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 . '/' . substr('0547678592',-6,3) . '/' . '0547678592' . '.jpg'; ?>)
By Sebastian Seung
$10.17
 . '/' . substr('9781611860177',-6,3) . '/' . '9781611860177' . '.jpg'; ?>)
By William F. Gavin
$19
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The U.S. and North Korea may meet for a second and possibly even a third round of talks following a surprise meeting. The White House had steadfastly refused to give in to Pyongyang’s desire for direct discussions outside of the six-party talks, but the recent rendezvous between the two countries suggests there may be more flexibility in Washington these days.
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washingtonpost.com
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When Qin Zhongfei took 10 minutes to scribble down a satirical poem about local bureaucrats, he had no idea it would land him a month in jail—a sign that free expression still languishes in China, despite hopes that President Hu Jintao’s economic reforms would translate to a more open society.
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jwharrison.com
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The United States has the largest prison population in the world, with 2.2 million people in prison and 7 million in prison, on probation or on parole. China, which has about a billion more people than the U.S., has only 1.5 million prisoners.
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warc.jalb.de
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A new report by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group criticizes the international lending organization for failing to alleviate global poverty with programs that focus too single-mindedly on growth. The bank estimates that 1.1 billion people subsisted on less than $1 per day in 2001. (h/t: Common Dreams)
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un.int
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The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions against North Korea in light of its recent nuclear test. Though financial and military aid is restricted, the sanctions do not allow for military action, and skeptics question how effectively the rules will be enforced.
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flickr/Rivard
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In the face of vast poverty and exploitation, the Chinese government is about to enact a labor law that would strengthen the role of unions and protections for workers. But American corporations, eager to maintain their fiefdoms in the middle kingdom, have lobbied fiercely against the proposed legislation.
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Illustration by Peter Scheer
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An Apple Computer audit of labor conditions at an iPod factory in China uncovered employees working longer hours than permitted by its code of conduct. Auditors also said that workers earned ?at least the local minimum wage?—whatever that may be in Longhua, China.
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By Robert Scheer — In the midst of a Middle Eastern crisis that threatens to destabilize the entire region and perhaps beyond, it was unnerving that what most seemed to interest President Bush at the G8 summit is that China is a long flight from western Russia.
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From the BBC
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Every year, 1.5 million Chinese women attempt to take their own lives—and 150,000 succeed. Experts say that 70% to 80% of the suicide attempts have to do with husband-wife issues; in a society of arranged marriages, women frequently have next to no power.
Posted on Jun 20, 2006
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From MacWorld
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The Mail on Sunday publishes an exposé on the conditions endured by iPod assemblers in China. Says a female worker: “We have to work too hard and I am always tired. It’s like being in the army. They make us stand still for hours. If we move, we are punished by being made to stand still for longer.”
Salon link (reg req’d)
Summary of article
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AP
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The five media heavies who shamelessly promoted the government’s lies about the Los Alamos scientist chose to settle today rather than reveal their government sources.
Lee was savaged by a media fueled by government rumors that he was spying for China, an accusation he was never officially charged with. Lee was imprisoned in solitary confinement for nine months in 1999-2000 and ultimately received an apology from the judge who heard his case. Truthdig says: The media was not defending freedom of the press but their own right to operate as a megaphone for government agents with an agenda to slander an American citizen. The media went to bat for government agents who broke the law. When will those agents be held accountable? Read Robert Scheer’s extensive coverage of the Wen Ho Lee case.
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Amid China’s explosive market-driven growth over the past decade, it’s sometimes hard to remember that it is technically a communist country. A dispute over property rights has brought the issue to the fore.
Truthdig’s Orville Schell examined this schism here.
Posted on Mar 12, 2006
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Kevork Djansezian / AP
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Government television cut out Lee’s mention of gays and lesbians as well as his thank you to China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Homophobia is alive and well in Communist China. Maybe the Christian right should move there.
Posted on Mar 7, 2006
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Ken Catalino
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By Robert Scheer — It’s the season’s big hit, a zany farce with pompous officials in the Bush administration and their hysterical courtiers in the mass media asserting positions that are patently absurd but hilarious to watch.
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Note to the Arizona senator: it’s not saying much to claim that a country is “freer than China.” As ThinkProgress reckons it, only about seven countries in the world are less free than China.
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From moviereporter.net
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China is set to plumb Iranian oil fields in a $100-billion deal, complicating U.S. efforts to isolate Tehran and providing Iran more money to pursue its nuclear ambitions.
Can someone please call Stephen Gaghan to figure this one out for us? Or maybe this is a case for Truthdig’s Orville Schell, who knows a thing or two about China?
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A soon-to-be-unveiled map may prove that an admiral made it to America in 1418. | story
Posted on Jan 12, 2006
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China wants to raise the number of foreigners studying Mandarin to 100 million by 2010. | story
So-called Confucius Institutes are popping up all over the world to teach the language. | story
Posted on Jan 11, 2006
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Greenland’s Great Melt Is Pinned On Climate Change
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