World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[jackliu]

maybe the US should block COSCO from using the former Long Beach Naval shipyard as their base in the US??



the majority foreign imports to the US has some sort of tariff placed on said import no matter what country the import is from..

This is true, but one thing you can't argue, when it come to Chinese, they get special treatment than anyone else.

People complain about the trade deficit, but yet, they are restricting Chinese investments into US to make it even worse. This dual use restriction on Chinese export is getting ridiculous, because US is the ONLY nation that does that to China, when China can't buy from US, they get everything they need from Europe.

If you check the trade statistic, China export almost the same amount of trade to Europe as to US, but Europe's export to China is FAR more than US's export to China.

It has gotten to the point China getting all of it is need in Europe and they were able to develop their own industry to produce the same thing, and are actually selling the same item back to US company for cheaper price, and still US is not allowed to export to China. However the company that exported it China in the first place still stay in business, because they use the profit to developed even better products.

When you cutting yourself off from the world's 2nd largest market, you are NOT sanctioning them, you are sanctioning yourself.

 

[plawolf]

Indeed, it really is a wonder how so few Americans are questioning whether their 'sanctions' on China is really a good idea at all.

If America stops it's companies from selling to China the only things the Chinese are interested in, how the heck can you not expect to have a massive trade deficit with China? Part of the reason Germany has such a big trade surplus is because they are selling stuff to China that American companies will not.

The only rational explanation for such an irrational act is that America and Americans see China as a threat and enemy, and the embargo on high tech equipment is aimed primarily at slowing China's advancement and development rather than based on any high minded notion of human rights or whatever the flavor of the month reason to bash China is.

Throughout it's short history, America has usually been the underdog, and that is firmly engrained in the American identity. Just look at American films and TV series, it is invariably about the 'little guys' facing down impossible odds and hardships to triumph and flourish in the face of adversity. This is by no means an uniquely American ideal, but Americans seem to embrace it more than most.

But that has it's problems, the biggest amongst them are that Americans do not know how to behave when they are the top dog, and the very militaristic nature of American society that makes them almost instinctive need to seek out an adversary to unite them and give them purpose and direction.

When you are the underdog, the plucky resilience and unashamed loyalty towards their countrymen that Americans pride themselves on are admirable and endearing. But when you are the top dog, the same behavior has the distinctly unpleasant bite of pettiness and privileged bias that most people will instinctively find distasteful. But the most dangerous and destructive of America's tendencies is the almost instinctive need to find a common foe to resist, and to invent one if there is none readily at hand.

Americans might think they are making some clear distinction between the Chinese government and the Chinese people when they use China as a political punching bag to score cheap points off of, but the Chinese people are unconvinced by such nuances, as there doesn't feel like much of a distinction exists when you are on the receiving end of such rough treatment, and especially when it goes beyond mere words and empty gestures and become real action, like politically motivated Sub Committee findings and WTO complaints.

Treat China as your enemy long enough, and that will become a self-fulling prophecy, and if such a day comes, we can all weep for the future.

 

[bladerunner]

Europe does not supply China all it wants as it still maintains an arms embargo.

 

[Quickie]

I wonder if China would start to reduce its holding in the U.S. dollar reserves since there's no point of having too much of a currency that has restriction in its use.

 

[bladerunner]

I wonder if China would start to reduce its holding in the U.S. dollar reserves since there's no point of having too much of a currency that has restriction in its use.

On a percentage basis China has purchased less U.S.debt than previous years.Depending on what one reads and when, Japan nearly overtook China as the biggest individual holder of U.S. debt at one stage last year.

 

[Equation]

On a percentage basis China has purchased less U.S.debt than previous years.Depending on what one reads and when Japan nearly overtook China as the biggest individual holder of U.S. debt at one stage.

True, but Japan doesn't hold that many EU debt compare to China.

 

[AssassinsMace]

If you listen to Paul Krugman of the New York Times China doesn't own as many government bonds as the American people do. That means Robert J Samuelson of the Washington Post wrongfully blamed China for making interest rates low by buying US debt thus causing the housing collapse and the 2008 financial crisis. What they fear is if China sells off, that would cause a panic because they believe China does own the most US bonds and everyone else would sell just so they don't lose from the devaluation and collapse of the dollar.

