| Ringing in Valentine's Day, New York Style Posted: 15 Feb 2013 10:29 AM PST | Three couples tie the knot on Valentine's Day atop iconic New York City building. Full story: Danielle Brabham and her new husband Michael Lynch are having an unforgettable New York minute. [Danielle Brabham, Newlywed]: "I couldn't ask for a better wedding day or a better wedding venue. It's just incredible to be married at the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day! It's iconic, and it's memorable, and it's unique, and it's just been absolutely perfect!" Every year hundreds of couples vie to tie the knot at the historic landmark on Valentine's Day -- the only day of the year that the Empire State Buildings allows weddings. But this year, only three lucky couples got that privilege. The ceremonies were attended by dozens of friends, family. . . and the media. Designing the events was the work of celebrity wedding planner Preston Bailey. He and his team went all out to create a unique look and feel for each nuptial. [Preston Bailey, Celebrity Wedding Planner]: "We're not going to put a price tag, but the detailing that we gave them is quite a big price." Newlywed Laurie Ann Phillips says her wedding day has turned out to be a dream come true. [Laurie Ann Phillips, Newlywed]: "A little bit surreal. .... We've visited it numerous times as individuals and to able to be here on Valentine's Day getting married here just really feels so special." The romance won't end in the Big Apple for these couples. They've also all won a Caribbean honeymoon. For more news and videos visit <b>...</b> | Views: 32 2 ratings | | Time: 01:25 | More in News & Politics |
|
| Baby Killer Whale Born on Valentine's Day Posted: 15 Feb 2013 09:59 AM PST | An adult killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego gave birth on Valentine's Day to her fourth calf, making this the sixth successful killer whale birth in the park's history. Full story: Chocolates are nice on Valentine's Day but a baby killer whale is even better. Kasatka, a 37-year old killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego, gave birth on Thursday to her fourth calf after about an hour of labor. [Kristi Burtis, Animal Training Supervisor]: "We've been given the best Valentine's Day present ever. I'm happy Kasatka has given birth to a baby killer whale this morning at 6:33." The calf's sex will be determined later but it's estimated to weigh nearly 350 pounds and is almost 7 feet long. [Kristi Burtis, Animal Training Supervisor]: "Now from here, we're going to have round the clock care with our veterinary team and animal trainers to monitor both Kasatka and the calf's health." This is the sixth successful killer whale birth in the park's history. The zoological team reports mother and baby look healthy, but as with any newborn, these next few days will be critical. For more news and videos visit ☛ ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http Add us on Facebook ☛ on.fb.me | Views: 59 3 ratings | | Time: 01:00 | More in News & Politics |
|
| Pistorius Appears in Court on Murder Charges Posted: 15 Feb 2013 09:25 AM PST | Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee para-Olympic gold medal winner, appears in court on charges he murdered his girlfriend. Full story: Double amputee and Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius appeared in court in South Africa Friday on charges he murdered his girlfriend. Pistorius, known as Blade Runner for the pair of prosthetic blades he uses while running, is the main suspect in the shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp early on Thursday. Initial reports suggest Pistorius may have mistaken her for an intruder, but police said neighbours heard noises before the shots and that there have been domestic incidents previously at the house. Pistorius, who was born without a fibula in both legs, was the first double amputee to run in the Olympics... he reached the 400-metres semi-finals in London 2012. The case has stunned the nation which revered him as a hero who triumphed over adversity to compete with able-bodies athletes at the highest levels of sport. For more news and videos visit ☛ ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http Add us on Facebook ☛ on.fb.me | Views: 71 3 ratings | | Time: 00:54 | More in News & Politics |
|
