News Stories

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by MakubeX2

So, your take is that the girls sre treating sex as something of recreational activity.

Not just girls, but also boys.

Originally Posted by MakubeX2

But what are your views about them engaging in sexual exchange way before their time ? It might not be something new, ancient even, but it is getting much more common of late.

Well.... depending on how you look at it, it's more of returning to old times. Having sex while "young" is a relatively modern thing, starting from the Industrial Revolution. But that's not the point: The real problem is that sex is becoming cheap.

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Napolitano to hear air security tips in Israel
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70107R20110102

I don't know if it's a good new or not...

its good news if you like having good airport security.
its bad news if you like having bad airport security.

[ganbaru]

Iran says shot down two unmanned western spy planes in Gulf
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1855452/

... “Many spy planes and advanced planes of our enemies have been shot down (by our forces) ... We have also shot down two spy planes in the Persian Gulf,” said commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh. “But it is the first time we are announcing it“. ...

Not sure if we should belive them on this one...

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Iran says shot down two unmanned western spy planes in Gulf
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1855452/

Not sure if we should belive them on this one...

More likely they shot down their own drones. That has happened quite a few times before.

[ganbaru]

Strong 7.1 magnitude quake hits Chile, no injuries
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70116J20110103

[Ithekro]

If I recall correctly sometime around the 1989 Earthquake in California a few new buildings in Chile were build to California earthquake standards (because the company that was contracted was from California) and after an earthquake, all the old buildings were heavily damaged, but the new building was untouched. After that Chilean building codes started to build to California standards.

No injuries indicates to me that it works...when contractors don't cut corners.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

No injuries indicates to me that it works...when contractors don't cut corners.

That had mostly been the case.

[MrTerrorist]

Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite dies aged 64

I remember him as the priest form Romeo + Juliet and the leader of the mercenary hunters from The Lost World. He will be missed.

Also:
The modern trials of the ancient Samaritans

[AnimeFan188]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite dies aged 64

I remember him as the priest form Romeo + Juliet and the leader of the mercenary hunters from The Lost World. He will be missed.

Also:
The modern trials of the ancient Samaritans

Another star has passed away:

‘Forbidden Planet’ Star Anne Francis Dies at Age 80:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...-francis-67688


RIP.

[AnimeFan188]

"The outrage of the young has erupted, sometimes violently, on the streets of
Greece and Italy in recent weeks, as students and more radical anarchists protest
not only specific austerity measures in flattened economies but a rising reality in
Southern Europe: People like Ms. Esposito feel increasingly shut out of their own
futures. Experts warn of volatility in state finances and the broader society as the
most highly educated generation in the history of the Mediterranean hits one of
its worst job markets."

See:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/wo...e&ref=homepage

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by MakubeX2

In regards to China's Reverse Engineering efforts, Japan was already partaking in it a century before in their efforts to industrialise and look where they stands now ? China is a huge place. Give the Chinese a generation or two and you'll get something revolutionary.

No need. They did it.

China boasts breakthrough in nuclear technology

(Reuters) - Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough in spent fuel reprocessing technology that could potentially solve China's uranium supply problem, state television reported on Monday.

The technology, developed and tested at the No.404 Factory of China National Nuclear Corp in the Gobi desert in remote Gansu province, enables the re-use of irradiated fuel and is able to boost the usage rate of uranium materials at nuclear plants by 60 folds.

"With the new technology, China's existing detected uranium resources can be used for 3,000 years," Chinese Central Television reported.

China, as well as France, the United Kingdom and Russia, actively supports reprocessing as a means for the management of highly radioactive spent fuel and as a source of fissile material for future nuclear fuel supply.

But independent scientists argued that commercial application of nuclear fuel reprocessing has always been hindered by cost, technology, proliferation risk and safety challenges.

China has 171,400 tons of proven uranium resources spread mainly in eight provinces -- Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Liaoning and Yunnan.

China is planning a massive push into nuclear power in an effort to wean itself off coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. It now has 12 working reactors with 10.15 gigawatt of total generating capacity.

China has set an official target of 40 gigawatts (GW) of installed nuclear generating capacity by 2020, but the government indicated it could double the goal to about 80 GW as faster expansion was one of the more feasible solutions for achieving emissions reduction goals.

As such, China will need to source more than 60 percent of the uranium needed for its nuclear power plants from overseas by 2020, even if the country moves forward with a modest nuclear expansion plan, Chinese researchers say.

[Hooves]

Sooo... China is now expanding its recourse usage of coal into nuclear technology now? They even boast about being able to double the use of it since they have such a wide-variety of uranium in their stocks? Or thats how I read this and thought.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Sooo... China is now expanding its recourse usage of coal into nuclear technology now? They even boast about being able to double the use of it since they have such a wide-variety of uranium in their stocks? Or thats how I read this and thought.

Well, I for one am glad that they are actually moving forward instead of just stealing people's technology and assuming their own (China's patent law follows a first-to-register system rather than a first-to-patent one), though I wish they'd put in some fucking effort to maintaining quality control for this one.

