• Auction Round Up: Collectible Letters, Documents and Sports Memorabilia
  We have earlier told you about the most happening auctions that kick started the year 2013, including the high end collectible cars, classic cars at RM Auctions Arizona 2013 and the expensive art sales that set the high-end art market abuzz in 2013. Now, take a look at some of the other upcoming auctions featuring antique documents, personal letters and sports memorabilia that is expected to woo the collectors.
  Francis Crick's letter to son about DNA
  Expected Price: $2 million
  An English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being a co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953 together with James D. Watson, the then 33-year old Francis Harry Compton Crick wrote a letter to his 12-year old son, describing his discovery of DNA with James Watson. Now the Noble Prize winner's letter will show up at Christie's auction block, where it's expected to fetch as much as $2 million.
  

  
  Francis Crick's letter to son about DNA

  Space Magna Carta, pages from Apollo 11 log
  Expected Price: $60,000 - $100,000
  

  
  Space Magna Carta, pages from Apollo 11 log

  In the Bonhams administered Space History Sale on March 25, collectors of space memorabilia will get to grab some of the very best space history material on the market to date. The highlight of this sale featuring an exceptional selection of space related documents, memorabilia, and artifacts is a 1975 printed certificate marking the symbolic end to the space race, which has been nicknamed the Space Magna Carta. One of four in existence, the certificate hails from the first successful docking of a US and a USSR spacecraft – the Apollo and the Soyuz - and was signed in space by the cosmonauts and astronauts aboard the respective missions. Bearing the signatures of Tom Stafford, Deke Slayton, Vance Brand, Valerie Kubasov and Alexei Leonov, the text advocating cooperation and peace is written in both Russian and English, and features an illustration of the spacecraft locked together in orbit.
  First Baseball Card, 1863
  Expected Price: $50,000
  

  
  First Baseball Card, 1863

  Created back in 1863, the first ever baseball card will show up at the auction block as part of a New Jersey Auction on April 19th, where it's expected to fetch as much as $50,000. Widely known as the Grand Match at Hobokem card, it was originally ordered and distributed by Harry Wright, who's also the card's subject and was one of the driving forces of baseball during early days who assembled, managed and played for the sport's first fully professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. We have earlier also given you some tips for investing in Baseball cards.
  Two Sports Jerseys
  Price Realized: $1.4 million
  

  
  Two Sports Jerseys fetched $1.4 million

  At the Heritage's Platinum Sports night in New York, the Lou Gehrig's heavy gray flannel "road jersey," and Mike Eurzione"s splashy 1980 Olympic hockey jersey together fetched whopping $1.4 million. Notably, Gehrig's jersey (pictured above) became the highlight of the sale by fetching as much as $717,000.
  
  
  

  In JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai Now Has the Tallest Hotel in the World

  from Elite Choice [expanded by feedex.net] by nospam@nospam.com (Mayuri)

  By MayuriIn No comments
  

  Dubai is getting into the habit of creating world records. It was home to the world’s tallest building and the world’s largest shopping mall and now it can boast of the world’s tallest hotel. Guinness Book of World Records has declared that the 72 storied JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is the tallest hotel in the world. The luxury property is owned by the Emirates Group and it has the honor of becoming the first JW Marriott Marquis property outside of North America. The new hotel is the 59^th addition to the brands global portfolio and has raised the bar for luxury hotels with its decadence.
  
  

  JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai Offers 7,500 Sq Meter of Event Space

  Rising 1,164 feet high, the architectural marvel is all set to become the ambitious city’s most desirable destination. The hotel is literally taking luxury to new heights. It shines brightly as a jewel in Dubai’s skyline. The hotel which is only 26 meters shorter than New York City’s Empire State building is positioned as the ideal hotel for business travelers and the most important destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. The hotel boasts of a total of 7,500 square meter of indoor and outdoor event space that includes two ballrooms. Its imposing structure has made it into a landmark hotel.
  
  

  The Hotel Boasts of 14 Diverse Dining Options

  Rising over Dubai’s business district, the hotel is located on Sheikh Zayed Road. The world’s tallest hotel is spread over two towers. Guests can truly live life king size in JW Marriott Marquis Suite and enjoy its unsurpassed luxury. The 14 diverse dining options that the hotel offers has been created with great care for the most discerning of travelers. There are nine restaurants and five bars and lounges. Prime 68, Izakaya, Rang Mahal and Tong Thai all offer the best in international cuisine and are a foodie’s delight. The cocktail bar Vault located on the 71^st and the 72^nd floors offers the best panoramic view of the city. The hotel features a 30 meter swimming pool on the seventh floor along with the Aqua Poolside Bar and Grill. And finally the Saray Spa and Health Club, spread over 4,000 square meter has been designed to resemble a caravanserai on the silk route and is the ultimate haven for relaxation.
  

  
  

  Larry Ellison Will Exhibit his Rarely-Seen Japanese Art Collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

  Renowned for being America’s third richest and one of the most flamboyant and outspoken businessman of the century who stands out with his tailor made Italian suits and shirts, the Oracle CEO and multi-billionaire Larry Ellison who’s recently in news for buying Island Air shortly after buying the vast majority of the island of Lanai for $500 million, is now all set to exhibit his exceptionally-rare and coveted Japanese art and artifacts collection at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum. Dubbed as one of America’s most voracious consumers of trophy real-estate, the software mogul and yacht-race king who has been bullish on Malibu’s Carbon Beach will display near about 80 ancient and breathtaking examples of Japanese art which spans over whopping 1,300 years of history. Notably, this eclectic art work collection was actually collected by Ellison to decorate one of his heavily Japanese-influenced homes in Woodside, California.
  

  Larry Ellison Will Exhibit his Rarely-Seen Japanese Art Collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

  “In the Moment: Japanese Art from the Larry Ellison Collection” will be on display from June 28 to September 22 and will feature priceless Samurai pieces from the Edo (1615-1668) and Momoyama (1573-1615) periods.
  Interestingly, Ellison seemed to be somewhat obsessed with Samurai culture, as it’s been found that his $110 million Woodside, Californian estate is modeled on a Samurai stronghold and his 288-foot megayacht Musashi is also named after the greatest Samurai warrior who ever lived.
  Larry Ellison’s Japanese art collection is currently being managed by Emily Sano, who says that his collection is very much an expression of his own taste.
  Via: JustLuxe / SFGate
  
  
  

  Sonus faber unveils the cutting-edge Homage Series speakers, designed for the Pagani Huayra!

  
  

  
  There are times when the best of us chose to drown out the sounds of our whining engines as we race down open country roads in our expensive sports cars. At times like these, a little bit of music playing in the background is bound to exhilarate you even more. Keeping this in mind, Sonus faber unveiled this top-of-the-linesound system, custom designed for the Pagani Huayra supercar. The high-end audio solutions firm recently tied up with the Italian hyper-car manufacturer to unveil music systems good enough to make you want to roll up your supercar’s windows and hum along to your favorite tune!
  

  
  These critically-acclaimed loudspeakers are built for optimal performance and are priced accordingly. The speakers are a great addition to your supercar and are built to look great too. The system added in the Pagani Huayra features amplifiers totaling 1,200-watts in output with speaker cones constructed from carbon fiber. The Homage Series also makes use of powerful-but-light neodymium magnets that further enhance the quality of sound. Also, these speakers aren’t going to have you keeping a wary eye on your bank balance, given the fact that you’ve been able to splash cash generously to buy a supercar like the Pagani Huayra!
  
  
  [Motor-Authority]
  
  

  Airbus ACJ319 is the Largest Corporate Jet Costing $87 Million

  The corporate jet market is dominated by Gulf Stream, Bombardier and to a certain extent Boeing. Airbus, the makers of A380, is not competing in the mass market so to say, but has come up with an offering for the very top end. The ACJ319 jet has been outfitted by Airbus as a corporate jet aimed at billionaires. At $87 million the jet is not really affordable by millionaires. Care has been taken to provide everything that constitutes a billionaire lifestyle. The main lounge has long leather seats and couches with scatter pillows. The seats are cream colored, enhanced by a beige carpet and woodgrain tables and sideboards. It is no less than a luxury suite.

  
  

  The Bathroom Has Sparkling Gold Taps and a Big Shower

  The ambiance in the entire plane is such that a billionaire will feel at home. There are red roses in vases and champagne on ice. The lighting is soft as there are small lamps on coffee tables. There are wall mounted large TV screens on both ends of the lounge. Beyond the lounge is the dining area with a large dining table. The bedroom is just beyond the dining area. Apart from a double bed the room features wall mounted flat TV and a three seater sofa. The bathroom is very lavishly done with sparkling gold taps and a big shower. There is a private study attached to the bedroom.
  
  

  The ACJ319 Accommodates 19 Passengers in Royal Comfort

  David Velupillai, Marketing Director of Airbus is very clear about his potential clientele. He confirms that they are targeting billionaires, governments and corporations that want to make an impression. The ACJ 319 is definitely the largest corporate jet in the market with a cabin height of 2.25 meters and a width of 3.7 meters. You don’t get to hear much about it as the buyers are generally very discreet and prefer to remain low profile. However there are rumors that one of the jets is being redesigned to accommodate a bowling alley. The jet is large enough to accommodate 124 passengers if fitted out as a commercial airliner. As a corporate jet it is configured to accommodate 19 passengers in royal comfort. The jet is on display at the Avalon Air Show in Australia and you can check the lavish interiors also if you have prior appointment.
  
  Via: smh

  
  

  Caviar Amore Collection is Created to Captivate Women Used to the Most Magnificent Ostents of Love

  The precious ‘Caviar’ handcrafted phones by renowned Italian designer Elias Giacometti, that too in the atmosphere of the ancient jeweler workshop of Perla Penna which was founded in 1861, are truly the symbol of wealth, luxury, and the success of its owner. After recently offering the 99-piece limited-edition $4,260 Caviar iPhone 5 Titano Diabolo which comes crafted from titanium and carbon fiber, and was created with the participation of specialists from Automobili Lamborghini SpA, the Italian jeweler Elijah Giacometti (Elia Giacometti) has now come up with a new Caviar Amore Collection which is described to be the Haute Couture products especially created to captivate women who have got used to the most magnificent ostents of love. The collection notably consists of four phones united by an innovative idea of creation of unusual and effective tandems made of most exclusive materials, leather of a rare anaconda and gold of different tones.
  

  Caviar Amore collection is Created to Captivate Women Used to the Most Magnificent Ostents of Love

  Amore Rosa
  Price: $4,330
  

  Amore Rosa

  Executed in the gentlest combination of white gold and pink leather, the Amore Rosa version is spangled with white gold, and it creates a fascinating play of the light of which it is difficult to take the eyes off.
  Amore Scarlatto
  Price: $4,630
  

  Amore Scarlatto

  It impresses with passion contrast of classical yellow gold and leather painted into a specially worked out tone for this model - ruby berry.
  Amore Mirtillo
  Price: $4,495
  

  Amore Mirtillo

  For this, Elia Giacometti got inspiration from the early works of Yves Saint Laurent. Having spent a lot of time in archives fashion house, the jeweler decided to express the idea of the cult couturier - to create a phone that is extolling female independence and overriding power of female beauty. This is a phone that is created from black gold lace of ruthenium. Further, the hand-made striked ornament resonates with the natural pattern on the anaconda leather of bilberry color.
  Amore Angelo
  Price:$4,215
  

  Amore Angelo

  This phone is made of white gold and light, as if snow-covered, leather.
  Via: Caviar-Phone
  
  
  

  Forbes Galleries’‘Out of this World! Jewelry in the Space Age’ exhibition

  
  

  
  Come March 16 and Forbes Galleries, located at 60 Fifth Avenue, New York, will hold an exhibition titled ‘Out of this World! Jewelry in the Space Age’, which will feature baubles inspired by the final frontier. On display will be fine and fashion pieces from more than 100 designers and lenders. Some of the pieces to look forward to areVan Cleef & Arpels’ Tampa Necklace with detachable space-themed elements set with diamonds, sapphires, garnets, spinels, and beryls and their Lunar Landing Pendant; Cartier’s 18K gold lunar landing module replica (the originals were gifted to the astronauts who flew on the Apollo 11 mission); a unique watch made for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which indicates the time on Mars and Donald Claflin’s Man in the Moon clip earrings byTiffany & Co among others.
  

  
  One can expect references to Sputnik, Halley’s Comet, the moon, the stars and the planets as well as jewels crafted from materials that originated in space such as tektite, meteorite, pallasite, moldavite, and moissanite. Adding the finishing touches to this unique exhibition will be vintage memorabilia and art objects relating to space.
  
  
  
  
  
  [Forbes and Stefanopedonesi]
  
  

  Hublot celebrates 25 Years of the Miami HEAT

  
  

  
  Hublot toasted to the 25th Anniversary of the Miami HEAT which represents the brand’s first sports partnership in the U.S. In 2012, the brand had also introduced the King Power Miami HEAT Chronograph to solidify this relationship. To commemorate the occasion, Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of Hublot commissioned a limited edition 25th Anniversary Miami HEAT collection, a set of 25 his and her timepieces in traditional Miami HEAT team colors. This collection is a unique way for Miami HEAT fans to connect with the team through the watch brand. The ladies watch boasts of a self-winding chronograph movement, polished and satin-finished black ceramic case with a black PVD 18K white gold bezel set with 42 red spinels and 6 H-shaped titanium screws. The men’s watch on the other hand, is replete with features like self-winding chronograph movement, polished and satin-finished black ceramic case with a micro blasted black ceramic bezel and black rubber and Hornback crocodile with red stitching strap.
  

  
  
  This exquisite range will only be available during the months of April and May at the Hublot boutique at Bal Harbour and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund. The exciting celebrations lit up the Magic City and Hublot President of Latin America, Rick de la Croix, kicked off the celebration at the AmericanAirlines Arena with a presentation of the official Hublot 25th Anniversary wall-clock to Pat Riley, President of Basketball Operations for the Miami HEAT.
  
  
  
  [Hublot]
  
  

  Bertone Aston Martin Jet 2+2

  
  Italian coach builder Bertone have created the Bertone Aston Martin Jet 2+2. The newest automobile from the long-standing collaboration between these two companies, the Jet 2+2 features Rapide’s powerful four-hundred-seventy horsepower, five-point-nine liter, twelve-cylinder engine. This four-door luxury sedan includes a roomier, more luxurious cabin as well as additional cargo space. The bespoke interior features two-tone leather and fold-flat rear seats.
  
  
  

  Filed under Automobiles |

  
  

  Breguet: Inventor of the Tourbillon, 1801

  In addition to inspiring the name of this website (did you know that the perpétuelle was invented in 1780?) , watch enthusiasts can also thank Breguet for inventing the tourbillon.  An innovation whose origins date way back to 1801!  Below you can enjoy a great video about the tourbillon, as well a closer look at the Ref 5317 Classique Grande Complication (pictured above as well).
  
  

  Private Group Plans a $1 Billion Trip to Mars for a Married Couple

  Inspiration Mars announced a unique mission on February 27, 2013. It is not a simple around the world trip. The mission conceptualized by a private group plans to send a married couple to fly by the red planet Mars and fly back home. The initial funding of the project to the tune of $100 million is being provided by the first space tourist Denis Toto. The trip is estimated to last 501 days during which the couple will be confined to a 600 cubic foot capsule. The launch date has been fixed as January 5, 2018 to take advantage of once-in-a-generation close approach of the two planets’ orbits.

