Saturday, March 01, 2014

China is having internal problems.

By William Wan

BEIJING – A group of knife-wielding assailants (click here) burst into a train station in southern China late Saturday night and slashed to death at least 28 people and injured more than 100 others, according to state media.
The government-run Xinhua News Agency described the Kunming train station assault as a “premeditated violent terrorist attack,” but authorities have not identified the attackers or a their motive....

However, it was observant enough to bring the USA to task regarding it's human rights record.

Interesting, Beijing reflects many problems Americans complain about. But, it forgot to mention the Climate Crisis.

Updated: 2014-02-28 11:13
(Xinhua) 
...Posing as "the world judge of human rights," (click here) the US government "made arbitrary attacks and irresponsible remarks" on the human rights situation in almost 200 countries and regions again in its just-released reports, the report says.
"However, the US carefully concealed and avoided mentioning its own human rights problems," it adds.
The report calls the US tapping program, code-named PRISM, which exercises long-term and vast surveillance both at home and abroad, "a blatant violation of international law" and it "seriously infringes on human rights."
The US also faces rampant gun violence, according to the report. "In 2013, 137 people died in 30 mass killings, which caused four or more deaths each, in the US."
The report also cites figures to show that frequent drone strikes by the US in countries including Pakistan and Yemen have caused heavy civilian casualties.
The US has carried out 376 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, causing deaths of up to 926 civilians, according to the report.
"The US still faces grave employment situation with its unemployment rate remained high," the report says.
Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families have topped 21 percent. The homeless population in the US kept swelling and it had climbed 16 percent from 2011 to 2013, it added.
"There are also a large amount of child laborers in the agricultural sector in the US and their physical and mental health was seriously harmed," the report says.
To date, the US remains a country which has not ratified or participated in a series of core UN conventions on human rights, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to the report.

China can't use ethanol?

Updated: 2014-03-02 05:08
 (Xinhua)

BEIJING - China has returned 887,000 tonnes of US corn (click here) shipments tainted with a genetically-modified (GM) strain not approved by the country's agriculture ministry since last October.
These corn shipments were found to contain the unapproved MIR162, a strain of insect-resistent transgenic corn, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
China detected the first batch of MIR162 tainted corn shipment from the US in last October in Shenzhen, and found several batches at the country's different ports after that.
The administration urged local entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureaus to step up detection of the imported farm produce and return or destroy those tainted with unapproved GM components.

The oil and gas really isn't anything new, is it? These maps have existed a long time, some go back to the late 1970s. The deposits are within historic earthquakes zones, right? Think ethanol. Seriously. It will extend the oil supply for generations. Ask Saudi Arabia how important it is to manage the oil fields with the future as a focus.

Updated: 2014-03-02 05:05
(Xinhua)
BEIJING - China discovered (click here) nearly 1.1 billion tonnes of oil deposits and 616.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in 2013, said the Ministry of Land and Resources.
Of the new discoveries, 202 million tonnes of oil and 381.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be exploited with the current technologies, according to the ministry.
The production of oil and natural gas last year stood at 210 million tonnes and 117.6 billion cubic meters, rising 1.4 percent and 9.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.
"Oil and natural gas discoveries maintained a strong momentum in 2013 with steady production increase as China strengthened its exploration efforts and made breakthroughs," said the ministry.
China is one of the world's largest energy consumers, and a large part of its demands, especially in oil and natural gas, depends on imports.

I'll be darn, China is starting to grow it's service industry. It must advice from Clin-ton.

Updated: 2014-02-26 11:40
By Amy He in New York and He Wei in Shanghai (China Daily USA)

US companies in China (click here) are shifting their focus to the service sector in line with China's transition from being the world's factory floor to a knowledge-driven economy, a survey has found.
For the first time, services accounted for more than half, or 52 percent, of US companies' revenue in China in 2013, up 11 percentage points from the previous year, according to the annual China Business Report released on Tuesday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai).
China continues to be a key profit center for US companies, the survey also found, with 74 percent of respondents reporting profits in 2013. Three out of four saw positive cash flows in their China operations, up 3 percent from a year ago...