It must be not too expensive to fit visibility sensors along the major highways and have signalling to the drivers on the roads to warn them of conditions, order them to reduce speed or to stop as appropriate. This can easily be automated. Such pile ups as in Florida are hugely expensive in lives and money so preventing one would pay for a large investment.
World News Thread & Breaking News!!
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Equation
Lieutenant General
Yeah, but you're talking about a long stretch of freeway like hundreds of miles on basically small towns and rural areas that hardly see any kind of traffic. Usually if there is an emergency or some incidents on the road there are police and county deputies and sheriff departments to put on their lights and flash warnings signs and signal flairs to tell other motorists to slow down. I guess the fog and smoke were so thick they couldn't see what's happening ahead and some motorists might have panic.
RollingWave
New Member
I'm from Taiwan, essentially the general global view is pretty correct, the main reason why the DPP still lost pretty signficiantly (most of the 3% that went to James Soong would have either gone to Ma or not voted if he didn't run, that's pretty obvious, so the real margin of the DPP defeat is more like 8-9% which is pretty damn crushing in most 2 party elections). is because they're basically stuck right now, they can't change their TI stance without losing their base but they also can't comeup with a realistic message that can combine that stance AND have an acceptable relationship with the PRC , which means the odds of them winning most of the middle vote is very low.
Ma's charismatic in his own way, he's not a big time oralator or anything (Chen Shui Bian was eons better than him in that regard) but generally his action / demeaor / background fits very well with the tradtional view of a Confucian gentlemen. aka Well educated, soft spoken, well mannered, firm morale, unconfrontational and a low key lifestyle etc.. it's hard to say anything negative about him on a personal level which is his real strength. He and his wife are both highly educated professionals but their not fabulously wealthy, until they moved into the Presidential compound (which was required by law) he had basically lived in the same extremely modest apartment for the last 30 years with his folks (and it's a middle of the road district at best, very far from the expensive districts), hell until his wife became first lady she went to work everyday by bus (she resigned after that because she works as a law consultant for banks, so obviously don't want to be seen to have biase ties etc.) Most of the criticisim he recieve are neuturalish at best, like some say he's not "decisive" (which is basically the other side of being non-confrontational)
As for intergration, unlikely to happen in the short term, and in 50 years who really knows, from the so called pro-china side's intellectual prospective here we really hope that closer ties means that we can indirectly shape the PRC to change towards something that would be better for us all, since we see a lot of obvious similarity between the PRC today as the ROC in say... the late 70s or early 80s. and certainly hope at least to some extend the next 30 years end up also being similar in that regard.
Ma's reelection would ensure that on an economic level Taiwan and China will continue to normalize at a good pace, and also do a better job at intergrating Taiwan back into one of the key components of the world economy, recent news is that in about a year or so at least a couple of banks from China would be able to setup branches in Taiwan, this relative t 2008, before Ma took office, you can not even exchange RMBs legally in Taiwan (no joke!) is an extreme far cry.
The DPP need to either realign their cross-strait policy considerablly, or be prepared to go deeper back towards TI and try to change the big enviornment, the later is fairly unlikly, but they still seem to be stuck on the former though there's some talks of that.
On a domestic level I'd hope Ma now without re-election at stake would make some much needed moves on education and budget, Taiwan isn't Greece or even Germany in this regard but it's tilting that way too much, tax is ridiculasly low but public spending is at least middle of the road, given that neither is likely to change they really should address some of the most glaring loopholes in the tax code and also consider adjusting things like the absurdly low water and electricity fee.
Equation
Lieutenant General
Thanks for your post. Then again lower taxes means better business attraction, right (just curious about the Taiwan business outlook so far)? The question I have is the tax money in Taiwan are being spent wisely to serve the constituents?
RollingWave
New Member
Taiwan's busniess outlook is generally pretty decent, manufacturing is still pretty big and service sector is well developed, on a general level it's weakness tend to be that it's fiance is relatively more restricted than say.. the USA (which is obviously not a totally bad thing) but government tend to intervene on that from time to time for big industrise (aka ask banks to borrow to them). But the cost of starting a small operation is extremely low in Taiwan, the portion of the population that have ran some sort of small shop / food stand / small companies are extremely high by any standard.