This isn't just some consumer product where you can ignore complaints and tell your customer to go fly a kite. These are NPPs, and it isn't funny when China suddenly announces that they have six times the number of Pripyats through their land than Russia.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Sooo... China is now expanding its recourse usage of coal into nuclear technology now? They even boast about being able to double the use of it since they have such a wide-variety of uranium in their stocks? Or thats how I read this and thought.

there was a article a few weeks back speculating how much coal China still has left underground.

While China's leaders are as far form democratic as it can get. One thing you can't say is is that the leadership doesn't do its homework. While Western democratic politicians are worry about getting elected, the Chinese leadership is making plans 10 years ahead, after they already left office.

fyi for anyone who doesn't know, China has a auto retire age at 60 for it is leaderships. The current premier is slated to retire in a few years once he reach 60.

[Circular Logic]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

there was a article a few weeks back speculating how much coal China still has left underground.

While China's leaders are as far form democratic as it can get. One thing you can't say is is that the leadership doesn't do its homework. While Western democratic politicians are worry about getting elected, the Chinese leadership is making plans 10 years ahead, after they already left office.

fyi for anyone who doesn't know, China has a auto retire age at 60 for it is leaderships. The current premier is slated to retire in a few years once he reach 60.

Doesn't mean they don't retain influence after they've retired though.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Circular Logic

Doesn't mean they don't retain influence after they've retired though.

true but as you can see form Iran, once you left office your influence is minimal, no matter how high you were. Still they are thinking long term value not short term profit which is going to be the death of western governments.

[Circular Logic]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

true but as you can see form Iran, once you left office your influence is minimal, no matter how high you were. Still they are thinking long term value not short term profit which is going to be the death of western governments.

That's what they said about the Japanese and look where they are today :x

[ZephyrLeanne]

Whatever the comparison, it must be noted that since 1945, Japan has effectively become the Asia-Pacific lackey of the US, adopting wholesale all the good and bad of US economic, social and everything else and only notionally adds its own touch to it and calls it its own. Especially where manga is concerned.

The Japanese economy, like the US economy is based on Japanese able to continually spend and a non-stop growth in spending. This drives inflation up and usually the most market sensitive purchase is property, since home loans interest rates are decided on not the DEMAND on property, but rather, the MARKET growth (for some reason).

Therefore, when the Japanese growth bubble burst, it had many similarities as that of the GFC. Many Japanese banks did not "fail" per se, but were gobbled up by larger, more solvent banks, and thus creating a sense of "stability", in the form of oligarchy - the keiretsu, (itself desecended from the zaibatsu - never itself purged fully by the US, once the Korean War started in 1950, as it realised that zaibatsu was itself anti-communist in nature), system which the post-war Japan economy depended on took advantage of the situation.

Financial arms of the keitretsu worked together to create a cartel and send interest rates soaring, and thus driving Japanese people out of the rural area (due to the increasing cost of loans since small lenders were effectively GONE, or taken over by one of the big banks), and into Tokyo, where even higher interest rates squeezed people into capsule dorms and the like.

This is what the US will be looking at, if they DO elect a Republican, who will cut AS MUCH social security to AS MANY people as they can, while resisting any tax on oil (in contrast, China, Singapore and Brazil - on non-ethanol-blended fuels, happily tax oil like no-one's business), or the oil corporations, as well as denying microlenders the ability to set up shop. Which is what Japan went thru, under the 40 years of LDP (itself on the right) administration beofre being overthrown last decade by the DPJ (on the left).

On the other hand, if they elect a Democrat, debt will rise, and QE3 will be a reality. But the simple way would be to do a Sweden: have a comprehensive social coverage for all citizens, and people will be more likely to pay more income tax if they know what they're paying for.

However, I can only see this happening in JUST 4 states: Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington, as these are the most solidly Blue states yet, and though California is deep in debt, it IS repayable, if inner CA does actually get to technologizing its farms and increasing yield, or going the high-profit organic route, and rely less on very odd subsidies, such as CORN subsidy - which becomes HFCS. Maybe plant sugarcanes and make real sugar for once, and sell it at a premium (there IS a market for sugar, as opposed to HFCS drinks).

For WA, its problem is that it hasn't tapped into a growing market: TOURISM. Tourists go to neighboring British Columbia, but rarely step foot into WA. Given that the Twilight trilogy is bsed in WA, that could ba a start.

Also, note to Jerry Brown: Capitalise on the new Buffy remake. It could be YOUR Twilight-equivalent!


Ok, that was long....

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

Also, note to Jerry Brown: Capitalise on the new Buffy remake. It could be YOUR Twilight-equivalent!


Ok, that was long....

what new buffy?

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

No need. They did it.

China boasts breakthrough in nuclear technology

lol, they only have the "breakthrough" because Korea is being held back by the US due to the Korea-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement that bans Korea from reprocessing its own nuclear fuel. Seriously, sometimes unrestrained dictatorship does have its benefits.

Meanwhile, ROK is making a sodium-cooled fast reactor.