| The Last Communist Plunder Starts Posted: 16 Feb 2013 10:15 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com Document No. 1 issued by the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee advocates family farms in China. It encourages and supports the resale of contracted lands to large farming contractors, family farms, and to farmer co-ops. Experts say that the family farm policy is improper in China. The permission for concentrated land resale to large farming contractors signals the CCP's plundering has started in rural areas. Landless peasants will soon face the same plight as laid-off urban workers, deprived of a means of living. The term "Document No. 1 issued by the CCP Central Committee" refers to the specific Party policy on rural issues". The 2013 Document No. 1 for the first time puts forth a concept of the "family farm". It encourages and supports farmers to contract lands and to "resell them to large professional farming contractors, family farms, to farmers co-ops." Some netizens asked, after high volumes of land resale, who will safeguard the rights and interests of landless peasants? Dr. Xie Tian, professor at University of South Carolina-Aiken, says that "family farm" is a notion contradicting the trend of agricultural modernization. Prof. Xie Tian: "The modernization of China's agriculture has to take the path of large-scale mechanized farming, like that in the US. But that should be based on stretched lands. Now China encourages family members to serve as primary farm labor forces. They cannot <b>...</b> | Views: 1 1 ratings | | Time: 04:19 | More in News & Politics |
|
| Prison Rumors of Famous Publican Mistress Posted: 16 Feb 2013 10:12 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com Popular singer, famous for her modern folk songs, military division level singer Tang Can was taken away to be investigated. She was suspected of being involved in corruption in 2011. Since then, there had no any news of her. However, online, it was gradually exposed that many high officials of Party, government and military had something going with her. She is well known as a public mistress. Her lovers included vice minister of General Logistics Department of PLA, former mayor of Shenzhen and others. There some rumors said that she was a core member of Bo Xilai' coup. However, recently some rumors said that Tang was arrested before Chinese traditional new year. Let's look at the report. The third day of Chinese New Year, Sun Yueyang (a friend of Tang) and the deputy chief of Jincheng Foreign Affairs Office, both confirmed in their microblogging that Tang has been arrested before the new year and imprisoned for seven years. Famous singer Tang was specially recruited into the PLA on 13th September, 2013. She was granted the third level of non-military and the fifth level of professional technology, rank of colonel. She was honored as figurehead of Chinese new folk song, Empress of Chinese fashion folk. Her singing style was name as "tang singing style". However, because of being involved in corruption, she was taken away to be investigated. Her secret of being as a 'public mistress' had also exposed <b>...</b> | Views: 8 1 ratings | | Time: 04:48 | More in News & Politics |
|
| China Blocks Swedish Town Because of It's Name Posted: 16 Feb 2013 10:07 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com China has two "great walls" -- the Great Wall, and the Great Firewall. Both are among the world's "greatest," nevertheless in different ways. The Great Wall was built as a defense against enemies, while the Great Firewall is like a prison wall; it restricts the freedom of people inside, putting them under surveillance and blocking them from knowing the real world. Recent example is the name of a Swedish town, frequently blocked in its business operations with China by the Great Firewall, as it is spelled like "Falun." As reported recently by some non-Chinese media, a global corporation with headquarters in China, found out that it had always lost Internet connection for about an hour when receiving files from a Swedish client. After being frustrated for weeks, the firm's director Mr. Bergman finally figured out the problem. The transferred files from the client have the word "Falun" in their name, which refers to a Swedish town. "Falun" happens to be spelled the same way as the sensitive for the regime "Falun Gong." The latter is a key target for blocking by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party,) thus the client became a "victim" of CCP's Great Firewall. Xing Tianxing, political commentator: "In China, the CCP regards Falun Gong as its greatest enemy. Therefore the Great Firewall filters any words or terms that are close to Falun Gong in the most strict manner. This story again teaches the foreigners how <b>...</b> | Views: 10 0 ratings | | Time: 04:31 | More in News & Politics |
|
| CCP Senior Officers Struggle for Power As Chinese Visit Japan Posted: 16 Feb 2013 09:54 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com In the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands, the tough attitude of the CCP and the long term confrontation exceed what many had expected. However, scholars have said the CCP's tough attitude is closely related to the internal power struggle of the past year. At the same time, an investigation shows that the number of Chinese who visited Japan in the last year is higher than in the past. Since the Japanese said the CCP's navy had used fire control radar to target Japanese ships and aircraft, the entire armed forces of each CCP military region, including the Second Artillery Force, are engaged in war preparations. On February 14, six Chinese ocean surveillance ships cruised around