The American people knowingly believe in a lie that made in China means profited by China. They know Apple is not a Chinese company even though their products have a made in China label. But they do want to believe China makes off with all the profits from those outsourced products from their own corporations because it's more important to blame someone else instead of ruining the romaticism that Americans including corporate CEOs are honorable and good and wouldn't do bad things. In this day and age of the victim culture, people want to be labelled a victim. It's much more important to believe they're a victim of China than going around as the people with all the power in the world. Donald Trump knows this which is why he can have his signature line of Donald Trump products all made in China and then blame China because he didn't choose to make it in the US. He wants to make himself out to be a victim too. It's called taking responsibility for one's own actions. Want to stop outsourcing? Congress can just pass a law. It's as simple as that. Look at how many politicians are supposedly against outsourcing yet they don't do a thing except blame it on someone else. Instead of just simply going from point A to point B, Americans want China to price itself out for them so that outsourcing is not profitable for their own American corporations. But what happens when China prices itself out. Those jobs just goes to the next to low-wage country. They say their criticism of China isn't about hating the Chinese. It is when they go out of their way to blame China for something their own politicians and corporations can stop on their own. They could bring up China has a gun pointed to their heads. But then that's an act of war and you don't them massing troops ready to punish the bad guy.

It's so imporatant for them to have China turn into a democracy. Look at Obama and Romney both vying on who more vilifies China. Obama's been in office for nearly four years. Has he done anything except superficial slaps on China's face? He has the power to not to have any relations with China. The American people believe they don't need China. Who in Congress has pulled the trigger on China? Romney has made money from the outsourcing of jobs to China. His biggest donor is making all his money during this recession from owning casinos in Macau. So what's all this blame China for eveything when they haven't or will not do anything in spite of their anti-China rhetoric? And they think China watching this democratic process having to lie about their relations with China makes democracy look peachy? The premier democracy on the planet has to lie to the voter to get elected. Do you think they care how they make democracy look? Which begs the question... Do they really care about democracy in China? If American politicians and corporations think they can so easily manipulate free thinking educated Americans, they must think it'll be even more easy manipulating the Chinese automaton in a democracy. And they wonder why Beijing is so resistant to democracy.

 

[bladerunner]

Car buyers worldwide love the high-tech look of white [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

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[Pittsburgh%20Post-Gazette]||docSource||Knight%20Ridder/Tribune||provider||ACQUIREMEDIA||bridgesymbol||US;AAPL&ticker=AAPL

White is once again tops among car colors.

In its annual study of automotive color trends worldwide, PPG Industries found white was the most popular shade for vehicles overall, though silver tied with white for the top car color in Asia.

White symbolizes new, fresh technology, and that's something consumers crave, said Jane Harrington, manager of color styling for PPG's automotive coatings business based in Troy, Mich.

Just look to tech darling Apple for proof, she said. "They introduce all their new products in white. That has had a positive impact in how consumers view them."

While white ranked first as the color on 22 percent of vehicles worldwide, silver came in second with 20 percent, followed by black, 19 percent; gray, 12 percent; red, 9 percent; natural, 8 percent; blue, 7 percent; green, 2 percent; and others, 1 percent. The ranking varies slightly in North America.

PPG based the survey on data supplied by automakers.

Car colors are big business for the Downtown-based coatings, glass and chemicals maker. Its automotive coatings segment is part of the industrial coatings unit, which reported $4.1 billion in sales last year. Automotive coatings account for about half of the segment, or roughly $2 billion.

With the auto industry experiencing a healthy recovery since the economy crashed in 2008, PPG is enjoying the ride.

"We're growing much faster than the market and expect to grow faster for the next two years," said Cynthia Niekamp, senior vice president, automotive coatings. "From 2008 to 2010 were very difficult years in North America in particular. Since that time, North American production has bounced back and PPG's business has bounced back totally."

Last week, automakers said they expected September sales to top 1.1 million vehicles, up 11 percent from September 2011. For the year, analysts are forecasting sales of about 14 million, up from just under 13 million last year.

In 2009, auto sales dipped to a 30-year low of 10.4 million.

Besides robust sales at U.S. carmakers -- including General Motors and Chrysler, which restructured following government bailouts -- PPG's auto coatings business is getting a boost from foreign companies that are building assembly plants in North America, said Ms. Niekamp.

It has also benefited from strong growth in China, Korea, Brazil and India where it operates joint coatings ventures.

But, "We're finding business tougher in Europe" where the overall economy is weak, she said.

While the Asia-Pacific region turned out more silver vehicles than elsewhere in the world (23 percent compared with 16 percent in North America and 13 percent in Europe), it also produced more cars in natural colors (10 percent versus 7 percent in North America and 7 percent in Europe).

Natural includes shades of brown and orange, hues that are increasingly showing up in interior design and fashion "and are starting to emerge globally," said Ms. Harrington.

Don't discount blue and green, though. Pastel versions of those colors are popular for hybrid vehicles, said Ms. Niekamp. "Those customers are looking to project a certain image to be consistent with the brand. You'll see white as well, but pastel blue and metallic pastel green can portray nature and water."

