iConflict

Sarah Palin 'affair': big media stays quiet as 'lover' named
09.06.08 posted by pondy
While America's respectable media focus on John McCain's acceptance speech to the Republican faithful, blogs and gossip sites continue to lead the feeding frenzy surrounding the National Enquirer's allegation, reported here yesterday, that McCain's running mate Sarah Palin had an affair with her husband's business partner.
Full Story

Palin intrigues Chinese public
09.06.08 posted by jason
Sarah Palin's speech to the Republican National Convention may have received little attention in China, but the news of her choice as John McCain's running mate has attracted considerable interest. While Chinese media had appeared more curious about Barack Obama's presidential candidacy than Mr McCain's, Ms Palin has become one of the most popular keywords on Chinese search engines.
Full Story

Can't the USA At Least Make Their Flags Here?
08.10.08 posted by pondy
Here's a picture of a USA flag pin, enclosed in a clear plastic (terrible for the environment) bag. The big letters "Made in China" almost cover the flag. This image sums up the US at this point in time - covered in goods and services made in China - even its own symbols and objects of importance don't come from their own country - they come from China.

iphone girl, Beautiful mistake
08.27.08 posted by eguda
Cyber "markm49uk" in UK never thought he can initiate a big disturbance when he post "iphone girl" to the forum "macrumors" on 20th Augest. Six days later, now the girl in Foxconn China's factory, Huizhou of Guangdong, was world wide well-known as "iphone girl". Some cybers even registed blogs for her(www.iphonegirl.net & www.iphonegirl.cn).
Full Story

Bhutto's widower goes from prison to presidency
09.06.08 posted by jason
Asif Ali Zardari has completed a traumatic journey from prison to the presidency of Pakistan. Regarded as a polo-playing playboy in his youth, the catalyst for Zardari's rise was the assassination last December of his wife, the two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Full Story

Arctic Ice on Track for Another All-Time Low
08.31.08 posted by pondy
Last September scientists were very concerned when the Arctic ice pack shrunk to its smallest size. This year the ice has already claimed the title of second smallest ice pack with three weeks of its melting season left to go. Usually at this point in the season he melting rate would begin to slow, instead it sped up. The Northwest passage is about to be ice free.

Bloomberg Wants NYC to be a 'Windy' City
08.21.08 posted by pondy
New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed putting windmills on city bridges and rooftops as part of an ambitious push for renewable energy. While windmills have been popular in rural areas, there are several obstacles to putting them in cities, such as noise and location. In today's NY Times, this photo appeared, which seems to suggest the idea is somewhat impractical.

In China, the "Beijing Internet Police" are Watching You
05.10.08 posted by jason
The images of the "Beijing Internet Police", one male and one female dressed in uniform and saluting, started appearing in September 2007 every 30 minutes on computer screens run by 13 major portals based in Beijing. Virtual police officers will soon begin visible patrols on Chinese Internet sites to warn surfers they are being monitored.
Full Story

Two Women Sentenced to 'Re-education' in China
08.21.08 posted by pondy
Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying are pictured above, and they symbolize what is wrong, not right with China today. The two frail women in their 70's were sentenced by the Chinese government to a re-education camp and forced labor. Their crime? Speaking out for receiving insufficient compensation when their homes were seized for redevelopment.

Deadly Gustav churns toward Cuba, Gulf of Mexico
08.27.08 posted by pondy
Tropical Storm Gustav gathered punch as it churned toward Cuba and the United States Wednesday after lashing Haiti and the Dominican Republic with hurricane force winds and rain that killed 16 people. The US National Hurricane Center warned that Gustav could regain hurricane force on Thursday as it passes between Jamaica and the southeastern coast of Cuba.
Full Story