  Denis Toto is Investing $100 Million in the Mission

  NASA is not involved in this mission in any way and will be challenging for the crew and the couple as it will be a stripped down mission in terms of complexity and automation and a space craft made according to an austere design. However experts feel that the mission will cost at least $1 billion. The seed money provided by the tycoon will help kick start the project and the balance will be arranged through donations, advertising and media partnerships. Inspiration Mars also released an artist’s conception of the spacecraft envisioned by the group behind the ambitious project.
  
  

  The Spacecraft Will Pass Within 100 Miles of Mars

  Taber MacCallum, the chief technical officer of the group and a potential crew member pointed out that it will be a tough mission and the passengers can’t expect the comforts of a private jet. In the 16 month voyage the crew and the couple will face many trying circumstances including no showers, limits on toilet paper and clothing, drinking water made from the crew members’ recycled urine and sweat, and almost no privacy. The spacecraft is expected to pass within 100 miles of the Martian surface and survival itself will be a challenge. Explaining the idea behind sending a couple, a man and a woman, on the mission, Mr. MacCullam said that it was symbolic representation of the entire humanity. The couple will be selected within a year so that they can prepare for the mission. MacCullam and his wife Jane Poynter hope to picked. The expert opinion about the mission is that it really boils down to keeping people alive for 501 days in space which is not impossible.
  Via: phys

I have given four China law speeches in the last month (two live and two via webinars, here and here).  Three out of the four talks generated questions as to whether what I had said applied to Hong Kong or to Taiwan.  My answer in all instances was a resounding "no."
Mainland China has its own legal system, separate and apart from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.  In thinking about the laws of those places, you should think of them as different countries.  Now there are definitely some instances where the laws in Mainland China are different for companies and/or legal matters coming from Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macao, but those instances are not terribly common and they become even less common when the matter involves a Western company. Your default position should always be to assume that the laws are different and to always assume that whatever you do in the PRC will not carry over to Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macao.
For example, when we do NNN Agreements for our clients, we make clear that the Agreement we will be drafting "will apply only to PRC China manufacturers. It does not cover Taiwan or Hong Kong or Macau companies that may handle manufacturing for you as intermediaries. If you will be dealing with companies from Taiwan or Hong Kong or Macau (or from any country other than the PRC), please let us know so we can make allowances for that."  We do the same thing for our OEM Agreements as well.  In my future talks, I am going to early on make clear that my speech is confined to the PRC.
I thought of all this today after reading a post on the China IP Insider Blog, entitled, IPR: A territorial animal, emphasizing how intellectual property rights are "territorial" and what you register outside of China does not constitute registration in China:

Since working on the China IPR SME Helpdesk I have organised and attended scores of events on various intellectual property (IP) topics. Following presentations from legal experts we always allow some time for a question and answer session. The most common question asked by European businesses is a variation of the following question:
"If I have a (insert trade mark or patent) registered in (insert EU country). Is it valid in China?"
The answer is easy; it's a resounding no. Intellectual property rights are territorial due to the fact they are offered and governed by each country's legislation. Although some international treaties exist, they generally only facilitate the application process in different countries.

The post goes on to note that the fact that China currently exists in a "one country, two systems" situation only exacerbates the confusion, but that "the IP systems in Mainland China differ from those in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and different registration is required in each territory."  It then does a really nice job postulating as to why so many people get it wrong regarding the universality of IP registrations:

Through dialogue with many European Helpdesk users I have identified that one reason why many people presume IP rights skip borders is that intellectual property is sometimes considered a moral right. Additionally, with such easy access to information internationally through the internet it is very possible that a trade mark registered in Italy for example can easily be seen by a Chinese competitor if the Italian company uses the internet to sell or market their product.

And as to why this mistaken belief in the universality of IP can be so deadly:

Unfortunately this can lead to problems for your European business. China is a first to file system which means that the first person to register the trade mark is the legal owner in China even if the trade mark has been used by a different company in another country. Whether obtained morally or not, possession is not just nine tenths of the law, it is the law!

It concludes by advising that the "best way to protect your intellectual property therefore is to protect it in every market you operate in (manufacture, sell, may move into in the future etc.)," or as we say here, File Your Trademark In China.  Now.
Read More » Source

China Uncensored : Hu Jintao Portrayed in Rare Footage as Human Being

RARE FOOTAGE of Hu Jintao from 1984! What happened to him?! A TOTAL TRANSFORMATION from who he is today. On this episode of China Uncensored, Hu Jintao is about to vanish into obscurity after the National Peoples Congress on March 5th, officially replaced as Chinese President by Xi Jinping. In a retrospective of sorts, Chris Chappell shows you how decades spent battling for power within the Chinese Communist Party completely sucked his soul out and left him a hollow robot. 

  Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gold Edition

• Biggest revamp in Civilization's history improves everything from graphics to artificial intelligence, with a game that's easier to play than ever
• Major interface changes make a more believable game world and easier game to navigate, with hex-based movement and naturally growing city borders
• All-new battle system makes combat quicker and more tactical than ever before. Cities can now attack units directly and weight of numbers is no longer guarantee of victory
• Compete and co-operate with other fans online and take advantage of the in-built tools to enable fan made mods and game-changing extras

Everybody wants to rule the world, but only Civilization lets you do it from the comfort of your own home. The block-busting strategy series returns with the biggest overhaul in gameplay and graphics in its history. Mixing the depth and versatility of previous PC sequels with the accessibility and pace of console hit Civilization Revolution, this all-new game lets you nurture a civilization from prehistoric times and into the space age. That's the same as always, as is the ability to win by either military, diplomatic or cultural means, but the way you actually play the game is completely different. Moving and attacking with your armies, monitoring and building your cities, and negotiating with allies and enemies - everything is now easier, quicker and more fun. With a revamped multiplayer hub and in-built tools to help you customise the game however you want this is the ultimate refinement of the ultimate strategy game.


List Price: $ 49.99 Price: $ 42.70

Back in October 4, 2011, I predicted the Occupy Wall Street movement would fizzle, simply because the U.S. corporate media were not behind it. pug_ster argued Obama's first term supporters were starting to become disillusioned, "Just today the Unions, Moveon.org and many other left groups whom have supported Obama in the past are joining this protest." While true, I still think U.S. media propaganda is too strong. For sure, they talk about the wealth gap in this country. However, their narratives in painting a more dire picture abroad and not pushing the Occupy's narratives domestically allows a skewed view to fester within the American public. The following short video does an exceptional job in explaining this perception versus reality gap in America.

Transgender China (Education, Politics and Public Life)

Is the comedy of Stephen Colbert simply fun or is it powerful political satire? Does it entertain viewers or does it empower them? Or does it teach us that in today's media-saturated world those binaries make no sense? Colbert's America claims that Colbert's satire fosters critical thinking about social issues, encourages active citizenship, and entertains the viewer - all at the same time. The first book to cover the various themes and features of The Colbert Report, Colbert's America offers readers insight into the powerful ways that Colbert's comedy challenges the cult of ignorance that has threatened meaningful public debate and social dialogue since 9/11.

Price:

Latest Updates - China Social Political News & Blogs

Categorized Updates :: Links | Blogs | News | Videos

• LINKS
• Links » China 精文 Crème
• Links » China 优文 Cream
• BLOGS
• Blogs » Politically Speaking
• Blogs » Socially Speaking
• NEWS
• News » Politically Speaking
• News » Socially Speaking
• News » Global Media
• News » China Media
• VIDEOS
• Videos » Politically Speaking
• Videos » Socially Speaking
• Videos » Global Media
• Videos » China Media
• MASHUPS
• News Mashup
• Blogs Mashup

More than seven years ago (that has to be the blogosphere equivalent of an eternity, right?), in a post entitled, Is China Going Green? we wrote admiringly about a big company that had one high environmental standard for the entire world:

We are aware of a large Fortune 500 retail company that is opening units in China that meet or exceed the toughest United States environmental laws.  I estimate this company's environmental sensitivity will cost them at least an additional $ 25,000 per retail unit, yet I am firmly convinced this company is doing the right thing.  This company's actions make sense because the odds are good that China's environmental laws and enforcement will get tougher over time, and building environmentally sound units now will almost certainly cost less than having to retrofit existing units a few years from now.  On top of this, people often get very emotional about the environment and I can see Chinese citizens getting very angry with a foreign company whose units in China are less environmentally sound than their units in the United States or elsewhere.  This is obviously even more likely to be the case if there were to be some sort of environmental disaster.

Whenever I talk about ways to protect Intellectual Property from China, I always mention the option of providing "last year's model" to China but in the last few years, I have stared adding how this is getting much more difficult as Chinese buyers are now very much aware of what is and is not a current model and they are more and more demanding the latest.
Today's Financial Times has an article on how Samsung is suffering on the PR front and being sued in France for the way its China subcontractors treat (or mistreat) their employees.  The article is entitled, "Samsung code of conduct put to test" and it does a really good job discussing how companies whose pitches to the public/investors differ from reality are setting themselves up for potential PR and legal problems.  The money quote is definitely the following:

The case highlights intensifying international scrutiny of working conditions in China, as well as growing concerns about multinational groups' control over their complex supply chains. If successful, the lawsuit could open a new legal risk for companies whose suppliers breach labour laws.

When I was a legal pup, I handled the international litigation/arbitration for a multinational truck manufacturer (long ago sold off to any even bigger multinational truck manufacturer).  My client's literature described its trucks as "ultra heavy duty" and also as "the best built truck in the world."  I actually think both of these things were pretty much true, but after arbitrating against a top-flight lawyer who whenever I would talk about how you have to expect some initial problems with any massive truck (as opposed to a luxury car) would point out how that might be true for some trucks, but his client really expected more from an "ultra heavy duty truck" that is "the best built in the world."  Though the client did shockingly well at the arbitration, I was able to prevail upon them to change their marketing to better suit legal realities.
I am NOT saying that is what Samsung should do here because I have no more knowledge of Samsung's marketing or its employee handling than is contained in this one FT article, but I am saying that every company doing business in China to start realizing that what happens in China doesn't stay in China.  This means recognizing that your China supply chain is your supply chain, no ifs ands or buts.
Not anymore.
What do you think?

The Cultural Revolution Cookbook

List Price: $ 24.95 Price: $ 140.73

Last Sunday night was Lantern Festival. As such, C and I had holiday dinner next door with a friend of hers whose parents, sister, and the sister's spunky 6-year-old daughter were in Shenzhen for the holiday. The dinner was fine, lots of salty spicy fish, chicken and pork dishes, and some vinegary cucumbers.
I toasted with a vodka and tonic while the others raised modest glasses of cheap Chinese red wine mixed with 7-Up. For reasons I've never been able to pinpoint, red wine with Sprite or 7-Up (or scotch mixed with green tea) is considered the height of sophisticated drinking by many middle-class Chinese, though I've long since disabused C of that notion and she now admits it tastes lousy. She only bent her Absolut on the rocks rule in order to "not be the bird that flies away from the flock." As a foreigner, the flock rule doesn't apply to me.
We returned to our place and before we slept she told me she was leaving the balcony light on for the night.
"Why?" I asked.
"It's so our ancestors can find their way to where we live tonight." She cleared her throat and laughed self-consciously. "But I don't know how mine are going to know where I am in Shenzhen…" (Her hometown, Dandong, is more than 1,000 kilometers north).
"I don't know how mine are going to find me either," I said. "Most of them probably never thought of coming to China — except maybe my mother's father, Knox. He was Irish. Before she died my mother told me he loved reading stories about Asia, particularly by a British writer named Kipling. Something about a 'Burmese girl,' I think, too.
"Though I don't know that story or poem. Maybe if he had a thing for a fantasy Asian girl from Burma or China, he'd have enjoyed knowing about us."
"Maybe."
We slept as the balcony light glowed through a night punctuated by staccato New Year's fireworks and omnipresent smoke. And I dreamed.
I dreamed that my grandfather Knox who died when I was two and my mother Mila who died 12 years ago were told I could be found in China. If they desired, they could leave whatever realm the dead inhabit and join others who were visiting their descendants here for one night.
I've no real memory of my grandfather, though I'm told he was fond of me and that he died peacefully napping on his couch after lunch as my mother, dad and I were visiting him and my grandmother.
"You played on his body until the ambulance came," my mother told me. "You didn't know he was dead and thought he was pretending to sleep. It was a game you'd played with him before."
Now I am sleeping and my dead grandfather and mother are flying through the air to see me in China. He calls it "Cathay" in my dream because that's what Shenzhen's province, Guangdong, was called by foreign barbarians when he was alive. Cathay.
"C'mon now, Mila. We're flying to Cathay to see Justin," he tells my mother. He's wearing a tweed suit, white shirt, thin tartan tie and perhaps set off with a tweed newsboy cap, attire I either imagine or think I've seen in old photos of him.
He hasn't lost his Irish accent in my dream. He came to the US as a young man who'd taught at a deaf school in Belfast and had dabbled in boxing only to visit a brother in Oregon who had immigrated to the US. But Knox never returned to Ireland until many years later.
While in America he'd caught polio shortly after coming and the Illinois woman he eventually married was one of his nurses. She was my grandmother but she's not visiting tonight. It was also complicated between her and my mother and probably still is in the hereafter.
"Hullo mum," my grandfather had greeted his mother with an American accent upon returning for a visit to his ancestral home in Northern Ireland's County Down. According to family lore, he was limping due to the polio. His mother stood silently on the porch of their whitewashed home called The Spa.
"Ah, Knox. You've got the Yankee twang," she finally said of his greeting. Until this exchange, they not spoken to or seen each other in the 25-plus years since he'd left for a "short" tour of America.
There is no Yankee twang in my dream. He's soaring through the air to Cathay — a place he's only perhaps read and maybe dreamed of — arms outstretched like Peter Pan, one hand clasping my mother's who looks as she did in her high school and college photos.
In those black and white pictures she isn't tethered to an oxygen tank or embittered and numbed by the booze and pain pills that momentarily pacified her arthritis pain but inflamed her demons.
She's not even Mila. Tonight she's "Johnnie," a high school/college nickname due to her maiden name, Johnston. She sometimes smokes a pipe and is already a talented artist. She wears bobby socks and is a babe. And though it was also very complicated between her and her father, tonight they're feckless and free together. She's thrilled to be on her father's arm flying and free-falling to Cathay to see her son, and her father is quietly proud to take her. And though it's a country of 1.3 billion, with a gazillion more dead Chinese ancestors crowding the airspace tonight, they'll have no problems.
You see, because beautiful C has left the light on so they'll know where to find me.

Another day, another truckload of dogs saved from slaughter. Yesterday, an animal rescue shelter said 900 canines were rescued from a truck in Chongqing. Reports AP:

Chen Mingcai of the Chongqing Small Animal Protection Association said that a travelling citizen became suspicious of the truck and called police, who detained the truck driver on Friday night.
Chen said he was later contacted by a netizen who had seen a photo of the dogs left in the truck on the entrance of an expressway in southwestern Chongqing city.

Two dogs reportedly did not make it, but the story was posted to social media, and as we've seen it happen before, concerned citizens went to the scene to see if they could help.

He said that by Saturday afternoon volunteers from the animal center and other animal lovers who had seen postings about the dogs on social media had arrived at the truck wanting to help the dogs. Chen says three people were injured in clashes with suspected dog sellers who had also turned up.