Taiwan's income tax is one of the lowest in the developed world, average folks pay something like 11% of their income a year in taxes (corperate tax isn't much higher either), but the other side of that is Taiwan's government is still running a deficite, though nothing crazy like some European country or even Japan, it's obviously not the greatest trend. and there's enough hidden debt in there to make you worry (like the fact that both the nationalized power and water and rail companise are running very significant deficits. but charges insanely low fees for their service. the same could be said to a lesser extend of the public healthcare)
These problems if left untouched probably won't blowup for another couple decades, but it would be much wiser to start addressing the issue now instead of waiting for our Greek debt moment. Ma's starting some things like more wide ranging luxury tax, other things that need to be addressed is really to try and minimize free-rider / abuser of the health-care system and make the energy / water price more inline with it's actual cost of production. Despite being an island that rains a ton Taiwan actually have pretty bad water resoruce (high population density combined with very short rivers would do that) . Rail is another tricky issue, as it's already got so many retired employee (dating back from the Japanese era!) that it's already a pretty big strain on their bottom line. A lot of the more traditional restaurants (usually food stands that was very successful and made big, there's many hundreds of those in Taiwan if not thousands) are also finally obliged to pay taxes (small food stand and peddlers don't need to pay any tax. not even income since there's no way of tracking their income) And they're tackling some big fish tax dodgers which is good.
Taiwan's got enough of a good mix of relatively low price / not insane enviornmental regulation / low taxes / generally rather competent and hard working labor / a much less corrupt and firm rule of law etc that still makes it attractive, but obviously a lot of the lower end manufacturing have loong ago been moved to China, Taiwan's kinda stuck in the middle of the road right now so to speak, it's not poor enough to make low end manufacturing viable but also still lack enough very high end sectors . Unemployment has hovered around 5% lately which obviously by Western Standard would be a cause to throw parties but for Taiwan that's about the highest it's been in awhile. (not counting the peak of recession cycles).
Ma has done a good thing by virtuely ressurecting Taiwan's long dead domestic tourism by opening up mainland tourist and actively marketing Taiwan abroad. Taiwan's biggest boom sector over the last couple years basically tourism, though that is good, it's obviously not something you can live off completely. He still need to solve some of the other long standing issues, Taiwan's most famous for it's high tech manufacturing sector but that's actually doing a lot worse than most folks realize right now for one...
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Schumacher
Senior Member
In a desperate bid to crush the Occupy movement, the number of arrested in the massive and violent crackdown has risen to 400.
Occupy Oakland: Cops bend law in brutal arrest wave
Published: 30 January, 2012, 18:57
Edited: 31 January, 2012, 05:42
Was police provocation behind the stand-off between law enforcers and Occupy protesters in Oakland, where over 400 people were detained on Saturday night? Witnesses insist no order to disperse preceded the mass arrests.
*The peaceful rally last Saturday turned into a violent clash, with protesters throwing stones at police and officers answering with tear gas grenades. In the end, law enforcement brutally beat the rioters, with over 400 arrested, on charges of disobeying commands to disperse and vandalism.
On Sunday, Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland was petrified to see the results of the assault on City Hall. Everything made of glass was smashed, documents spilled over the filthy floors, and graffiti covered the walls of the Hall. Reportedly, a US national flag had been burnt.
“Stop using Oakland as a playground,” the Mayor called on the activists, condemning the movement's tactics as “a constant provocation of the police with a lot of violence toward them.”
Demonstrations have already cost the city in already grave financial circumstances another $5 million.
The mayor said now the Occupy movement members have no excuse for their behavior.
After the arrests, Occupy Oakland accused police of unlawful actions because the protesters were not given an opportunity to disperse. In turn, police say the people that gathered in front of City Hall did so with “the intent of unlawfully entering” the Mayor’s office.
So goes the official version of events.
But reading the reports of those who were actually there, and getting into details of that violent night portrays a more complicated picture than that of reckless protesters and law-keeping police.
Witnesses say the violent assault on City Hall never actually happened. Protesters simply entered the building after massive arrests police made when the activists failed to occupy an abandoned building.
“I do not know how, but they opened the front door to [the] City Hall and occupied the building. Opened, as in no window smashing. The move was not meant to be an occupation but more of a show of solidarity to the 300 arrested protesters down the street,” says user baked420 who shared his experience on the US social network Reddit.
