is no immediate word as to what happened to Friday’s protesters. But other foreign demonstrators detained recently have been quickly deported.

This protest is the latest in a series of small-scale demonstrations by pro-Tibet and other foreign activists, who have criticized China for alleged repression in Tibet, human rights abuses and religious restrictions.

One American activist, Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek, had his visa revoked last week, right before he was due to travel to China as a private citizen. He founded a group called “Team Darfur,” that aims to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in the Sudanese region of Darfur. His group is one that points to China’s close relations with the Sudanese government, and calls on Beijing to do more to help resolve the Darfur crisis.

One protest in Beijing earlier this week, that wasn’t aimed at China, involved a small group of Georgian citizens, who held demonstrations in front of the Russian Embassy in Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters the crowd was persuaded to disperse and leave, and that what he called “no extreme actions” took place.

Qin also repeated the standard answer he gives to questions about all protests in China - stressing that the staging of processions and demonstrations in China must abide by Chinese laws and regulations.

Meanwhile, Chinese public security authorities have not responded to faxed questions as to how many protest applications they have approved during the Olympics. All Chinese or foreign groups have to apply for permission to hold demonstrations in one of Beijing’s officially-designated protest parks.

from MoreWhat.com:

It is understandable for people to use big events and crowded venues to voice protest over issues. It should also be understood that the Olympic games have a history of such interruptions and worse. The original idea was to put all that aside and interact in a spirit of sports competition without the other stuff. It would be nice if those who feel the need to protest could understand a little of that. Perhaps they wouldn’t need to protest so much. Hire a lobbyist.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

By VOA News
The music director for the Opening Ceremony at the Beijing Olympics has admitted that a young girl who delivered a key performance during the show, lip-synched her song.

Chen Qigang says the pigtailed nine-year-old girl, Lin Miaoke, was actually a stand-in for the real singer who was not considered attractive enough.

The real singer, Yang Peiyi, is seven, and has a chubby face and crooked teeth.

Chen says organizers made the decision at the request of a high-ranking Communist Party official, adding that they were thinking about doing what was best for the nation.

Chinese officials also revealed Tuesday that some of the fireworks shown on television during the opening ceremony were pre-recorded footage, and some images of fireworks were computer-generated.

Wang Wei, a member of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, said the footage and computer images were used because of poor visibility on the night of the opening ceremony.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

from MoreWhat.com:

While there certainly is no blame directed from this blog to Lin Miaoke, the stand-in singer, it only seems fair that the girl who really did the singing get her props from as many places as possible. Tell that high-ranking Communist Party official, if that is really who made the decision, that he or she has his or her head up their butt. What is best for the nation? How about what is best for the girl who did the singing?

One can take solice in the fact that if this was the least that happens to children the world would be a better place. But the insult to this child still sux and China should apologize. And if it makes you feel any better, China, go ahead and insult the US before you make it right by the kid. You’re gonna do it anyway, so take a freebie. But do right by the kid. BTW, Lin Miaoke, you got your 15 minutes of fame. Yang Peiyi, you did a great job on the singing.

Stanford Matthews

By VOA Sports American swimmer Michael Phelps has made history by winning his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Games, something no other athlete has ever achieved in the modern Olympics.

Phelps and his teammates won the men’s four-by-100-meters medley relay Sunday in a world record time of three minutes, 29.34 seconds. Phelps’ teammate Jason Lezak swam the last leg and won the race. Lezak had also anchored the 400 meters freestyle relay to preserve Phelps’ historic bid.

Since the modern Olympics started in 1896, no athlete has ever won eight gold medals at a single Games. American Mark Spitz won seven medals in Munich in 1972.

Australia Sets Swimming Record

In other swimming events Sunday, Australia’s women’s team set a world record on its way to winning the four-by-100 meter medley relay in three minutes, 52.69 seconds.

American swimmer Dara Torres missed her attempt to win gold in the women’s 50-meters freestyle, losing to Germany’s Britta Steffen by 1/100 of a second - 24.07 to 24.06. The 41-year-old Torres was appearing in her fifth Olympic games.

In the men’s 1,500 meters freestyle race, Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia won the gold medal.

Romanian Wins Womens’ Marathon

Earlier in athletics, Romania’s Constantina Tomescu won the women’s marathon in two hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds.

A total of 35 medals will be awarded Sunday including in gymnastics, diving, wrestling, rowing and athletics. The United States leads the total medals with 57, but China has more golds, with 27 to 17 for the U.S.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Chinese Attacker Kills 1 American, Injures Another in Beijing

By Stephanie Ho
Beijing
Ho report - Download (MP3)
Ho report - Listen (MP3)

related earlier post: China Promises Safe, Peaceful Olympics

A Chinese man attacked two American tourists in Beijing, killing one and seriously injuring the other, before taking his own life. The two Americans were relatives of U.S. Olympic athletes. Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.

The U.S. Olympic Committee’s Darryl Seibel says the American couple and their Chinese tour guide were attacked Saturday while sightseeing in Beijing.

“They were at the Drum Tower. They were stabbed in the attack. And shortly after the attack, the assailant took his own life. That’s really the extent of what I know about the attack itself,” explained Seibel.

The attacker was 47-year-old Tang Yongming, a man the U.S. Embassy in Beijing says was from the eastern province of Zhejiang.

The stabbing occurred on the very high second level of the Drum Tower, which is only accessible by a steep stairway. Afterwards, Tang committed suicide by jumping off the monument.

Official Chinese media give no motive for the attack. Attacks on foreigners in China are very rare. And security in Beijing has been especially tight because of the Olympics, which opened Friday.

The U.S. Olympic Committee’s Seibel says the victims were family members of a coach for the U.S. Olympic men’s indoor volleyball team. But he says he does not believe they were specifically targeted.

“My understanding is that the individuals who were attacked were not wearing apparel that obviously or automatically identified them as members of the United States delegation or in any way connected them to the United States delegation,” said Seibel.

He says the U.S. Olympic Committee is in touch with Chinese and U.S. authorities about the case.

President Bush, who is in Beijing to attend the Olympics opening ceremony and several sporting events, expressed his condolences.

“Laura and I were also saddened by an attack on an American family and their Chinese tour guide today in Beijing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” he said.

The U.S. Olympic men’s indoor volleyball team plays its first match Sunday.