Forty to 50 volunteers are currently taking care of dogs, and it's unclear what will happen to them.
China Volunteers Rescue 900 Dogs in Cramped Truck (AP)

WEAKLY HUMERUS NEWS 03-03-13
AIMED AT YOUR FUNNY BONE

TOP QUOTES OF THE WEEK

President Obama said this week that after four years as president, "You realize all the mistakes you've made." So apparently he does watch Fox News. (Jay Leno)

Automatic budget cuts could negatively affect water and sewage services. In other words, all of America is about to embark on a Carnival Cruise. (Conan O'Brien)

Scientists say that Mars may still be inhabitable today. After all, look at how many people are still living in New Jersey. (Jim Barach)

A church in Phoenix is offering drive-thru prayers. Typical! Things were going great until some pervert drove up and asked, "Can I have friars with that?" (Bill Williams)

A survey says that federal employees report low morale. As opposed to their bosses in Congress, who suffer from low morals. (Jim Barach)

Sales of the Nook e-reader has suffered since Apple introduced the iPad Mini even though the e-books of the competition can be obtained on the Nook. Mostly women read on the Nook while men can pursue other content on the iPad mini. They should consider making the Nook a bit smaller, and exploiting its common e-reader characteristics. That way I figure most guys will be excited about getting a little Nook-e. (Gary Reeves)

Patricia Krentcil, the 'Tanning Mom', will not face charges for putting her five-year-old in a tanning bed. She really got lucky -- I thought for sure she was toast. (Gary Bachman)

You learn something every day. All this time, I thought 'Sequestration' was the act of cutting off the sequins off of Elton John. (Tim Hunter)

The current Catholic Church is popeless. (Leonard Nash)

An accused doctor at Johns Hopkins killed himself with helium. God reportedly tried to send him to hell, but he wouldn't stay down. (Alex Shubert)

Horsemeat: No wonder Europe has so many neigh-sayers. (Terry Etter)

Kim Kardashian told Cosmopolitan if she was a man she'd have sex with herself. Which is pretty much what her ex, Kris Humphries, has been telling her to do. (RJ Currie)

Researchers in Germany now say that human longevity has improved so rapidly over the past century that 72 is the new 30. That is bad news for parents. You'll never get the kids out of the house now. "Dad, I'm only 50. That's, like, 17." (Jay Leno)

I saw a billboard that said, "If you know someone who is suicidal, tell them to hang in there." It was an ad for a rope company. (Jonny P, Good)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who has been a supporter of gay rights, said that the NFL will have its first openly gay player by 2014. Vegas has already made any Tight End player a 1-5 favorite. (TC Chong) (Bob Nelson says his money is on a wide receiver)

Some guys are leg men, some guys are breast men, but I look at women as a whole. (Paul Benoit)

Guido, one of the Milwaukee Brewers' racing sausages that went missing, has been found. This comes as a relief to his fellow mascots, who feared for the wurst. (RJ Currie)

THE SEQUESTER

What¹s the key to the GOP brand?
Budget cuts that our land can't withstand.
So it's laughably lame
That they're trying to claim
The sequester's Obama¹s scheme grand.
(Madeleine Begun Kane)

We are 24 hours away from massive across-the-board budget cuts. If the cuts go into effect, major airports could face delays up to 90 minutes -- or as JetBlue calls it, an on-time departure. (Conan O'Brien)

Americans are bracing for this thing called the sequester -- when $85 billion will be cut from almost every part of the budget. So teachers, meat inspectors, and TSA workers will all be affected. So if you're someone who teaches people how to keep bad meat off airplanes, this is a tough weekend. (Jimmy Fallon)

In a White House briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned that sequestration would affect border security. Her remarks raised eyebrows in Washington and got big laughs in Mexico. (Jay Leno)

Minutes after telling the United States Senate to "get off their ass" to avoid the deep spending cuts that will take effect this Friday, House Speaker John Boehner called an impromptu press conference to announce his intention of remaining on his ass "for the foreseeable future." "The United States Senate is showing contempt for the American people by refusing to get off their ass," a defiant Mr. Boehner told reporters. "And the only fitting way for me to protest their reckless behavior is by remaining on my ass for as long as humanly possible."Mr. Boehner's words drew a strong rebuke from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said that Mr. Boehner's suggestion that the Senate get off their ass while he remained on his "seems like the height of hypocrisy, ass-wise." (Andy Borowitz)

President Obama is warning that the sequester, an $85 billion package of spending cuts, will have bad consequences. The biggest consequence he fears is that the people who he gives out all the freebies to will stop supporting him. (Steve Yeich)

The White House warned of fewer public hospital procedures if sequester cuts kick in Friday cutting the budget. Don't buy it. They warned it could reduce the number of breast exams and prostate exams but don't worry, they'll still be free at the nearest airport. (Argus Hamilton)

The spending cuts mandated by the sequester may hamper the United States's ability to invade countries for absolutely no reason, a Pentagon spokesman warned today." Historically, the United States has stood ready and able to throw billions of dollars at a military campaign with no clear rationale or well-defined objective," said spokesman Harland Dorrinson. "Our capacity to wage war willy-nilly is now in jeopardy." In the past, Mr. Dorrinson said, the Pentagon has had the resources to fight three meaningless and completely random wars at any given time, "but now in our planning meetings we are cutting that number back to two." The cuts are already being felt in a tangible way at the Pentagon, which today cancelled an order for a nine-thousand-dollar pen. (Andy Borowitz)

House Speaker John Boehner says there is 'no plan' to replace the sequester. That is no surprise. 'No plan' is exactly how Washington has handled Iraq, the environment and the economy. (Jim Barach)

POPE BENEDICT

Papal commentators say Benedict looks old, there's very little vigor there. This was also overheard at New York Yankees spring training. (Torben Rolfsen)

The Pope said that the past few years have been very difficult for the church and at times he felt that "the lord seemed to be asleep." When asked for comment the Lord said, "You try staying awake through a Latin mass." (Conan O'Brien)

On second thought, maybe 'Won't Get Fooled Again'' wasn't really the best choice for the Pope's exit music. (Warren Holstein)

My question is this: Did the pope really step down voluntarily, or did Dwight Howard get him fired? (Mike Bianchi)

Today was Pope Benedict's last day at work. Don't be sad. All the other cardinals are buying him shots at the Vatican Applebee's. (Conan O'Brien)

Pope Benedict XVI is just plain old Joseph Ratzinger again. But he still gets to live at the Vatican, which has to take some of the sting out of being fallible again. (Will Durst)

In the next few weeks, a group will assemble in the Vatican. Their job is to select a new Pope. The group will consist of 120 top cardinals and Simon Cowell. He'll say, "Your Pope-ing is rubbish. You're not going to the Vatican." (Craig Ferguson)

The Pope will keep the names Benedict and 'His Holiness' once he retires, because 'Protector of Pedophiles' has been reserved for Ted Nugent. (Lee Mays)

In his final speech before resigning, Pope Benedict said that he is not abandoning the Catholic Church. Like most Catholics, he'll be back for Christmas and Easter. (Jimmy Fallon)

Pope Benedict has become the first Pope to retire in 600 years. You have to wonder what a Pope does in retirement. I heard a rumor he already cashed in his 401(k). (Jimmy Kimmel)

The former Pontiff says he looks forward to spending the rest of his days rooting for the Saints or Cardinals to get back to the Super Bowl. (TC Chong)

In Benedict' XVI's last Sunday address in St. Peter's Square the Pope said he was following God's wishes by stepping down. "Why didn't I think of that?" said Sarah Palin. (Janice Hough)

The first pope to resign in 600 years, with bells pealing and cheers ringing in his ears, Benedict XVI bid his faithful farewell and helicoptered to his villa at Castel Gandolfo. First thing he did after unpacking was head for the Olympic-size pool where he did a few quick laps -- not swimming -- walking. (Bob Mills)

Now that the Pope's retired I guess he's free to date. So if you go on Christian Mingle and see the ad, 'Spent the last eight years serving the Heavenly Father', it's either him or some dude with an awesome daddy complex. (Bill Williams)

Pope Benedict said farewell today. His absolute final wish though, is to have an Eggs Florentine breakfast for a change. (TC Chong)

Pope Benedict is officially retired. Apparently there was some last-minute tension at the Vatican because they wouldn't give the Pope his security deposit back. (Craig Ferguson)

Pope Benedict officially retired today. People are actually placing bets on who the next Pope will be. At least that's what I heard during my fantasy Pope draft. (Jimmy Fallon)

The Vatican's plan to call the retiring pontiff Benedict XVI 'Pope Emeritus' hit a snag today, in the form of a threatened lawsuit by an Oakland-based rapper who has been recording under that name since 2006. "I don't care who he is, I ain't let nobody mess with my brand," said Mr. Emeritus. According to a source close to the Vatican, Benedict is likely to choose another name for himself rather than risk a legal tussle with the aggrieved rapper: "The last thing the Church needs right now is another lawsuit." (Andy Borowitz)

THE OSCARS

The Oscar show was so long, during the broadcast, Taylor Swift dated a guy, broke up with him, and then wrote and recorded a song about what a jerk he was before it was over. (Alex Kaseberg)

Michelle Obama was a surprise presenter at the Oscars Sunday and handed the Best Picture Oscar to Argo. It's a true story of a successful rescue mission of State Department people trapped in a besieged embassy in the Muslim world. Those who cannot do, present. (Argus Hamilton)

Anybody see the Academy Awards last night? The show last night was so long that by the middle of the show the audience was begging Daniel Day-Lewis to free them. (David Letterman)

Daniel Day Lewis won the Oscar for Best Actor for Lincoln Sunday. However, Lincoln lost in the voting for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Script, Best Director and Best Picture. All in all it was the second worst night Lincoln's had in a theater. (Argus Hamilton)

Last night's Academy Awards lasted about three hours and 40 minutes. Even Jennifer Lawrence's dress was like, "That's way too long." (Jimmy Fallon)

Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor for 'Lincoln'. Things were a little different back when Lincoln was president, because then Democrats were called Republicans, and Republicans were called 'Master'. (Bill Williams)

'Life of Pi' is a nominee for Best Picture. It is not to be confused with 'Life of Pie', an upcoming film on the life of Chris Christie. (Gary Bachman)

'Life of Pi' took home four Oscars. It's about a young boy trapped at sea on a small boat with a man-eating tiger. Yet with all that, it's still a better way to travel than a Carnival cruise. (Jay Leno)

Last night a toilet flooded the lobby where the Oscars show was being held. The show won an Oscar for best portrayal of a Carnival cruise. (Conan O'Brien)

This is my theory about the Oscar. If you're in an action movie or comedy, you're not worthy. But if you put on Elizabethan trousers and act serious, that's it. You're a great actor. (Craig Ferguson)

Did you see Anne Hathaway's Academy Awards outfit? She might be the first actress to get the nod for Best Supporting and least supported. (RJ Currie)

Big international controversy about the Oscars. When they aired in Iran, the Iranian government digitally added sleeves to Michelle Obama's gown. They also altered the video so that Jennifer Lawrence is now deliberately tripped by the Israelis. (Conan O'Brien)

Best Sound Editing Oscar was a tie. Awards went to Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty. Can't they settle this with penalty kicks? Or a coin toss? Or arm wrestling? What about editing out the sound of each other's acceptance speech? (TC Chong)

John Travolta's hairpiece should get an award for Best Supporting Actor. (Steve Hofstetter)

Shouldn't the films nominated for Best Documentary–Short Subject be about topics like the life of jockeys and midget wrestling. (Gary Bachman)

Seth McFarlane was ripped by two California female lawmakers saying he degraded women with his Oscar song about actresses called We Saw Your Boobs. It really struck a nerve. Three actresses in the audience spilled out of their blouses shaking their fist at him. (Argus Hamilton)

A German longevity study claims 72 is the new 30; if that is true, suddenly Jack Nicholson hitting on Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscar party isn't nearly as creepy. (Alex Kaseberg)

The Hollywood Fire Department reported that during the Oscar telecast on Sunday a water pipe burst in the ladies' restroom backstage. The flooding upset a lot of people. The stars did not mind ruining their rented shoes, but when cocaine gets wet it evaporates. (Argus Hamilton)

Monday night I usually update you on the number of times "amazing" is said on "The Bachelor." Tonight was 22. We also collected every "amazing" that was uttered on or near the Oscars' red carpet. That's 101. There were as many "amazings" as there were Dalmatians. Can someone in the world please send us more adjectives. We need them. (Jimmy Kimmel)

HORSEMEAT

This horse meat scandal just keeps growing. And it isn't happening only in Europe. According to a new report, donkey meat has been found in hamburgers in South Africa. Consumers said when they were eating the burgers, they sensed something was wrong but they couldn't quite pin a tail on it. (Jay Leno)

Donkey meat has been found in South African burgers and sausages. If you are what you eat, Oscar Pistorius must be living on a steady diet of jackass meat. (Gary Bachman)

Now traces of horsemeat have been found in food served at Taco Bell's UK restaurants. This fortunately would never happen in the U.S. No one has ever accused our Taco Bell food of containing any actual meat. (Janice Hough)

Horsemeat found in #IKEA Swedish meatballs. Even worse, IKEA customers have to screw in the horsemeat themselves with an Allen wrench. (Erik Bransteen)

Furniture chain IKEA, which features in house restaurants, has removed meatballs from the menu in 13 European countries. Tests had found horsemeat in the product. A radio announcement his morning on CBC said that Canadian stores are not affected. (TC Chong)

IKEA has removed meatballs from its stores after they were found to contain horsemeat. Although customers said eating the meatballs was more enjoyable than assembling the IKEA chair they just bought. (Jim Barach)

Birds Eye recalled three of its beef-meal products in England after some chili con carne tested positive for horse DNA. Coincidence? Grocers say the stuff was practically flying off the store shelves in Derbyshire. (Dwight Perry)

Some pizzas in Denmark were found to contain horse meat: Police got suspicious when people started betting on Domino's delivery guys. (Tim Hunter)

Pizzas in Denmark have been discovered with horse meat. Pizzas with horse meat. How fast does THAT get delivered to your house? (Jay Leno)

In Europe they tested the ground beef and found horsemeat. In Iceland, they tested some frozen beef pies and found there wasn't any meat in them at all. Some other foods ought to be tested, too. Buffalo wings. Bear claws. Italian sausage. (Terry Etter)

The Europeans aren't the only ones discovering that their food isn't what they think it is. A friend of mine was disappointed to find meat inside his pot pie. (Terry Etter)

PRESIDENT OBAMA

There's a children's book out called 'A President from Hawaii'. Wonder how many folks look at it and say, "See, proof, he isn't from the United States." (Janice Hough)

Washington Post's Bob Woodward wrote that President Obama's decision not to deploy an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf and blaming it on the sequester cuts is a kind of madness not seen since Richard Nixon. That's unfair. President Nixon never had to keep an aircraft carrier anchored off Houston to keep Texas from seceding from the Union. (Argus Hamilton)

Oops, Obama confused Star Trek and Star Wars by referring to a possible 'Jedi Mind Meld' with Republicans. So much for that title 'E! Online' gave the President of 'Commander in Geek'. Just as well in some ways the President messed up the line. These days had he gotten the Star Wars reference right, Republicans might have accused him of being born on the asteroid colony 'Polis Massa'. (Janice Hough)

Not sure what it says about our country that more Americans seem to care about President Obama's mixing of Star Wars and Star Trek metaphors than the sequester. (Janice Hough)

THE ADMINISTRATION

Congratulations to Chuck Hagel, new secretary of defense. And today, he's already off to a bad start. He's going to bring all of the troops home from Afghanistan, but they're coming on a Carnival cruise. (David Letterman)