The whole action on Saturday started as an attempt to “move-in” to a large abandoned building and turn it into a political and social center to coordinate the Occupy movement, Sara Flounders told RT. With Occupy encampments banned across the country, the activists just do not have a place to convene, while the initiative has never stopped growing.
The police had circled the building meant for occupation before activists arrived. But after several fences were taken down in anger and tear gas smoked, only a few arrests were made.
The 400+ detentions were still to take place an hour later, as the activists streamed their march into other parts of Oakland. At that point, police simply stopped the march, declared it “unlawful assembly” and arrested those they chose, without giving any loud warning to disperse or actually offering any exit route.
“Tonight's mass arrest occurred without a dispersal order. No law was broken. The only order given was: "You are under arrest. Submit to your arrest," writes baked420.
Doubts arise about how lawful this mass arrest is: police detained hundreds of people for the actions of several dozen, away from the actual scene and at a different time. Nevertheless, those arrested were charged under CA Penal Code 409 that deals with misdemeanor and riots.
In this light, police actions should be considered in regard to the First Amendment, which provides the right to peaceful assembly, point out the activists.
“Contrary to their own policy, the Oakland Police Department [OPD] gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class-action lawsuit against the OPD,” says a release from the group.
*Robert Wohl from the Occupy DC action team told RT that it is shocking and “horrifying to see what is coming out of Oakland but it is hardly surprising.”
“I think you have to recognize the specifics of the Oakland police department,” he said. “They are known as one of the most violent and repressive in the country. They’ve murdered people, they’ve been using violent means on the protesters from the beginning there. Oakland has become a flashpoint because I think it has exposed how militarized American police have become in recent years.”
Occupy Oakland: Cops bend law in brutal arrest wave
Published: 30 January, 2012, 18:57
Edited: 31 January, 2012, 05:42
Was police provocation behind the stand-off between law enforcers and Occupy protesters in Oakland, where over 400 people were detained on Saturday night? Witnesses insist no order to disperse preceded the mass arrests.
*The peaceful rally last Saturday turned into a violent clash, with protesters throwing stones at police and officers answering with tear gas grenades. In the end, law enforcement brutally beat the rioters, with over 400 arrested, on charges of disobeying commands to disperse and vandalism.
On Sunday, Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland was petrified to see the results of the assault on City Hall. Everything made of glass was smashed, documents spilled over the filthy floors, and graffiti covered the walls of the Hall. Reportedly, a US national flag had been burnt.
“Stop using Oakland as a playground,” the Mayor called on the activists, condemning the movement's tactics as “a constant provocation of the police with a lot of violence toward them.”
Demonstrations have already cost the city in already grave financial circumstances another $5 million.
The mayor said now the Occupy movement members have no excuse for their behavior.
After the arrests, Occupy Oakland accused police of unlawful actions because the protesters were not given an opportunity to disperse. In turn, police say the people that gathered in front of City Hall did so with “the intent of unlawfully entering” the Mayor’s office.
So goes the official version of events.
But reading the reports of those who were actually there, and getting into details of that violent night portrays a more complicated picture than that of reckless protesters and law-keeping police.
Witnesses say the violent assault on City Hall never actually happened. Protesters simply entered the building after massive arrests police made when the activists failed to occupy an abandoned building.
“I do not know how, but they opened the front door to [the] City Hall and occupied the building. Opened, as in no window smashing. The move was not meant to be an occupation but more of a show of solidarity to the 300 arrested protesters down the street,” says user baked420 who shared his experience on the US social network Reddit.
The whole action on Saturday started as an attempt to “move-in” to a large abandoned building and turn it into a political and social center to coordinate the Occupy movement, Sara Flounders told RT. With Occupy encampments banned across the country, the activists just do not have a place to convene, while the initiative has never stopped growing.
The police had circled the building meant for occupation before activists arrived. But after several fences were taken down in anger and tear gas smoked, only a few arrests were made.
The 400+ detentions were still to take place an hour later, as the activists streamed their march into other parts of Oakland. At that point, police simply stopped the march, declared it “unlawful assembly” and arrested those they chose, without giving any loud warning to disperse or actually offering any exit route.
“Tonight's mass arrest occurred without a dispersal order. No law was broken. The only order given was: "You are under arrest. Submit to your arrest," writes baked420.
Doubts arise about how lawful this mass arrest is: police detained hundreds of people for the actions of several dozen, away from the actual scene and at a different time. Nevertheless, those arrested were charged under CA Penal Code 409 that deals with misdemeanor and riots.
