Does not compute

Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests — Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days).

Anyone think this is right? I am not even considering cram schools...

Also, I would figure the biggest obstacle to a longer school year is not the students but the teachers and their unions.

Why do we trade?

China launches probe into imports of US chicken

BEIJING — China on Sunday started investigating complaints that American chicken products are being dumped in China and are unfairly benefiting from subsidies, adding to a string of trade disputes with Washington.

Well, obviously, the USA is dumping chicken feet into the Chinese market at below cost. That's because American consumers don't put much value into chicken feet while Chinese consumers do. Thus USA chicken farmers have an abundance of chicken feet that they used to throw away (or make into hot dogs) and now they get shipped to China as a delicacy.

But Chinese chicken farmers had been selling chicken feet as a delicacy for years at higher prices, and must be upset that the prices is now going down with a flood of US imports.

You'd think the Chinese would figure out that you could substitute "abundance of cheap labor" for "unwanted chicken feet" and decide discretion is the better part of valor/creating an economy based on exporting manufactured goods.

On a more interesting note, I wonder if China now consumes more chicken feet than chicken bodies?

Maybe there are ghost chickens roaming the Tyson plants in Arkansas that can never go to heaven because their feet are in China?*

allusion to Chinese eunuchs keeping their penis' in a jar, much as a married man lets his wife keep his....

Chen Wants a Piece of Obama

Of course you can leave prison, travel to Washington, and testify in an american court. Link to China Post article in the title.prison sentence article

Late nite

Gonna miss u Michael J.
But we still got OJ:)



13

Saturday thoughts

First off, congrats to tech for keeping it within two scores last night. A mighty improvement on past trips to Austin. Now for some reflections:

1. Texas is not near as good as I anticipated. McCoy spent too much time listening to how great he is this past summer and not enough time practicing it appears.

2. Jhole has graciously listed several southern states running on E.S.T. While that's all well and good, the fact that John partakes in liberal east coast elitism by giving us times on the east coast when nobody who reads this blog lives in that particular time zone is surprising given his obsession with Fox "News." I wasn't aware the internet had made it to South Carolina yet. My bad.

3. I didn't say I was going to kick Paul's ass, I said he was off the friend list. I mean really, what joy is there in whipping up on an asthmatic Indian from Canukistan who calls himself Pokey? It's like taking money from a drunk Texan in Iron Cross. Wait, that's fun. Nevermind the analogy.

4. It appears the Twins are trying to give us at least one decent divisional race. Thank god, because this baseball season has been extremely lame. So lame that mid market owners are scaling back payroll for next year, meaning the somewhat sense of parity we have had over the past few years is going to be shot. Teams like Houston, Seattle, and San Diego which have been decent over that period of time are cutting payroll, citing poor attendance. Hmmm, you mean sucky teams draw worse? I have an idea, let's make our team more sucky and then blame the fans for not coming!

5. Fall has finally reached the Northwest. Birch trees are yellow, Maples are red, the tamaracks are copper and for the first time since I've been back, I'm not entirely prepared for what comes after fall. Ugh.

6. Going to rob some bees of their honey today. Haven't done that for a while...

7. Special shout to Dean's Spiders. At 3-0 with wins over Duke (an FBS team) and Delaware (a perennial contender in the FCS), the champs are rolling. The Griz are also 3-0, but haven't played much of anybody (but they did whip Jerry Glanville's Portland State squad yesterday!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_9UTvESBIc

Guns are Up in Taiwan!

Front row: My colleague Paul, me, my colleague Andre

Back row: the Generalissimo CKS Teasipper, UT class of 1907

Texas Tech vs. Texas, 8:00pm Saturday

下 一 項

This was sent to me from my mother. It's a promo for Texas Technological College from 1947. Not positive, but the homecoming parade might have a bit of insensitivity towards others displayed.

Commodity Prices & Pig Farmers

Pig farmers in southern China are stockpiling copper and zinc to the tune of tens of thousands of metric tons, in speculation of higher prices going forward.

No word on whether copper miners are purchasing frozen pork bellies.

Transporter 9

Movin.. movin... movin....
Keep em moving............





Cockroach?

The Tonka XXI issue, vol 20

Beach Tonka.......




col.

S W A S h a n t o u

Did You Know?

• SWA has 70 flights departing per week for short haul destinations.
• There are over 11 international flights per week from SWA.
• The longest flight from SWA is 1,242 miles.
• There are over 116 domestic flights per week from SWA.
• The largest aircraft flying out of SWA is a 737 with 180 seats.
• There are over 18 long haul flights per week from SWA.
• The shortest flight out of SWA is 197 miles.
• There are 10 flights per week flying on small aircraft from SWA.

Staggering....





FM

Unemployment in China

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEDFgJACMcQ

But how many are funemployed?