On his first day as Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel told America's soldiers that they can expect straight talk from him. Sounds like 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is back. (Terry Etter)

John Kerry is the new secretary of state. Or the pressure has really taken a toll on Hillary Clinton. (Stephen Colbert)

Really? From Politico: "Sec. of State John Kerry is calling on bickering Egyptian leaders and opposition politicians to forge a political consensus that will allow the country to emerge from economic crisis." Does this even need a punchline? (Janice Hough)

Yesterday the Senate confirmed Jack Lew to be President Obama's new Treasury Secretary. Unfortunately, if the sequester happens he'll have to be let go due to budget cuts. (Jimmy Fallon)

The White House officially released portraits of the White House gang. You can all see the portrait of Hillary Clinton. It will be on next month's cover of the 'Sports Illustrated' pants suit issue. (David Letterman)

THE CONGRESS

Nancy Pelosi opposes a pay cut for Congress because it would diminish the dignity of the job. Of course, her facial expressions didn't reveal if she was joking or not. (Steve Yeich)

An Oregon congressman has introduced a bill to put a tax on marijuana sales. Or as they call it in pro-athlete circles, greens fees, (Dwight Perry)

Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. faces sentencing and imprisonment this week after he pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago to campaign finance fraud. Oh well, that's politics for you. One week you're on the cover of Time, the next week you're doing it. (Argus Hamilton)

Former Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico revealed that while in office he fathered a child with the daughter of another senator, who was a friend of his. So, even though he belonged to the Senate, he was also playing House. (Tim Hunter)

THE COURTS

The New Jersey Supreme Court is set to hear the case of a judge who was ordered by an ethics board to give up his second career as a stand-up comedian. Vince Sicari, a municipal judge in South Hackensack, has been performing stand-up comedy for years under the name Vince August, and his gigs have included warming up crowds for Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report'. The state ethics board told Sicari he would have to give up his second career to keep his position on the bench. The board said Sicari's comedy and acting work could make defendants question his impartiality. (Rich Hancock)

Budweiser is being accused of watering down their beer in a lawsuit. Legal experts are predicting the "that's just how it tastes" defense. (Warren Holsteeen)

A CNN lab test of Budweiser showed that the beer contained 4.94% alcohol by volume, compared with 5% stated on the label. Oh the horror. Where's the class action lawsuit? (Janice Hough)

A judge in Richmond, B.C., sentenced pee-wee hockey coach Martin Tremblay to 15 days in jail for sticking his leg out in the postgame handshake line and upending two opposing players -- ages 10 and 13. In other words, 21,600 minutes for tripping. (Dwight Perry)

THE REPUBLICANS

Mitt Romney on his 47% statement: It was "unfortunate" and "What I said is not what I believe." Guess the running mate Mitt should have chosen was Newt Gingrich - who himself said, "Any ad which quotes what I said Sunday is a falsehood." (Janice Hough)

THE MILITARY

The War on Terror just turned 12-years-old, which explains why it's into remote controlled planes. (Stephen Colbert)

THE STATES

Colorado lawmakers repealed a hundred-year-old state law that makes it a crime for married people to commit adultery Friday. That's a relief. The old law came to light six months ago and ever since they haven't been able to recruit anyone to run for public office. (Argus Hamilton)

According to a new study, Hawaii is the happiest place in America to live. And I thought it was just a great place to pretend you were born in. (Craig Ferguson)

Montana wants to make it legal to eat road kill. Be the first on your block to eat at Burger Kill, "Where it's either playing possum or it's dinner." (Bill Williams)

A report says that New Mexico has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country while New Hampshire has the lowest. Apparently if you give kids a reason to keep their clothes on, they will. (Jim Barach)

Gov. Chris Christie says he will appeal a decision upholding a ban on sports gambling in New Jersey. Of course what he means is 'legal' sports gambling in New Jersey. (Janice Hough)

LOCAL NEWS

Detroit has been ranked as the most miserable city in the U. S. "We feel your pain,'' said everyone in Regina. (Cam Hutchinson)

Los Angeles became the first major city in the nation Thursday to synchronize all its traffic lights to keep traffic flowing. It's just great. You can now drive from downtown all the way to the beach without stopping if everybody types twenty-eight words a minute. (Argus Hamilton)

A man in Sebring, Fla. was shot in the leg while driving when his dog kicked a loaded pistol lying on the seat of his pickup truck. No word on whether it was a hunting dog. (Dwight Perry) [Ed. Note: Guns don't shoot people. Dogs shoot people. (Stan Kegel)]

In other Florida gun news, a woman in St. Petersburg escaped with only slight injuries when she tried to preheat an oven to cook some waffles — not knowing that a male friend had stashed a box of bullets in it. On the bright side, it's the first shooting range in the neighborhood. (Dwight Perry)

A woman was only slightly injured in Florida after she tried to preheat an oven where her friend had stored a magazine from his Glock. And when the heated magazine exploded. Forget background checks for gun owners. Maybe we need to start with IQ tests. (Janice Hough)

Turns out No. 22 on the Ridgeway High School boys basketball roster really was 22 — as in 22-year-old McKenzie Sewell -- so Tennessee's third-ranked squad was bounced from the playoffs as a result. Sources said the man was a former gang member in New Orleans, and his wife signed papers saying she was his guardian. (Wayne Carter)

A Florida man was apparently swallowed last night by a sinkhole under his bedroom. Other Floridians were dismayed, especially as the man wasn't Governor Rick Scott. (Janice Hough)

Orange News reports a man had to walk naked to a hotel desk after locking himself out of his room. There was an awkward moment when they asked for I.D. (RJ Currie)

BUSINESS & LABOR

'All-Around Pizza and Deli' in Virginia Beach, VA, offers customers carrying firearms a 15% discount. Owner Jay Laze offers the usual pizza menu including the 'NRA Special' with meatballs shaped like Colt .45 cartridges, pepperoni slices with little targets printed on them, and assorted nuts. (Bob Mills)

The U.S. government has reportedly offered to let BP pay a $16 Billion settlement for the Gulf Oil Spill. Which means the company will have to suffer. BP executives will have to stick to drinking domestic champagne for as much as three days. (Jim Barach)

T-Mobile will be moving to a no-contract model soon. AT&T will soon be moving to a no-contract model, too. Not by choice, it's just that no one wants to sign a contract with AT&T any more. (Jim Barach)

Google plans to release its Google Glass frames by the end of the year. A computer on your face will free up your hands to do other things. Play Angry Birds on your smart phone. (Alan Ray)

Google asked women to consumer-test their new augmented-reality eyeglasses last week. They have a tiny camera that records everything you see and stores it on your iPhone. This invention could go down in history as the polio vaccine for unwanted sexual advances. (Argus Hamilton)

A class action suit has been filed against Amheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser for watering down their beer. No surprise here. Canadians have called their products 'Making Love by the Lakeshore' ever since I can remember. (TC Chong)

The company that owns Olive Garden announced that its revenue has dropped 5 percent in the last quarter. Which explains their new promotion: limited bread sticks. (Jimmy Fallon)

Hundreds of employees of Weight Watchers are complaining about the company's low wages. The employees said, "They're paying us peanuts. By the way, they're only six points per serving." (Conan O'Brien)

Wal-Mart says it is struggling to restock its store shelves. Apparently the Chinese economy is doing so well the people there can afford to buy their own cheap crap and don't need to send it over here. (Jim Barach)

Groupon CEO fired. They told him to take 75% of the year off. (Neil Berliner)

Groupon fired their CEO Andrew Mason. Don't feel bad for Mason, he received a generous severance package that included a coupon for a free game of bowling and a free appetizer at Ruby Tuesday. (Gary Bachman)

TRANSPORTATION

A study says that porn apps pose a rising risk to mobile users. And to everyone else if you thought that texting while driving was a distraction. (Jim Barach)

A report says that teen traffic deaths were up 19% in the first half of 2012. Remember when kids didn't do such dangerous things like texting while driving and instead used the car for safer activities like getting drunk, having sex and playing "chicken"? (Jim Barach)

No injuries were reported when a United Airlines flight from Vancouver had to make an emergency landing today at San Francisco International Airport. Wonder how long it will take United to bill the passengers with an 'excitement surcharge'. (Janice Hough)

The price of gas is so high, Lindsay Lohan is now forced to choose between drinking or driving. She can't afford both. (Jay Leno)

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Police say that a man who worked as a handyman at a Louisiana retreat home for priests, is accused of shooting a priest, robbing him and then stealing his car to drive his family to Disney World. What a clever way to insure the trip will be forever memorable for the kids. (Johnny Robish)

Police say pimps now use social media to recruit prostitutes. How do you identify hookers playing Farmville? They don't have cherries. (Alan Ray)

TERRORISM

Al-Qaida has issued a list of 22 ways that al-Qaida members can avoid being killed by U. S. drones. Here's a good one: Don't join al-Qaida. (Jay Leno)

Can our drone program win the war on terror? Yes, if you go: up, up, down down, B, A, B, A, select. (Stephen Colbert)

THE CONSTITUTION & CIVIL RIGHTS

A California woman says she was fired for being pregnant by her fiance (who is now her husband) because pre-maritial sex was in violation of the San Diego Christian College 'Handbook and Community Covenant'. The school then gave the man they knew to be her fiance a job. (Janice Hough)

Anyone notice that the Voting Rights Act is 'out of date' because it's about 50 years old, but the nearly 250 year old 2nd Amendment is ever current?" (Todd Harris)

Asked about his position on a bill in Wisconsin requiring ultrasounds before abortions, GOP Rep. Sean Duffy responded "I don't know what a trans-vaginal ultrasound is. I've never had one." And women are thinking, "Hmm, how can we demonstrate the concept to him?" (Janice Hough)

Justice Antonin Scalia today referred to the Voting Rights Act as "perpetuation of racial entitlement." And somewhere MLK is thinking "I have a nightmare." (Janice Hough)

Even though many have wanted to see Gitmo closed, including President Obama, despite all logic, it remains open for business. It's the Radio Shack of the War on Terror. (Stephen Colbert)

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARRIBEAN

Cuba's leader Raul Castro may step down. It's for personal reasons. He wants to spend more time oppressing his family. (Alan Ray)

GREAT BRITAIN

As if having testicular cancer isn't bad enough in and of itself, a 48-year-old British man underwent surgery to have a cancerous testicle removed awoke from surgery to discover that surgeons had removed the healthy testicle instead of the cancerous one. Wow! That's just nuts. Must have been something like eeny, meeny, miny, oops! And to make matters worse, they didn't even have the balls to tell him. (Johnny Robish)

To counteract decreasing air quality and encourage bicycle riding, Many towns and villages in the UK are reducing the speed limit to 20 mph. Contrary to what you might think, stop lights are still strictly enforced -- by bobbies riding skateboards. (Bob Mills)

EUROPE

Thieves snatched $50 million in diamonds from the Brussels airport. Somehow we just can't feel sorry for Delta who should have known the risk when they decided to accept engagement rings from passengers to cover extra luggage fees. (Bob Mills)

Italy just had its elections. There's no winner. There's no government in Italy. People over there have been running wild through the streets, waving their hands in the air. And then they heard about the elections. (Craig Ferguson)

Beppe Grillo, an Italian stand-up comic received 25% of Sunday's national vote putting him right behind the clown in the race, Silvio Berlusconi. No word yet on how the ventriloquist fared. (Will Durst)

AFRICA



THE MIDDLE EAST



THE FAR EAST

So Dennis Rodman has been hanging out with Kim Jung Un. One is an unstable madman bent on world destruction, while the other is the leader of North Korea. (Marc Ragovin)

Dennis Rodman has been publicly and happily hanging out in Pyongyang with Kim Jong Un. Well, this ought to dispel North Koreans' image of Americans as a strange and perverted people. (Janice Hough)

The first American basketball star to visit North Korea's new leader Kim Jong Il, notorious hoopster Dennis 'The Worm' Rodman calls him 'a friend for life'. The net legend posed for photos with the rotund dictator, shared a few laughs and later gave Mrs. Il some fashion tips. (Bob Mills)

According to Dennis Rodman, Kim Jong Un doesn't want war with the U.S, but he would like President Obama to pick up the phone to chat about, for starters, basketball. So where's the SNL skit on this? To the tune of 'Call me, maybe'. (Janice Hough)

South Korea's first female president was sworn in. Meanwhile, North Korea said, "We're just going to stick with men named Kim." (Conan O'Brien)

AUSTRALIA & OCEAN ISLANDS

An Australian couple held their wedding and reception at an IKEA store. What were their vows? Til death do we look for parts? (RJ Currie)

SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study says that working from home is a dead end job. Especially for people who live in a cul-de-sac. (Jim Barach)

A new study says after age sixty we begin losing our sense of smell. For fans enduring the Maple Leafs championship drought, at least they don't stink like they used to. (RJ Currie)

According to a new study, LSD may help treat alcoholism. It works because you no longer remember that you like alcohol. (Steve Yeich)

A leading geneticist at Stanford University reports that human intelligence is slowly declining. Then he watched reality programs on TV for a week and decided it was rapidly declining. (Steve Yeich)

The FDA has approved "gummy bear" silicone breast implants. Which is great if you are trying to attract a four year old boyfriend. (Jim Barach)

A survey says that one in eight adults report having sensitive teeth. Except in Alabama where one in eight adults is lucky to report having teeth. (Jim Barach)

Studies say that millions of people may be making themselves sick by spending their entire work days sitting down. Of course, they are still better off than all the other people who are making themselves sick wishing they had a job. (Jim Barach)

WEATHER & THE ENVIRONMENT

A huge snowstorm has now hit 18 states. In fact, it is so cold that former Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. had his hands in his own pockets. (Jay Leno)

A 'crippling, historic blizzard' has the National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas posting 'DO NOT TRAVEL' on its website. Maybe Mother Nature isn't too pleased about Governor Perry's trying to talk businesses into leaving California for Texas. (Janice Hough)

A storm dumped 17 inches of snow on Amarillo, Texas, yesterday. It was really confusing for people sneaking over the border. They thought they'd gone all the way to Canada. (Jay Leno)

A study says that volcanic eruptions may offset global warming. Which is kind of like thinking that a tsunami would be a good thing during a drought. (Jim Barach)

SPORTS

BASKETBALL

Confused about this new 'Catholic 7'? Guess it's supposed to be a new NCAA basketball division. Sounds more like the semi-finalists in a reality show about electing the Pope. (Janice Hough)

What do you call Wizards announcer Steve Buckhantz shouting Dagger! after mistaking a last-gasp Washington miss for the game-winner? Premature exhilaration. (RJ Currie)

The Houston Rockets are like diarrhea, a long series of runs. (Greg Myers)

BASEBALL

Dave Hansen, who once taught Raul Ibanez how to play the guitar back when they were Mariners teammates, is Ibanez's mentor once again, this time as Seattle's batting coach. All fine and good, as long as Raul doesn't wind up a banjo hitter. (Dwight Perry)

Thanks to a Dominican Republic shootout, 32-year old Andrew Friedman is blind in one eye but boasts a 90-mile an hour fastball and a complete repertoire of pitches as a starter for the Tampa Bay Rays. Actually, his condition could be a career-extender. When his hurling days are behind him, he has a great future as an umpire. (Bob Mills)

So now that 2013 Spring Training has started, how long until Cubs fans break out their 'Wait until 2014' t-shirts? (Janice Hough)

The New York Yankees are the oldest team in baseball. You can tell the clubhouse is full of aging guys. Several tested positive for Lipitor. (Alan Ray)