In this light, police actions should be considered in regard to the First Amendment, which provides the right to peaceful assembly, point out the activists.
“Contrary to their own policy, the Oakland Police Department [OPD] gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class-action lawsuit against the OPD,” says a release from the group.
*Robert Wohl from the Occupy DC action team told RT that it is shocking and “horrifying to see what is coming out of Oakland but it is hardly surprising.”
“I think you have to recognize the specifics of the Oakland police department,” he said. “They are known as one of the most violent and repressive in the country. They’ve murdered people, they’ve been using violent means on the protesters from the beginning there. Oakland has become a flashpoint because I think it has exposed how militarized American police have become in recent years.”
Schumacher, you are certainly are entitled to your opinion.
The occupy folks are in violation of the law and need to be removed.Period. Those hippies want people that have worked hard for their money to fork over a portion to them and others.
The source of that news article is so far to the left they fell off the table.
Not many people in the US think that the police is militarized. I live here..trust me on this..
...and I modified the rules about bold print and font size yesterday. You need to read them. Thank you.
Here's a more moderate account of what happened.
The occupy folks are in violation of the law and need to be removed.Period. Those hippies want people that have worked hard for their money to fork over a portion to them and others.
The source of that news article is so far to the left they fell off the table.
Not many people in the US think that the police is militarized. I live here..trust me on this..
...and I modified the rules about bold print and font size yesterday. You need to read them. Thank you.
Here's a more moderate account of what happened.
Red___Sword
Junior Member
In a black humor way, the crap hit the fan, and it spreads fast... and before we notice it, the crisis team deal with it.
中新网2月1日电 综合消息，1月31日，25名中国人在埃及西奈半岛阿里什地区被当地人扣留。事件发生后，外交部启动应急机制，中国驻埃及使馆也向埃方紧急交涉。
中国驻埃及大使馆官员2月1日凌晨告诉新华社记者，被埃及当地人扣留的25名中国工人已经被释放。
中国驻埃及大使馆31日证实，当天上午，一伙贝都因人在24名中国工人和一名翻译乘车返回一中国公司承包水泥厂建设项目工地途中将他们扣留，以此要求埃及政府释放其被关押的家人。
事件发生后，中国外交部迅速启动应急机制，杨洁篪等做出工作部署。中国驻埃及大使馆迅速向埃方紧急交涉，要求埃方采取一切必要措施，确保被扣中方人员安全，尽快使他们获释，同时加强对在埃中方人员及企业的安全保护。驻埃及使馆工作组前往现场开展工作。
据了解，此次扣留事件缘于当地部落和政府冲突，实施劫持者以“释放这些工人”为条件要求“政府释放被逮捕的部族成员。”
In simple word: Jan 31st, a bus full of Chinese workers on their way to worksite has been abducted by a group of armed people, at Egypt! 24 Chinese worker plus 1 translator (whom by the news, is also Chinese national). The most black humor part is these armed group are some locals whom at odds with current Egyptian government, and they think (maybe "inspired" by the news 2 days ago at Sudan) took Chinese workers as hostage is a good way to have some barging chips with Egyptian government to talk their way through.
Chinese diplomatic crisis team responsed like a blink of eyes, by pushing all the strings, today, Feb 1st, all the abducted Chinese people are now released.
OK, this world is certified to be a crazy place these days! Hot damn! Chinese people are now the hottest human shield of some twisted political petition of "unfairly treated tribe people"! See how the local government nod head to their request as long as they took Chinese hostages? Let's do it too! Yeah the Chinese came here help us building houses, hospitals and roads - for the first time for many people, but never mind let's abduct them, we will have an even faster shortcut to our good life in future! See the Egyptians got their request satisfied in one day!...
The Sudan case is exactly the "template", they demand some in depth talk with local government, took Chinese workers while (good enough to) promise no harm intented, got the attention, got an upper hand in any other negotiation... and they(29 Chinese people) have not been released yet.
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I understand that there is now not enough money to maintain the highway system. I well remember that failed bridge in was it Minneapolis? when several car drivers died a few years ago. Providing for this kind of trouble where fog and/or smoke can endanger the traffic is an extra cost. But letting car drivers pay for safer roads by for example a tax on fuel would for the country as a whole be a saving because of the reduction in accidents. And getting home is surely more important than paying that tax.
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