"it also produced more cars in natural colors"

Maybe I can use that as an excuse to explain away the rusty/primer look to a prospective buyer of my 20yr old old Toyota. Its the latest craze in paint jobs

 

[bladerunner]

It might have been "The Day of the Triffids " scenario

Draconid Meteor Shower peaks tonight

Anyone in Clveland see the Meteor shower?

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After over a week-long lead-up, today is finally the peak of the Draconid Meteor Shower, which means that tonight, more so than any before or after, should offer the most meteors streaking through the sky. The best opportunity to view will be in the predawn hours.

Every year from early to mid October, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk shed by Comet Giacobini-Zinner, reaching the deepest concentration of debris tonight. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see something in the number of 15 meteors per hour. The reason the meteors are called Draconids is because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Draco.

So how about viewing tips?

First, plan to stay out a while, as it takes the human eye about 15 minutes to get optimal night vision capability. The bad news is that, even one bright flash of white light will wipe out night vision, requiring you to start the process all over again. Next, grab a lawn chair or, even better, a lounge-type chair. Trying to lean back with a straight-back lawn chair can be a pain in the neck, literally! Eyes ready for dark and with something to sit/lay on, settle in for a night of hopeful meteor watching (or at the very least, stargazing), just try not to fall asleep and don't forget to dress warmly and bring the bug spray! As a last bit of wisdom, don't forget to bring a coat as the Cleveland area weather forecasts are predicting lows around 50 degrees in the upcoming nights.

Besides meteors, tonight can be a great time for binocular viewing, owing to your use of a chair. Under suburban (maybe) or rural skies (definitely), a pair of medium power (10x50) binoculars can yield some stunning wide-angle sights. For someone truly dedicated, why not try and keep a tally of how many meteors you see for every complete hour? Really ambitious? Why not try photographing the meteors?

The best time to view the shower is in the predawn hours of the morning as Draco is at its highest at this time.

Two things can ruin the meteor shower: clouds and the Moon. The clouds? Well, that's a regional thing. Check your local weather forecast. As for the Moon, that's an Earth-wide issue. The bad news here is that, this year, the Moon is near Third Quarter, which means that it will be bright enough to out-shine some of the meteors. Unfortunately, thanks to celestial geometry, this means that the Moon will be up when Draco is at its highest. On the other hand, the Moon could be full, so try and think of the Moon as half dark rather than half full.

 

[bladerunner]

Kazakhstan robots competed in China

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A team of Kazakhstan students from the International IT University recently returned to Kazakhstan from the 11th ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest 2012 that was held in Hong Kong among Asia Pacific countries, Tengrinews.kz reports referring to Nurlan Karimzhan, senior lecturer of the University.

It was the first time Kazakhstan took part in the contest. Kazakhstan's national team consisted of three students of the IT University. They were 1st-year student Shyngys Sakipkerey and two 3rd-year students Galymzhan Mussagaliyev and Rassulzhan Poltayev. The participants designed and constructed their robots themselves. They spent about $3,500 on each robot. The University funded their work. It took the students about two months to construct each of the robots. They were done specially for the contest and are not meant for any further usage.

According to the rules of the contest, every team had to fulfill several tasks, using their robotic inventions. The rules of the contest were based on a famous Cheung Chau Bun Festival (a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong). The participants had to overcome obstacles riding their robots and drive the robots down a highway. Then they had to purchase tokens and drop the tokens into a special machine. Then the robot took a special basket and gave it to another robot, a carrier-robot, that took the basket up a mountain. Then the third robot gathered the buns with its pincers.

The robots had to do all this in three minutes. Chinese team was the fastest; they fulfilled the tasks in 45 seconds. Kazakhstan-made robot failed to pass through all the stages. However, according to Karimzhan, Kazakhstan students got a huge experience at the contest. The competition has inspired them to continue their work in this field and develop their skills further.

Damir Abdukhaliuly, rector of the university, said that the students experienced some problems during their project. First of all it was the lack of the required parts.”It is impossible to purchase all the necessary parts. We had to order them from the United States or from China. Usually it took a lot of time to get these parts delivered and sometimes they sent us the wrong parts that were different from what we asked for. There are no conditions for development of this area of engineering in Kazakhstan,” Abdukhaliuly said.

The rector also said that the university was going to organize a similar contest in Kazakhstan next yer. This competition will gather all Kazakhstan inventors at one site. “IT industry is 50% robotics nowadays. We won’t be able to do without it. All we do here in Kazakhstan is write codes. We could write millions of codes, but we won’t be able to outrun China and India, at least in the near future. One code costs one dollar in China, whereas our workforce are much more expensive,” Abdukhaliuly explained. According to him a lot of Kazakhstan enterprises continue working using old methods, and they might be interested in new Kazakhstan-made robots.

For more information see:

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