The MLB exhibition season has begun. For the Mets this time of year, it's not about winning. They're trying to simulate what it's like in September. (Alan Ray)

The bloodied sock Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling wore in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series sold for $92,613 at a New York auction. The winning bidder said he will ask Reena Nerbas to help him remove the stain. (Cam Hutchinson)

Our long Wisconsin nightmare is over. The Milwaukee Brewers' running Italian sausage, 'Guido', had been missing until two mystery men dropped off the costume in a bar. Wonder if they decided any plan to hold the sausage for ransom wouldn't cut the mustard. (Janice Hough)

The Milwaukee Brewers' Italian Sausage costume has been returned. Just in time, the police were thinking of going after Joey Chestnut. (Bill Littlejohn)

FOOTBALL

The Buffalo Bills plan to interview Manti T'eo at the NFL combine -- hopefully, in person. (Bill Littlejohn)

The NFL is investigating reports that teams at the scouting combine asked prospects about their sexual preference. Have to assume that many of the young men involved if asked what their sexual preference was would simply reply 'frequently'. (Janice Hough)

The NFL is investigating reports that several teams have asked players about their sexual orientation before drafting them. They've been asking questions like, "Do you have a girlfriend?" and "Is she real?" (Jimmy Fallon)

All this controversy over NFL prospects being asked about their sexual orientation. Maybe some teams are hoping for gay players would cut down on the out-of-wedlock children. (Janice Hough)

Four Alabama football players have been kicked off the team for robbery arrests. They had been hiding out in a place authorities never thought to look. A classroom. (Alan Ray)

The Florida Atlantic Owls sold the naming rights to their football stadium to GEO Group, which operates prisons. Even odds on the place being nicknamed Owlcatraz. (Greg Cote)

The Chiefs trade for Alex Smith was the biggest deal in Missouri since the Louisiana Purchase. (Torben Rolfsen)

Old 49er quarterbacks never die, they just move to Kansas City. (Janice Hough)

HOCKEY

The Buffalo Sabres fired 16th-year coach Lindy Ruff after the team opened the season with a 6-10-1 mark. In other words, rough start = Ruff finish. (Dwight Perry)

OTHER SPORTS

During the Scotties curling playoffs, fans were throwing rolls of toilet paper in the stands. I'm thinking it was good the curling championship wasn't sponsored by Swiss Army knives. (Cam Hutchinson)

Hundreds of international soccer matches, including some in the World Cup, were fixed by organized crime gangs, an 18-month probe revealed. Not sure of the fixers' modus operandi, but we probably can rule out point-shaving. (Dwight Perry)
A new promotional video from Siberia shows young women at the Shergesh ski resort snowboarding in hot pants and bikini tops. Popular? It's all over the nyet. (RJ Currie)

Everyone's talking about Danica Patrick's performance in the Daytona 500. It's the biggest thing to happen to NASCAR since they combined the names Billy and Bob. (RJ Currie)

Ronda Rousey's victory in the UFC's first headline performance between women has been hailed as historic. I'm thinking Feb. 23, 2013, will long be remembered as the most important date since women were granted the right to vote. (Cam Hutchinson)

ATHLETES

Heisman winner Johnny Manziel is suing over the sale of 'Johnny Football' T-shirts. You know what I want to start selling? 'Honk If You're Sick of Johnny Manziel bumper stickers'. (Greg Cote)

Oscar Pistorius made bail Friday after killing his girlfriend. He says he accidentally shot her through the bathroom door thinking she was a burglar. The alibi is so bad that Apartheid is now the second most embarrassing thing South Africa's had to live down. (Argus Hamilton)

At the Honda Classic, Tiger Woods walked in the water to save his par -- three years ago, he walked on water to save it. (Bill Littlejohn)

In the Honda Classic tournament Thursday Tiger Woods walked into the water on the 6th hole to play a partially submerged ball and save par. Of course, long-time golf fans remember the days Tiger used to walk on water to make birdies. (Janice Hough)

After Rory McIlroy walked off the course on the 7th hole claiming a toothache. You think Rory McIlroy's tooth would have hurt as much if he'd been 7-under on Friday afternoon and not 7-over? (Mike Lupica)

Remember Notre Dame linebacker, Mante Te'o? At the NFL combine, he ran a pedestrianly slow 4.81 40-yard-dash. Apparently he isn't as fast when he isn't being timed by his imaginary girlfriend. (Alex Kaseberg)

Lane Kiffin said that if former USC QB Matt Barkley had the defense that Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer had, he would have won the Heisman Trophy just like they did. Hmm, and what if Barkley had had the head coach they did? (Janice Hough)

Manti Te'o was apparently one of the slowest linebackers to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL's scouting combine yesterday. You can tell he took it to heart because today he spent three hours on an imaginary Stairmaster. (Jimmy Fallon)

Manti Te'o's 40-yd dash time today at the NFL combine was 4.82 seconds, 20th out of 26 linebackers. At this point, forget the imaginary girlfriend, Teo's looking like an imaginary first-round pick. (Janice Hough)

Steve Nash says he does not regret deciding to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Makes sense, at his age, Nash likes the idea having playoff season off. (Janice Hough)

LeBron James said he's faster than Manti Te'o. Judging from Te'o's time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, actor Kevin James is also faster. (Brad Dickson)

UCLA Freshman Shabazz Muhammad, who will declare for the NBA draft, played his last game at Pauley Pavilion today, saying, "I'm really happy I came here and represented UCLA because it's a great school and I just gained a lot of experience." Give the guy credit. At least he didn't pretend it was about the whole semester he got of education. (Janice Hough)

And from the 'Why, Of Course' file comes word that Twins catcher Joe Mauer and his wife are expecting -- twins. Good thing Joe didn't catch the daddy bug when he played in Quad Cities. (Dwight Perry)

SI Swimsuit Edition cover model Kate Upton is also a five-time world-champion equestrian. I'm thinking most guys wouldn't mind being saddled with her. (RJ Currie)

NASCAR is sending driver Jeremy Clements to see a sports psychologist. Apparently he has become too dangerous to other drivers when he is racing and having delusions he is on the 405 Freeway. (Jim Barach)

NASCAR meals on wheels? That would be Danica Patrick's bus -- not that of boyfriend/fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. "Mine has more food, I cook breakfast, eggs and oatmeal, toast, things like that. Fruit, chicken, steak, salmon, veggies. And I have all the rices and beans. All the stuff you need. All the spices, knives, cutting boards. All he's got is Sweet Tarts, cereal and Chips Ahoy." (Danica Patrick via Dwight Perry)

Johnny Damon, 39, apparently would love a chance to play for the Yankees again in the wake of the injury to Curtis Granderson. To fit in with the rest of their team, New York, however, is presumably looking for someone with more experience. (Janice Hough)

ENTERTAINMENT

This morning on 'Good Morning America', ABC unveiled the new cast of 'Dancing With the Stars'. It was a who's who of who needs money. (Jimmy Kimmel)

So I'm low-tech, but have to think most of America is wondering, is there an app that would allow you to watch American Idol and automatically block not only commercials, but also block Nicki Minaj? (Janice Hough

'Identity Thief' is tops at the box office. Jason Bateman discovers his credit card has been charged outrageous amounts. Someone has gone to a movie theater and bought popcorn. (Alan Ray)

'Jack the Giant Slayer' opens in theaters. A young farm boy battles ruthless oppressors. "You want to charge me how much for a gallon of gasoline?" (Alan Ray)

'Phantom' opens in movie theaters. A Russian nuclear submarine captain has to make an impossible choice. "Do I blow up the entire civilized world, or do I leave hope for a sequel?" (Alan Ray)

Anger Management's producers announced Tuesday that Lindsay Lohan will join the cast as one of Charlie Sheen's anger patients and girlfriend. Why not? As long as the production can't get insurance anyway they might as well have who they want on the show. (Argus Hamilton)

TLC announced that 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' will soon be on the air in Australia, Latin America, and the Netherlands. Personally, I'm not in favor of exporting our reality shows to other countries. Deporting our reality shows, yes. But exporting, no. (Jimmy Kimmel)

Michael Bay is making another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Despite a ridiculous storyline, the film has a serious message. Ninja Turtle merchandise is available at Target stores. (Alan Ray)

Monday night I usually update you on the number of times 'amazing' is said on 'The Bachelor'. Tonight was 22. We also collected every "amazing" that was uttered on or near the Oscars' red carpet. That's 101. There were as many 'amazings' as there were Dalmatians. Can someone in the world please send us more adjectives. We need them. (Jimmy Kimmel)

A 5-part miniseries based on Bible stories premieres Sunday on the History Channel. Producers may have tried to modernize it too much. Noah's rickety old ark was a Carnival Cruise. (Alan Ray)

ENTERTAINERS

The highest grossing actor of 2012 was Robert Downey Jr. The grossest highest actor of 2012 was Charlie Sheen. (Gary Bachman)

A pregnant Kim Kardashian has gained 40 pounds. *Decorum forbids I say where she gained the 40 pounds, but she's putting 40 cows out of work. (Bill Williams)

Kim Kardashian said that she and Kanye West want to get married, but they're not going to rush it. And also because they have to wait until Kim is actually divorced. (Jimmy Fallon)

Gangster Squad's Josh Brolin and actress Diane Lane filed for divorce. He went into the marriage with his emotional baggage and she went into the marriage with her emotional baggage. When Hollywood people fall in love it's like two dump trucks colliding. (Argus Hamilton)

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been named editor for some muscle magazines. Apparently he was turned down for obvious reasons when he applied to be magazine editor at Good Housekeeping. (Jim Barach)

P. Diddy revealed he was a bedwetter on 'Ellen'. R. Kelly called him and said, "We should hang out sometime." (Warren Holstein)

MC Hammer was pulled over in northern California for driving with expired tabs and then arrested when he refused to get out of his vehicle. If nothing else, it proved his agent wrong. He could get arrested! (Tim Hunter)

A report says that Jay Leno will retire in 2014 and Jimmy Fallon will take over 'The Tonight Show'. Which means in 2015, Jay will still be doing 'The Tonight Show' and Fallon will be somewhere either on 'A&E' or 'Animal Planet'. (Jim Barach)

Beyoncé has actually designed her own pair of sneakers. The sneakers are made of stingray, ostrich, cat hair, crocodile, and anaconda skins. So if you want a pair of those sneakers, you'd better order it now while species last. (Jimmy Fallon)

Lindsay Lohan is heading for another trial, this time over last year's car crash, after reportedly rejecting rehab plea bargain that would have kept her out of jail. Makes sense, not like a trial has ever really put her in jail either. (Janice Hough)

Heard a whining noise when I drove my car today. Took it to a mechanic and he turned off the Taylor Swift album. (Dean Okay)

It's Justin Bieber's B-day, if anyone has a DeLorean with a flux capacitor and would like to make a quick trip to 19 yrs ago and fix things. (Warren Holstein)

THE MEDIA

In the worst decline in network TV history, NBC, whose once faithful viewers disappeared faster than Lance Armstrong's endorsements, will finish sweeps month behind Univision -- the first net to ever descend to fifth place. It's so embarrassing, even the peacock quit and has been replaced by a retired Zacky Farms rooster wearing a rainbow feather wig. (Bob Mills)

For the first time in history, NBC is fifth in the ratings. We are now behind the Spanish language channel Univision. As we call that here in Los Angeles, 'Cinco de Ratings'. The ratings are so bad that today NBC called Manti Te'o to bring in some imaginary viewers. (Jay Leno)

THE INTERNET AND BLOGS

The number of seniors dating online doubled last year. Which means it is a good time to buy stock in the company that makes Viagra. (Jim Barach)

A 104-year-old woman is complaining that she can't put her real age on Facebook because the birthdates only go back as far as 1910. Facebook said it will solve the problem by either adding the dates or just waiting it out. (Jimmy Fallon)

Instagram has hit 100 million users. It's made the world a smaller place. With a couple of taps, you can now know what 100 million other people are having for lunch. (Alan Ray)

OTHER CELEBRITIES

Unlike Jesus, with my book, you don't have to wait a thousand years for the second edition. (Stephen Colbert)

A thought about former Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, who just died at the age of 96, was a conservative evangelical Christian. But he supported condoms and sex education in schools to help stop the spread of AIDS. These days some in the GOP would have called for his recall. (Janice Hough)

Tabasco-maker CEO Paul McIlhenny has died at age 68. Rather than mourn, I'm going to celebrate his life by hitting the sauce. (Gary Bachman)

Esquire Magazine has published it's annual "Worst Job" issue, and for the 5th year in a row the winner (or, maybe loser) is Donald Trump's Proctologist. This quote from his doctor explains it all, "When I examine this a-hole, I can never be sure where to start or where to stop, even using that mass growing on his head as a guide". (Author Unknown)

EDUCATION

A new study says that student test scores may be down because of too much lead in their system. On the other hand, the students are able to write the answers to test questions using only their fingernails. (Tim Hunter)

Central Michigan University is hosting 'STD Bingo' as part of a 'Condom Casino Night' for sexual education. Do universities really need to promote sexual education? Isn't that pretty much called 'college'? (Jim Barach)

Yale is considering paying for students' sex change operations. Imagine when the students call their parents to tell them they changed their major and also their member. (Jim Barach)

It happened again, this time in New Jersey where a high school teacher slept with her male student who was an honor student. Yeah, an honor student. He was honor, off her, honor, off her, honor, off her. (Alex Kaseberg)

A 26-year-old British psychology teacher has won a contest to be a lingerie firm's star model. What'd she pose in, a Freudian slip? (RJ Currie)

A Los Angeles teacher retired at age 94. She is so old she taught Larry King. She quit teaching because she could not longer seduce any of her male students. (Gary Bachman)

Los Angeles just retired a 94-year-old teacher. That's old. That's so old she remembers when Cher was her name, not what she does with body parts. She remembers when Botox was what your son Bo does at 14 months. She remembers when Fatty Arbuckle was just plump. (Bill Williams)

Allegheny College in Pennsylvania brought in two sex counselors to teach the students masturbation. It's bad enough we can't keep up with the Chinese in math, now our students can't even turn Japanese. (Alex Kaseberg)

RELIGION

Tim Tebow canceled a speech at the First Baptist Church in Dallas in April when the pastor's comments about Barack Obama surfaced. Last year he warned that Obama's re-election would summon the forces of the Anti-Christ. In Texas the Anti-Christ means the Washington Redskins or Oklahoma Sooners depending on whether it's Saturday or Sunday. (Argus Hamilton)

Rough month for the Vatican. Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien has resigned before the papal conclave, after 3 priests and a former priest alleged he tried to seduce them. Could be worse. At least the allegations involve adults. (Janice Hough)

An Ohio man claims to see Jesus in bird poop on his car windshield. In a related story, a New Jersey man found bird poop on his newly-washed car and exclaimed, "Jesus Christ!" (Gary Bachman)

HISTORY

The very first Woolworth's five-and-dime opened on this day in 1879. They went out of business in 1997. You know why? They were nickel and dimed to death. (Jay Leno)

CULTURE & SEXUAL MORES

A series of pornographic videos filmed in various public areas inside an Arizona airport have surfaced on the Internet. Remember the good old days when the only sexual activity at the airport was a TSA agent touching your junk. (Gary Bachman)

A new study notes that teenagers who skip breakfast tend to have sex at an earlier age. So, now it appears that when mothers told their kids that breakfast is the most important meal of the day they were just saying that to prevent teenage pregnancy. (Steve Yeich)

Three Manchester students have set up a website where they cook vegetarian food in the nude. I tried that and my wife lost her appetite. (RJ Currie)

SURVEYS, POLLS & STUDIES

54% of California registered voters who responded to a recent Field survey supported legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Which is impressive considering the number of probable 'yes' voters who just forgot to respond to the survey. (Janice Hough)

Compiled by Stan Kegel mailto:skegel@socal.rr.com

Ministry of Truth: Ten Points on Two Sessions


The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.

Central Propaganda Department: Matters Needing Attention During the Two Sessions: (1) Without exception, do not report on officials’ financial disclosure during the Two Sessions; do not comment; do not republish reports from foreign media. (2) During the Two Sessions, coverage of sudden incidents or mass incidents in Shaanxi Province must go through the Propaganda Department and then listen to planned reports. (3) For the time being, regional media must cease monitoring public opinion outside the borders of their jurisdiction. (4) Without exception, all information on the issue of anti-corruption which has not been verified by the discipline inspection commissions of your respective jurisdiction must not be reported. (5) Reduce the number of negative articles on home pages. The Network Information Office [probably of the State Council Information Office] requests timely management of this task. Particularly ensure that social networking sites are taken care of. (6) Media personnel must not post information which is harmful to the government on their Weibo accounts. All weibos posted by media organizations, reporters, and editors must represent their respective work units. (7) Report less on interaction among the leadership. Do not report “shocking” news on representatives. Do not turn reporting on the Two Sessions into entertainment. Report! more on the voices of grassroots representatives and committee members. (8) Reuse reports from authoritative media sources and complete coordinated reports [with these sources]. (9) Reports on learning from Lei Feng must not veer off course or have a negative influence. (10)  Coverage of congress amenities and work style and the Clean Plate Campaign must focus on new accomplishments, but reign in the scope [or reporting]. (March 3, 2013)
中 宣部：两会期间报道注意事项：1）涉及官员财产公示报道，两会期间一律不报道，不评论，不转发境外媒体报道。2）两会期间陕西突发事件及群体性事件，需报 经宣传部后，听从安排报道。3）各地媒体暂时停止跨地域舆论监督。4）所有未经各地党委纪律检查委员会证实的各类反腐信息，一律不要报道。5）减少首页负 面稿件数目，网络信息办公室要求处置的要及时处理，重点管理好社交网络。6）媒体从业人员微博不得发布对政治有害消息，媒体法人，记者，编辑微博所发内容 代表单位名义。7）少报道领导互动，不报道代表委员"雷人雷语"，不把两会报道娱乐化，多报道基层代表和委员声音。8）转发来源使用权威媒体报道，配合性 报道要做足。9）学雷锋报道不得偏离方向，出现负面影响。10）会风，作风，光盘行动报道重点在取得新的成就，但要把握好尺度。

Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as "Directives from the Ministry of Truth." CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date on CDT Chinese is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

---

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013.

• Garia Mansory Currus: First Ever Luxury Design Roadster Golf Car to be launched at Geneva Motor Show
  Being inspired by the sense of joy and freedom an auto enthusiast get from riding a luxury sports car, and with an idea to translate that awesome experience to the golf car, the Denmark-based luxury golf car manufacturer Garia which earlier impressed us with its Garia 2+2 multi-functional golf cart and the $17,500 Garia Golf cart has now launched two new models, the Garia Roadster and the limited-edition of the roadster called the Garia Mansory Currus. Notably, the limited-edition Roadster is designed in close collaboration with Mansory, the German-based luxury car modification specialists that combines the highest technical level with masterly craftsmanship and most precious materials to create one-of-a-kind creations like the Carbonado Lamborghini Aventador, the carbon fiber Aston Martin DBS, the blue baby Rolls Royce in golden robe, the LINEA Vincerò, the one-off Bugatti Veyron Linea Vincero d'Oro, to name a few. Scheduled to be launched at the Geneva Motor Show, the Garia Mansory Currus, limited to 7 examples for sale, comes with signature Mansory luxury features including custom seat, carbon fiber rear body, and dashboard in genuine leather, along with many other luxury details found on custom cars.
  

  
  Garia Mansory Currus: First Ever Luxury Design Roadster Golf Car to be launched at Geneva Motor Show

  
  Garia Mansory Currus

  And for delivering a real racing car feel, it features an adjustable setting for maximum motor braking and regeneration of battery while driving, along with speed switch which adjust top speed and acceleration parameters under different driving modes like Race, Golf, and Street.
  

  
  Garia Mansory Currus

  Notably, these settings are exclusive to Garia Mansory Currus, and are not available on any other golf cars.
  

  
  Garia Mansory Currus: First Ever Luxury Design Roadster Golf Car to be launched at Geneva Motor Show

  Described to be really the closet one can get to a golf-car version of a favorite luxury sports car, this luxury golf ride comes fitted with lithium batteries for an extended range of up to 60 km, and a speed package for increased speed of up to 60 km/h.
  Via: Garia
• Lamborghini Veneno leaked might command a $4.6 million price tag
  
  

  
  An unknown magazine scan has leaked an image of the Lamborghini's "Veneno" hypercar ahead of it's official debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The car was set to be the crown jewel in the celebration for Lamborghini's 50th anniversary. Veneno, meaning, "poison" in Spanish has most likely been named for a noteworthy bull in the history of tauromachia. The picture shows a coupe powered by the same engine as the Aventador, a 6.5-liter V12 engine. However that is where the similarities between the two cars end. The Veneno appears to be radically different from any other coupe designed in the company's 50-year history. Asymmetric wheel wells, a massive rear wing, expose carbon fiber canards, vents and scoops all combine to create a brutish looking car that bears more resemblance to it's bull counterpart than a sleek sports car.
  

  
  
  The car is rumored to feature a 7-gear transmission and a single clutch that will combine to provide over 450 horsepower. The 220 mph car will be limited to three examples painted white, green and red. Each of these powerful cars will command around $4.6 million dollars. The Lamborghini Veneno is set to be officially unveiled at the Geneva motor show, at which point we'll know if the rumors are true.
  
  
  [Via - Newlaunches and AutoEvolution]
  

  « previous story
  « 2014 Chevrolet Stingray Convertible

  next story »
• 2014 Chevrolet Stingray Convertible
  
  

  
  Ahead of the 83rd Salon International de l'Auto show in Geneva, Chevrolet has revealed a glimpse of the 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible. Vice president Ed Welburn says that the Stingray coupe and the convertible were developed together, so as to ensure that there was no compromise in performance technology or design. Thus the convertible will retain the coupes driving dynamics despite having a fully automatic top that can be opened at speeds going up to 30mph or even remotely by the key fob. The structure for the top uses a combination of carbon fiber and sheet molded composite skin making it sturdy enough to handle all kinds of weather. The engine on the convertible is as powerful as the all American Stingray coupe, with and LT1 6.2 liter V* engine that provides over 450 horsepower and an impressive 450 pound-feet of torque.
  

  
  While performance specs for both cars are still to be confirmed, Chevrolet is claiming a powerful 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds. The convertible can be upgraded to the Z51 performance package which is built to cope with the demands of track use and includes features like a dry sump oiling system, close ratio gear-set and coolers for the breaks.
  
  The Chevrolet Stingray coupe and convertible are both set to arrive in North American showrooms later this year, with prices for both still to be announced. Chevrolet also plans to roll out the car in Europe, Britain, the Middle East, Japan and Russia. The official unveiling of the 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible is set to take place on the 6th of March.
  [BBC]
  

  « previous story
  « Karl Lagerfeld's first store opens up at Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris

  next story »
  Lamborghini Veneno leaked might command a $4.6 million price tag»
• NBA Legend Michael Jordan's new $2.8 Million House in North Carolina has a Personal Dock
  By acclamation, the greatest basketball player of all time who led the Bulls to six national championships and earned the NBA Most Valuable Player Award five times, an Olympic athlete, business person and an actor, Michael Jordan now got a huge deal on his second home in the Charlotte, North Carolina, where the b-ball legend already owns a penthouse sited just next to the Bank of America. The Charlotte Bobcats owner who single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar actually purchased a $2.8 million Cornelius-based 12,310 sq. ft lakefront home, which is about 22 miles north of uptown Charlotte where the Bobcats play their home games. Reportedly, Jordan snagged the home at a significant deal. As this gated and private residence that offers stunning panoramic lake views from almost every room and has its very own private dock was originally listed for $3.99 million in year 2011, the bank foreclosed on the home in August 2012, and later it was re-listed for $3.49 million.
  

  
  NBA Legend Michael Jordan's new $2.8 Million House in North Carolina has a Personal Dock

  Location: Michael Jordan's new house in his hometown is located alongside the beautiful Lake Norman and on the 7th hole of The Peninsula Club.
  Features:
  Built in 1993, the house formerly owned by drag race Doug Herbert boasts 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms and a two-storey room that opens out to a stunning terraced patio, which also impressively features an enormous pool and spa. Further, there's also an expansive basement that holds room for a personal gym and entertainment center.
  

  
  NBA Legend Michael Jordan's new $2.8 Million House in North Carolina has a Personal Dock

  Interestingly, the multi-millionaire Michael Jordan also owns a bunch of plush estates including his Bears Club home, Miami estate, Charlotte penthouse, incredible architectural estates and a number of restaurants, to name a few.
  Notably, his custom estate in Chicago is currently on the market, and he recently bought a Jupiter, Florida, home on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course last year.
  Via: Forbes / AOL
• Karl Lagerfeld's first store opens up at Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris
  
  

  
  The much talked about and awaited Karl Lagerfeld store opening finally takes shape in brick and mortar. A two-storied ultra-luxury hub spread over 2,150sq.ft area, the Karl Lagerfeld World is a chic construction washed in the artist's trademark black and white palette. Unlike the numerous Fendi and Chanel stores that stock Karl Lagerfeld designed merchandise, an exclusive store entirely dedicated to his creations is an experience beyond explanation.
  

  
  
  "It's like looking into a mirror," says Lagerfeld. Home to the entire range of Lagerfeld's creations, the Saint-Germain located concept store resembles a library of Karl Lagerfeld labeled accessories, clothes, shoes, bags, books and a range of his limited editions – offspring to his numerous collaborations.
  
  As promised, the store also exhibits the Karl Lagerfeld line of watches which recently debuted at the Paris Fashion Week.
  
  Boulevard Saint-Germain – a location close to Lagerfeld's heart is a famous Rive Gauche shopping location in Paris, France. News has it that the fashion enthusiast – Karl Lagerfeld is seeing a growing list of visitors/celebs "descend upon the new fashion hotspot in the chic neighborhood of Paris".
  
  Saskia de Brauw and Karl at the KARL LAGERFELD Store opening party.
  

  « previous story
  « Asia leads North America to become the continent with most number of billionaires

  next story »
  2014 Chevrolet Stingray Convertible»
• Asia leads North America to become the continent with most number of billionaires
  
  

  
  Leaving behind North America and Europe, Asia aces the list in housing the most number of billionaires! Facts amassed by British accountant and former Forbes Rich List researcher Rupert Hoogewerf in The Hurun Report this year clearly attest Asia with 608 dollar billionaires in comparison to North America's 440 and Europe's 324. However, country-wise China remains the second largest billionaire populated country in the world, with the U.S retaining its top-most position housing 409 billionaires. The report states that China is home to 317 'self-made' young entrepreneurs with an average age of 58. China apparently beat Moscow, Russia owing credit to its recent boom in urbanization. The Hurun shows 7 among the top 20 real estate moguls hail from China.
  

  
  Other countries like the UK with 56 billionaires and India with 53 rank fifth and sixth on the report, respectively.
  [Via Telegraph– Image via Flickr
  

  « previous story
  « Forbes Galleries''Out of this World! Jewelry in the Space Age' exhibition

  next story »
  Karl Lagerfeld's first store opens up at Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris»
• Antoine Martin Slow Runner watch boasts the world's largest and slowest balance with 7,200 beats per hour
  An independent Swiss watch manufacturing brand that stands for a consummate blend of watchmaking expertise, traditional craftsmanship and the passion for innovation, Antoine Martin, which also put its founder and watchmaker of exceptional talent Martin Braun's 30 years of horological experience in an entirely new light, has come up with what is said to be the world's largest and slowest balance. Mr. Martin Braun, the creative genius behind the brand has created a timepiece that ticks at the lowest frequency possible for a horological creation. Dubbed as the 'Slow Runner', the 42mm watch, also described as the slowest watch in the world has just '7,200 beats per hour' and is no less than 24 millimeters in diameter, making the balance almost as big as the entire work. However, watch enthusiasts who love to own the world's top ultra-complicated watches that are hard-to-produce and comes in strictly limited numbers, can see the watch by themselves at the world's biggest watch fair, Baselworld, on April 25th.
  

  
  Antoine Martin Slow Runner watch boasts the world's largest and slowest balance with 7,200 beats per hour

  
  Antoine Martin Slow Runner watch boasts the world's largest and slowest balance with 7,200 beats per hour

  Notably, the words '7,200 beats per hour' ha! s been printed across the watch's top, and the words 'one hertz' has been printed at the left side of the dial, and the very large subdial for seconds.
  

  
  Antoine Martin Slow Runner watch boasts the world's largest and slowest balance with 7,200 beats per hour

  Technically, the 7200/2 oscillations per hour, or the equivalent of 1 hertz means that the second hand makes two steps per second. And in addition to the balance, one sees only the barrel, which guarantees the power reserve of at least four days.
  Via: Forbes / AntoineMartin
• Daniella Wang Li Dan 王李丹 from Henan, China - Lenglui #268
  Name: Daniella Wang Li Dan 王李丹 / Wang Li Danni
  Date of Birth: Aug 6, 1989
  Height: 175 cm
  Weight: 51 kg
  Measurements: 32F 24 35
  Weibo:http://weibo.com/wanglidan
  Blog:http://blog.sina.com.cn/dannihan
  About: Daniella Wang Li Dan 王李丹 is a popular Mainland model and actress from Nanyang City, Henan Province. Also known as the "China's Goddess of Boobs", Wang Li Dan is actually of Mongolian ethnicity. She claims that her assets are real and it is common in Mongolia for girls to have big boobs. In 2012, Wang Li Dan rose to fame after appearing in a Hong Kong CAT3 movie - Due West: Our Sex Journey (一路向西).
  
  
  Due West: Our Sex Journey (一路向西) describes the internal struggle of a young person seeking "love" and "lust" in contemporary society of Hong Kong. The film reflects the reason why men head North to Mainland to seek pleasure and the general problems exist among Hong Kong girls. It also focuses on the intricate conflict of the two-sided coin of love – affection and lust.
  
  
  
  The climax of the movie was that the F-Cup Wang Li Dan used her impressive assets to rub against the back of the leading actor, Zhang Jiansheng 張建聲. She had bold performance in her first erotic movie, with complete nudity, but surprisingly she is a medical student behind camera. When she is not busy shooting erotic films, Wang Li Dan can be found at Shanghai's Jiaotong University, where she is currently in her fourth year studying clinical psychology.
  
  
  She recently said that, "To be honest, I took part in this movie to earn some quick money, and my goal is 4 million. I will not graduate till next October, but it will cost a fortune to get the license and open a clinic. I hope I could earn enough to open it." Given Wang Li Dan's natural and smooth performance in Due West, Xiao Dingyi, the investor warmly invited her to join the cast of 3D Sex and Zen 2. But Wang Li Dan had concerns that if she continues to perform nude scenes in movies, it would affect her dream of becoming a doctor.
  
  Wang Li Dan stated that as long as it would not affect her study, she would continue to be an actress till she saves 4 million RMB. She said, "I will not give up on becoming a doctor, but I still worry that taking part in erotic movies would exert negative influence on my doctor career." Wang Li Dan claimed to be a university stud! ent from ! mainland China, but her public information shows that she graduated from Beijing Central & North Emperor Performing Arts School (北京中北英皇艺术学校), without mentioning being a medical student. Many Netizens expressed suspicion on her "medical university student" identity. Anyway, only the best of Wang Li Dan available here, all filtered by http://dailylenglui.asia.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Spyker B6 concept official pictures released, to compete with the Porsche 911
  
  As historic sports car manufacturer, Spyker car design and the process did not have to say, however, the popularity of the brand has yet to be raised, while consistently high prices can not let the average person can withstand. Official Spyker officially released the first official pictures of a new B6 concept, the car will also be unveiled on the 5th of this month's Geneva International Motor Show. The new car will be named the "Venator" (Latin meaning "hunter").
  
  In power, it is learned that the car will be equipped with center V6 engine with a maximum power of 375hp (280 kW). New car chassis is aluminum and carbon fiber material crafted, so the final weight of the new car can be controlled to less than 1397 kg. Spyker CEO Victor Muller also disclosed that a direct competitor of the future car will be aimed at the Porsche 911. Therefore, the positioning of the vehicle will be lower than the Spyker C8 Aileron, while the retail price will be reduced to between 160000-200000 U.S. dollars. In addition, according to previous news that new car, or will be based on the Saab Phoenix platform.
  
  Spyker as an old factory that more than a hundred years of its history, but its brand awareness and the high price make it do not as popular as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani. Specific information about the car is still not sufficient, for more information, we will continue to focus on.
  
• Anniversary Tipple: Camus Cuvee 5.150
  
  The House of Camus has launched a limited edition cognac to celebrate 150 years of fine spirits making.
  Part of the house's prestigious Masterpiece Collection, Camus Cuvee 5.150 is crafted from five eaux-de-vie from five different crus: Grand Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois and Bons Bois. Each of the eaux-de-vie has a minimum guaranteed age: the Bons Bois Cognac for example, has 37 years minimum guaranteed age, while the Fin Bois boasts 22 years minimum guaranteed age.
  The rich amber elixir is said to open with notes of vanilla, wood and spice, followed by hints of crystallised lemon. On the palate it is balanced and full, with milky vanilla, vibrant apricot and pear and sweet almond swirling around in perfect harmony with one other. The finish is tender and persistent.
  A true collector's item, Camus Cuvee 5.150 is available in a limited edition of 1492 bottles worldwide.
  
  Camus
• Beat It: Switch by Native Union
  
  Sleek, compact and crystal clear, Hong Kong-based Native Union's latest concoction is what we might imagine having while lounging by the poolside or at the beach.
  Designed by professional engineers, the Bluetooth-enabled Switch is powered by three speakers, including an active sub-woofer.  A first testing proves it to be better than the ever popular Jambox, with the ability to deliver power and clarity across a range of notes. The volume control wheel is a nod to old-school audio equipment. Hidden beneath a side flap are three ports for the USB, Audio In and Headphone. There is also a full duplex microphone for conference calls, making it a gem to carry around on business travels.
  Available in glossy or matte white, black, slate, aquamarine and red, Switch can play up to 14 hours of music.
  Native Union
• China: This Week In Digital Luxury Marketing
  A roundup of new and ongoing digital campaigns launched by luxury brands in China through March 3, 2013, featuring Chow Tai Fook, Maserati, and IWC Schaffhausen.
  Maserati
  Celebrating the release of its new Quattroporte series, Maserati is giving away special branded passport covers to Sina Weibo followers who correctly answer the question, "What's the top speed of the Maserati Quattroporte?" To receive their passport cover, participants must retweet the campaign to three friends.
  
  

  ---

  Folli Follie, Links of London and IFC Shanghai
  To celebrate International Women's Day (March 8), IFC Shanghai, Folli Follie and Links of London are holding a joint Weibo event offering 10 gifts (five Links of London bracelets and five Folli Follie cosmetics bags) to participants who retweet a promotional message and follow all three companies.
  
  

  ---

  Givenchy Beauty
  Through March 2, users who retweeted a promotional Givenchy Beauty message and tweeted about their love of Givenchy Le Rouge lipstick had a chance to win a tube.
  
  

  ---

  IWC Schaffhausen
  To thank fans who watched the first installment of its "Globetrotter" video series (previously on Jing Daily), IWC Schaffhausen is holding a Weibo event, encouraging fans to vote if they have visited any of the three Beijing museums mentioned by the video's subject, Wang Luyan. One lucky participant will win a prize package including a Beijing City Guide, restaurant voucher worth 500 yuan, and an IWC branded portable charger.
  
  

  ---

  Chow Tai Fook
  This week, Chow Tai Fook's ongoing "爱之匙，心之锁" (Key of Love, Lock of Heart) campaign on Sina Weibo (previously on Jing Daily) added a love quiz to keep the buzz going.
  

An article on HuffPo reports that taxes on the wealthy have reached a 30 year high while the middle class and poor are now paying diddly squat (that's a technical term in economics). Tax inequality is no less immoral that income inequality and punishing the most successful for their very success while disincentivizing production is a non-sustainable model, no matter how smugly satisfying it may seem. Talent and capital invariably flee such a regime – see Cuba, Soviet Europe, Argentina, etc.
While the left anxiously ruminates about equality, the right is obsessed with growth at any cost. Equality without growth is equality in poverty. See Lady Thatcher's powerful argument on that point. However, growth without equality invariably leads to resentment, in a democracy that means welfare and populist demagoguery which kills the growth. This is followed by the rise of an idiot like Hugo Chavez and deepening poverty. Two voyages to the same terrible destination.
Ironically, its the capitalist, captains of industry that charted our course to socialist misery by creating a society that would make Karl Marx salivate – one in which returns to capital are ever increasing and returns to labor dwindle. Stocks roar and wages fall. It's full speed ahead for the 1%; America's future and American values be damned! Let the rest of us save up our pennies and send our kids to Stanford so they can ALL design the next iPhone – sure.
The path to both sustainable growth and increased social equality will NOT be found in taxes and transfer payments. The solution both the left and right must embrace is the creation of a policy environment that that motivates businesses to invest in America and to hire American workers. We must do that even if it is a bit less efficient than our current model of funding Chinese communism in exchange for raping their environment and borrowing their slave labor. This means instituting a more competitive tax and regulatory environment, but doing so with an absolute refusal to join a "race to the bottom" in civilized standards of living for our citizens.
Consider Apple's $ 140billion+ cash hoard. Most of it is overseas avoiding the US corporate tax (highest in the world). Very little of what is in the US is invested in creating good American jobs (sorry dudes in blue shirts). Our current political plan appears to be: tax the hell out of Apple and its wealthy shareholders and give that money to the chronically unemployed so they can sit at home and play video games on their Chinese made iPads.
Instead, we could abandon harsh ideology and simply make it fairly painful for Apple to invest further in China by penalizing them for the very benefits they gain via China's illegal subsidies, currency manipulation, and environmental abuse. We should also throw in the cost of defending ourselves from the Chinese hacking, countering China's massive military build up and dealing with the escalating regional tension in Asia that Apple is indirectly funding.
I propose that we cut Apple's domestic taxes and then forward the bill for extended unemployment payments, our West Coast missile defense system, and Obama's "Asian Pivot" directly to CEO, Tim Cook – with postage due.
Greg Autry serves as Senior Economist with the American Jobs Alliance, Economist with theCoalition for a Prosperous America and is co-author (with Peter Navarro) of Death by China: Confronting the Dragon – a Global Call to Action. He blogs regularly at: http://www.gregautry.us/blog  and on the Huffington Post.
Join him on Facebook
Sign up for email updates

Sailing The Seas Depends On The Helmsman - 大海航行靠舵手

Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman is the English version of the Chinese revolutionary song, "大海航行靠舵手". The song was quite popular already in the 1950s but it became a big hit during the cultural revolution.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

For over a decade China's scientists have called for action on groundwater pollution, but there has been little effective response 


Three years ago Ma Zhong, dean of Renmin University's School of the Environment and Natural Resources, came across an anomaly while researching water prices: Water input to Chinese industry was four times recorded waste water output. 

Even accounting for various losses and uses, 16 billion tonnes of waste water was going missing. Suspecting it was ending up underground, he reported his findings to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). But he saw no more done to protect groundwater. 

Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba (Music of the African Diaspora)

List Price: $ 31.95 Price: $ 20.00

Imagine a luxury goods shopper so confident and flush with cash that one day he walks into a Shanghai handbag shop, flashes 300,000 yuan, and waltzes out with almost every bag in stock.
That's what happened last year at a Prada store where Benny Lu worked as a clerk. The customer "entered the shop and pointed to the shelves," she recalls. "Then he said, 'Except this one and that one, pack all the others.'"
This kind of price-is-no-object customer, however, is becoming increasingly rare at luxury retailers in Shanghai and across China.
Sales of high-end jewelry, watches, and handbags have been slowing lately, some five years after the world's luxury goods makers embraced wealthy Chinese consumers as important drivers for global business growth.
Market analyst Bain & Co. said luxury consumer product sales on the mainland rose to 260 billion yuan in 2011 from 140 billion yuan in 2008. Those heady days were marked by a dramatic 12 percent increase in upscale sales between 2008 and 2009 and a 30 percent jump between 2010 and 2011, Bain said, even while the rest of the world struggled through the global financial crisis.
The growth momentum first showed signs of weakening in October 2011, said Cliff Xie, a veteran analyst who follows China's luxury market. "It started with jewelry and luxury watches," he said.
And the slowdown could get worse in the wake of a July decision by the State Council aimed at fighting official corruption. The council imposed a new regulation, in effect since October, that bans luxury good purchases by all government agencies nationwide.
In the past, officials had routinely tapped public treasuries for money to buy all sorts of bejeweled and leather gifts for various associates in exchange for favors. Now that the practice is banned, said Bain partner Bruno Lannes, sales of many kinds of high-end jewelry, watches, handbags, and briefcases in China have fallen.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, the world's largest retail jeweler, said its same-store sales on the mainland declined 8 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter 2012. Mainland sales account for 80 percent of the company's revenue.
Italian fashion house Gucci saw sales grow 2 percent during the first three quarters of 2012 in the Asia-Pacific region, compared to 7 percent globally. French luxury giant LVMH reported a slight decline in first-half 2012 sales in China, while the company's other market areas reported growth.
Kent Wong, Chow Tai Fook's managing director, blamed falling investment on the mainland for the decline in jewelry sales. Changing market conditions, he said, had forced the company to start focusing on low-end jewelry for younger customers.

Strategic Shift

Chow Tai Fook's decision to adjust its business mirrors a wider search for new sales strategies among luxury-goods makers catering to rich Chinese.
For example, Lannes said, some companies are promoting obscure and niche brands of high-end products that lack the splashy labels of well-known brands such as LVMH, Hermes, and Gucci. Famous brands "with eye-catching logos" have for years been "the most popular gifts," said Lannes, but that's changing.
Company financial reports support Lannes' point. French fashion group Pinault-Printemps-Redoute posted a mere 2 percent increase in last fiscal sales for its Gucci brand in the Asia-Pacific region. But the company's niche brand Bottega Veneta saw sales jump 25 percent.
More adjustments are expected in the changing political environment, said Ren Guoqiang, a vice president for the consulting firm Roland Berger & Partner.
"The Chinese luxury market for a long time underwent abnormal growth supported by tax policies and gift consumption," Ren said. "But recent anti-corruption measures and a subsequent [sales] slowdown will help the market return to a normal development pace."
Gift-buyers are believed to account for up to 25 percent of all luxury product sales in China—a phenomenon that luxury retailers understand well and sometimes encourage through flexible invoicing.
A manager for a luxury brand watch retailer told Caixin at his company "there are flexibilities granted to stores for invoice titles and contents."
Many stores offer after-sales services to customers who can't provide an invoice. "A customer came in with a suit and asked to exchange it for a woman's handbag because the size was wrong," said a clerk at a luxury fashionwear store. "It obviously had been an unsuitable gift."
Sometimes intermediaries are hired to buy goods at stores for gift-giving officials. Several government agencies in southern China, for example, hired a man surnamed Xia to purchase luxury products.
Xia told Caixin he once purchased one hundred men's suits for government officials. The most expensive cost 110,000 yuan. As part of the deal, Xia collected "suitable" invoices worth several million yuan that could mask the officials' spending spree and meet procurement rules.
The watch company manager said intermediaries are often hired by customers who don't want anyone to know what they're buying.
Lu said the man who paid 300,000 yuan for thirty handbags in Shanghai was probably buying gifts, as had many other customers before. She remembers being asked for invoices that inaccurately identified purchased goods as "office supplies." Such demands gave Lu and her colleagues headaches because "according to the rules, shops can only offer an invoice that identifies exactly what's purchased."
"I had some customers who decided not to buy products they had selected simply because they weren't satisfied with the invoice," Lu said.
Luxury sales in China typically climb to an annual high during the weeks before the National People's Congress, which is held every March, and spike again ahead of other annual meetings called by the Communist Party and central government.

Still in Business

Despite the changing environment on the mainland, luxury goods suppliers still count on Chinese consumers as a major force behind global sales.
For example, according to the auditing firm KPMG, luxury purchases account for 71 percent of all spending done by Chinese tourists when they travel overseas.
The Swiss shopping tourism company Global Blue says Chinese consumers traveling worldwide spent 2.1 billion euros at duty-free shops in 2012, up 68 percent from their 2011 duty-free spending pace.
An outlet store manager in Florence, Italy, said Chinese tourists and hired buyers have been contributing to the fast growth in sales of luxury products destined for consumers in China. These buyers include students and Chinese expatriates who help mainland customers buy overseas.
A Chinese lady living in the U.S., He Xiaying, makes a living by buying goods in the United States and shipping them to customers on the mainland. "This kind of business is costless," she said. "We get an order and go to the shopping mall. Then we can send it out."
China's domestic market accounts for about 7 percent of world luxury sales, said Lannes, but Chinese while at home or when traveling abroad deserve credit for buying 25 percent of the world's luxury consumer products.
"Overseas purchases by Chinese people greatly exceed their domestic purchases," said Lannes. Indeed, he said, Chinese consumers are major luxury buyers in the United States and Europe.
"From London to New York to Milan, you can find clerks specially assigned to care for Chinese customers," said Lannes.
Meanwhile on the mainland, an increasing number of luxury retailers have been expanding their presence beyond first-tier cities by opening shops in smaller cities. A common goal is deeper penetration of the Chinese market.
Indeed, fast growth for domestic sales between 2009 and 2011 encouraged luxury brand retailers to open more stores nationwide. According to Bain, fifteen luxury retailers opened eighty stores in China during the first eight months of 2010.
The pace of store openings was "even faster than what they did in Japan several years ago," said Thomas, an employee of a big-name fashion company. "Everyone has been competing for market share."
To keep the ball rolling, some industry insiders have called for the Chinese government to reduce taxes on retail luxury products.
High taxes have been blamed for encouraging consumers to buy overseas. Ren said luxury goods are usually subject to a 17 percent consumption tax and a value-added tax that can be as high as 45 percent. Luxury taxes in other countries are typically about 5 percent, he said.
A Bain report said a luxury watch in China can cost 40 percent more than the same watch bought overseas. And a handbag made by the U.S. company Coach can cost 30 percent more in China than in the United States.
But no one expects Beijing to change the tax regime anytime soon. One reason given is that foreign luxury brand companies directly operate their stores and sales networks in China without Chinese partners, giving them little incentive to push forward tax cuts.
And the minor role that domestic companies managed to play in foreign-owned luxury retailing has been cut since 2010, the year luxury goods companies increased their control of sales networks.
But Ren thinks these domestic stores will be affected as more Chinese consumers shop overseas. "The pace of new store openings in China will slow down, or even stop," he said.
Lannes said some luxury companies have tried narrowing the gap between prices for their products in China and other countries by raising overseas prices. The watch company manager told Caixin his firm tried to boost mainland sales by increasing prices in Hong Kong, which is a popular destination for shopping tourists from the mainland. But such efforts have had a limited impact on buyer habits and company revenues.
"No matter where a customer goes, all purchases will be included in a company's revenues," said Thomas.

Jackie Chan Weighs In On Psy's Success

This is a part of a Tea Leaf Nation series covering gender issues in today's China. 

On February 22, a report released by Internet portal Sina made waves among China's youth. A post on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, attracted heated discussion: "According to relevant regulations, the first marriage of males aged 25 or older and females aged 23 or older are considered 'late marriages.' A bit of simple math shows that 2013 is the first year that some post-80's (those born in 1980 or later) are turning 33, and the first year that some post-90's (those born in 1990 or later) are of 'late marriage' age." Over 400,000 web users discussed the topic on Weibo, and with print media covering it as well, the subject of "late marriage" has generated discussion on a variety of issues related to marriage, age, and gender roles in China.
Surprised by the airing of a well-known but seldom-discussed tension, many Web users shared feelings of melancholy and loss. Wrote Weibo user @糖糖咖啡物语: "If the post-90's are already late to marriage, how can we un-married post-80's survive?" User @New-姜浩 wrote: "I always thought of the post-90's as little kids, and now I suddenly realize that post-90's girls are considered late to marry…I am old, old, old, old. Time is a butcher's knife!"
Many users shared other concerns, hopes and the feelings about bearing the "post-90's" label. Some remained optimistic. Use @Grace-贞 wrote: "[Being one of the post-90's]…however old we are, we should never lose our ability to be patient in waiting for and loving someone. We are still young, we should do what we are supposed to – trust in love, find love and pursue love." User @资海小鱼 commented: "Marriage? No way. I just graduated from college, how can I afford to get married? Marriage is too far away and unrealistic for me. 'Post-90's' has never sounds like praise, the elderly always see us as extremely frivolous, and I don't understand why."
But current regulations' classification of some "Post-90's" are "late" to marry collided with stereotypes surrounding the generation, whose members are seen as poor planners who lead lives that older Chinese might derisively describe as "non-mainstream." User @李芬尼 mocked both his own single status and the seemingly out-of-touch policy: "I have lived more than 20 years. Though I have not achieved anything big, I have made one single contribution – by practicing the national 'family planning' policy and 'late marriage, late childbearing' policy, I have sacrificed by precious youth for the sake of the national strategic plan."
In fact, several decades ago, late marriage was not considered a problem according to China's so-called one-child policy. The concept of "late marriage" is addressed in the 1980 Marriage Law, in Chapter 2, Article 5: "Late marriage and late childbirth should be encouraged." Though the age for late marriage was not set in the law, 23 years of age for women and 25 years for men has been the assumed standard at local levels, and has been used in such documents as the Population and Family Planning Policy of Beijing (Chapter 3, Article 16), published in 2003.
Although the original purpose of the Population and Family Planning Policy was to curb population growth by encouraging late marriage, policy-makers today have far different concerns. A recent letter signed by many prominent academics in China has also pointed out that China's population will begin to shrink in ten years, even if its one-child policy were to be scrapped immediately. Faced with an aging population that may begin shrinking very soon, China has a vested interest in hurrying its post-90's citizens into marriage.
In 2012, the National Population and Family Planning Commission and Jiayuan.com, an online dating website, conducted a survey on marriage with approximately 80,000 participants. Results showed that while 52% of the women respondents believed owning a house to be a prerequisite for marriage, 41% of all respondents believed that men should be financially responsible for the majority of household expenses–another 40% believe the burden should fall on whoever is financially better off. Whether this schism is due to traditional ideas about gender roles or China's gender imbalance, the reality is that bachelors are under great pressure when it comes to buying a home. In fact, according to a CNN.com report based on a study by Columbia University Professor Shang-Jin Wei, 48% or (US$ 8 trillion worth) of the rise in property values across 35 major cities in China is linked to the country's gender imbalance.
With pressure on men to buy property – and on women to help them – men are more than twice as likely to have legal sole or joint ownership of property as women, with two-thirds of men owning property compared to only one-third of women. Due to this imbalance in financial security, men have more leverage and more options in romance and relationships.
China's gender imbalance means that more men than women between the ages of 25 and 29 are unmarried. But men in this group are not marrying women of their own age, instead searching for younger partners. Women aged 27 or older, according to the Chinese government and many media outlets, are "leftover," less likely to find matches than their younger counterparts.
Becoming "leftover" has long been a source of anxiety among women from the post-80's generation, but the blogosphere has shown strong pushback against claims that post-90's are already late to the altar. Many saw through the buzzwords of 'late marriage' and 'leftover' to the heart of the matter.
Weibo user @MaDingMaLittleTiger wrote: "If the post-90's are not in a hurry to get married, real estate won't sell, and then developers won't buy up property. The marriage industry will slow down, and lawyers will be afraid that with all these late marriages, people will be mature and less likely to divorce. All kinds of industries will cease to make money, and tax revenues will decrease. Without tax revenues, and unable to sell property, our leaders won't have the excellent results they want or a high GDP. Therefore, post-90's must be late for marriage, whether or not you're in a rush to do it. It's a serious social problem!"
Media and the government continue to emphasize issues like "leftover women" and "late marriage," but critical discussion of the subjects by Internet users shows that Chinese are no longer taking these buzzwords at face value. "Sometimes," wrote Weibo user @jiuyue2010, "Our anxieties are the product of outside forces." As time goes on, the post-90's late marriage crisis, both real and imagined, will continue to shed light on China's larger issues.

Latest Updates - China Social Political News & Blogs

In the past few months, I wrote about the food the Chinese eat, and, more recently, Liz Economy wrote about the water the Chinese drink. But the air that the Chinese breathe is now a major concern. As the nearly 3,000 delegates of the National People's Congress (NPC) arrive in Beijing to attend the yearly event to formally endorse nominees for key government leadership posts and important national policies, it would be hard for them to ignore the poor air quality in the country's capital. Last Thursday morning, readings near Tiananmen Square measured the concentration of PM2.5—fine particles in the air that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and are considered dangerous because they tend to penetrate the gas exchange regions of the lungs—at 469 micrograms per cubic meter, which corresponds to a U.S. EPA Air Quality Index reading of 479 (the scale stops at 500). Anything above 301 is considered "hazardous" in that it can cause "serious aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease and the elderly," and there is a "serious risk of respiratory effects in general population." The PM2.5 levels in other famously polluted cities pale in comparison to those in Beijing; for instance, the highest PM2.5 level in a 24-period recorded in Los Angeles was 43 micrograms per cubic meter.
The poor air quality, according to a leading Chinese public health expert, is worse than SARS because nobody can escape it. Research suggests that air pollution can raise the risk of cardio-respiratory death by 2 to 3 percent for every increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of pollutants. Only 1 percent of China's 560 million urban residents breathe air considered safe by European Union, according to a 2007 World Bank study.  A report released by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection in November 2010 showed that about one-third of 113 cities failed to meet national air standards.The 2012 Cancer Registry Annual Report revealed that lung cancer is top among all types of cancer in terms of the number of cases and deaths in China. Indeed, the number of lung cancer-caused mortality in China has increased by 465 percent in the past three decades. In Beijing, the number of lung cancer patients has increased by 60 percent in the last ten years. The rising incidence rate of lung cancer coincides with drastic reduction in the incidence rates of stomach cancer and cervical cancer, which is thought to be a result of improvements in public health standards.
For years, public health experts considered smoking the leading risk factor of lung cancer. Yet a recent report prepared by some prominent Chinese public health experts and economists did not find any significant change in China's overall smoking rate over the last decade. A group of scientists analyzed historical records of aerosol particles and lung cancer incidence in Guangzhou and found that a dramatic increase in the occurrence of air pollution from 1954 to 2006 was followed by a large increase in the lung cancer incidence rate despite the drop in the overall smoking rate. It was found that 750,000 Chinese die prematurely each year, primarily because of air pollution in large cities. According to more recent estimates by Greenpeace and Peking University's School of Public Health, exposure to PM2.5 contributed to more than 8,500 premature deaths in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi'an in 2012 alone.
The thick haze served as a wake-up call for the government, which seems to become more transparent in discussing air pollution in China. As public awareness of the problem grew, pressure on the government to address the underlying causes also increased. To improve the air quality, the Beijing municipal government has taken some emergency measures, including temporarily shutting down more than 100 factories and ordering one-third of government vehicles off the streets. However, given that coal burning in neighboring provinces and cities is a major contributor of the PM2.5 concentration in Beijing, the effectiveness of these steps has been limited. Moreover, while emissions from motor vehicles and coal-burning operations are responsible for the worsening air pollution in China, economic growth requires increased energy use. Since the regime's legitimacy hinges upon delivering robust economic growth, governments at all levels continue to pursue growth at the expense of environment. We are going to see more NPC delegates pushing for better environmental protection measures, but don't expect any fundamental change until the government has shifted to a new legitimacy base and restructured the state-society relationship to allow for more effective participation of civil society groups in the public policy process. In the words of Chinese premier-to-be Li Keqiang, "It will be a long process to resolve environmental problems."

Chants of Tibet - Om Mani Padme_Hum

This video was create by Pie-Tube.com Enter Today and create your own movie. Tibetan incantations, the meditative sounds of Buddhist chants.Video Rating: 4 / 5

Day6 am - Mind and Life XXVI: Mind, Brain and Matter

Morning session of the sixth day of the The Mind and Life XXVI conference from Drepung Monastery in Mundgod, Karnataka, India, held on January 17-22, 2013. Twenty of the world's foremost scientists and philosophers with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other senior Tibetan scholars will address topics over the course of the week that include the historical sweep of science and the revolutions in our understanding of our physical universe and the nature of the mind. Scientific and the classical Buddhist philosophical methods of inquiry will be studied, as well as selected topics in quantum physics, neuroscience, and Buddhist and contemporary Western views of consciousness. In addition, the applications of contemplative practices in clinical and educational settings will be explored. January 17 - Introduction Morning: Exploring the Nature of Reality: Buddhist and Scientific Perspectives Afternoon: Session: The Sweep of Science: Knowledge and the Nature of Reality January 18 - Physics Morning: Quantum Physics, Relativity, and Cosmology Afternoon: The Nature of Reality January 19 - Neuroscience Morning: Changing the Brain Afternoon: Exploring Neuroplasticity January 20 - Consciousness Morning: Consciousness in Western Science and Philosophy Afternoon: Approaches to Consciousness January 21 - Applications of Contemplative Practice Morning: Clinical and Educational Applications of Contemplative Practice Afternoon: Promoting Human Development January 22 Future Directions Morning ...Video Rating: 4 / 5

By The Dalai Lama was Here

Latest Updates - China Social Political News & Blogs

Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, announced on February 20 that it had surpassed half a billion users—more people than live in South America, and approximately the population of North America. Thickly-settled Europe edges out Weibo by about 230,000, but the micro-blogging platform blows away Australia in this regard. In any event, we are talking about a membership on the order of continents—a remarkable fact, given that, unlike Facebook, its usership is almost exclusively Chinese.
As many readers will be aware, Facebook and Twitter are among the Western platforms inaccessible in China, thanks to the government's so-called Great Firewall. Internet blocks create a vacuum that domestic entrepreneurs have rushed to fill. In China, chat client QQ provides a service comparable to the west's AIM or Windows Live Messenger. Then there are the ailing Facebook imitators—Ren Ren, Pengyou, Kaixin001—which have struggled to sustain their respective user bases in recent years. Weibo, meanwhile, has steamrolled competitors to become the social networking service (SNS) of choice for China's growing bourgeoisie. It is now, as the Death Star's commanding officer would say, the ultimate power in the universe.
Sort of.
On the heels of Sina Weibo's announcement comes speculation that its achievement may be a hollow one. According to TechinAsia, Sina admitted in its 2013 post-report earnings call that only 46.3 million (about 10 percent) of its virtual content of Weibo users log on every day. This lack of fervor could be forgiven if Weibo users maintained a steady pitter-patter of activity, logging on, say, a few times a week. Alas, on that same earnings call, the micro-blogging platform said that roughly the same 9 to 10 percent of its users are active over the course of a year. What's going on?
The discrepancy between membership and active users may be due, in part, to the "zombie" phenomenon. With the rise of social media, China has seen an outbreak of cowboy enterprises that generate online accounts for money. These accounts are not tied to any real person; they post no content of their own. Rather, these "zombies" can be automatically deployed to follow a particular user, re-post that user's comments, and generally create "buzz." In effect, wealthy individuals or organizations can parlay financial resources into instant "popularity."
To further explicate the gap between counted and active users—and to add another supernatural metaphor—Weibo also features an untold number of "reincarnated" users. Per government censorship policies, employees at Sina Weibo regulate users' conversations. If a user posts something controversial, he risks having his post deleted, or, in an extreme case, losing his account altogether. This user may "give up the ghost," only to come back as another user with a slightly different handle (often the same name with "Life2" (二世) or "Life3" (三世) appended). Reincarnation buys him a period of anonymity to speak more freely—until censors catch on again. It also means Weibo may be counting users more than once.
There are other more banal possibilities, of course. It could be that real, flesh-and-blood people join Weibo, participate for a time, then simply lose interest, deciding they have better things to do than "follow" and be followed. Maybe they reach a point of exhaustion with Sina Weibo's interface or functionality. Users may be lured away by sexy up-and-comers like WeChat, which many believe will eventually overtake Weibo in popularity. Or maybe Chinese netizens are inherently fickle, and no amount of clever web-design can hold their attention for long. No one seems to know for certain. But, from a developer's point of view, these possibilities are all equally discouraging.
Compare Sina Weibo's numbers to Facebook's user activity stats. As a truly global site, Facebook squashes its Chinese counterpart with an estimated 1.06 billion users. But, more importantly, Facebook reports, 50 percent of its users log on every day. Among the key 18-34-year-old demographic, nearly half do so within minutes of waking up, 28 percent before they even get out of bed. These mind-boggling statistics hint at a sort of addiction, which may set off alarm bells for some.  But they also constitute resounding proof that the fuss about Facebook is genuine. When Facebook went public last year, Mark Zuckerberg had money, not zombies, on the brain.
Western nations are not necessarily above e-necromancy. In early 2011, it surfaced that the U.S. government engaged private intelligence firms to create zombies on Facebook, Twitter, and anachronistically, MySpace in a covert effort to influence public opinion. Still, China is, by all indications, an environment where fakery runs especially rampant: the country has graduated from counterfeit designer goods to whole retail operations, from fake Apple and Ikea stores to a knock-off Disney World outside Beijing. As such, it is hardly surprising that the latest milestone from China's social media giant may be more sizzle than substance.