the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands. CCTV also broadcasted live coverage of the cruise, and a close up view of the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands for the first time in history. Japan Kyodo News quoted the Japan Coast Guard report that the Chinese Surveillance ship had asked the Japanese ships to leave China's territorial waters in the Diaoyu area. According to the Japan News Network, the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) and the US Marine Corps held a joint resizing island military exercise in Pendleton base California, US. It was to simulate the two forces resizing the Diaoyu islands after they had been occupied. During the exercise, 50 JSDF soldiers did an airborne landing from a US Osprey transport aircraft, this is a <b>...</b> | Views: 14 0 ratings | | Time: 04:14 | More in News & Politics |
|
| Bloomberg: Chinese Hacker's Military Identity Unmasked Posted: 16 Feb 2013 09:34 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com On Feb. 14th, Bloomberg Business Week reported that a well- known network security expert of Dell revealed a hacker's military identity in China. The hacker, Zhang Changhe, can freely hack into the website of the US embassy in China, some foreign governments, foreign companies in China and media. The report said that Joe Stewart, director of Malware research at Dell Secure Works, found several hackers used the same set of Malware in March 2011. He noticed these hackers registered IP addresses all belong to China Unicom, one of China's largest Internet service providers. After six months, Stewart was familiar with these hackers' internal operations. Steward found one hacker came from Zhengzhou in Henan Province in China. Stewart finally traced this hacker's email address, the name, Zhang Changhe and his real identity. The report said that Zhang's profile was publicized, including photos of him with his wife and child. Zhang Changhe currently serves as an assistant lecturer at the PLA Information Engineering University. Which is a military research institution controlled by the PLA General Staff Department. North Korea Tells China of Preparations of Fourth Nuclear Test On Feb. 15th, Reuters reported that North Korea has informed China that it will carry out a fourth nuclear test this year. The report cited a source revealing Korea has told China that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear <b>...</b> | Views: 14 0 ratings | | Time: 03:05 | More in News & Politics |
|
| North Korean Nuclear Test Arouses Controversy In China Posted: 16 Feb 2013 09:33 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com North Korea ignored international warnings and set off a third nuclear test. Many Chinese people are furious. They were worried that a nuclear test could cause nuclear contamination. Scholars in Mainland China shared their opinions, saying this time the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) interests and the interests of the public are completely split. The arguments of two professors from Minzu University in China drew people's attention. This nuclear test shook Chinese diplomatic policy and Chinese communities. Now "North Korea" is a hot topic amongst Chinese netizens. Liu Kaiming, Doctor of Literature at Nanjing University: "Actually, many civilians felt very happy. Why do they have such unusual emotion? It closely relates to China's propaganda carried out over the past 60 years. The propaganda and education in China taught that North Korea is their family member. However, the US and Japan are their enemies." Liu Kaiming believes that China has paid a high price over the past six decades. However, once the dictator obtained nuclear weapons, he turned his back and threatened China's safety. Scholars and doctoral tutors in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences posted that, the past 20 years' ideology deceived the CCP itself. It treated North Korea as comrades and brothers. This self-deception harmed China's national interest and security. Zhang Hongliang, a North Korean nuclear test supporter and Professor in <b>...</b> | Views: 11 0 ratings | | Time: 03:53 | More in News & Politics |
|
| US to Strengthen Network Security Posted: 16 Feb 2013 09:03 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com US President Barack Obama had the State of the Union (SU) speech in Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on February 12. Obama stressed the issue of network security in his speech, and signed an executive order to help protect critical US industrial computer networks against cyber-attacks. Obama urged congressional legislation to take further measures. Experts analyze that Obama issued a strong warning to China's Communist Party (CCP). Obama said in his annual SU address: "Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems." "Now Congress must act, as well, by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks." The executive orders and requirements establish a voluntary standard to protect the computer system in key economic areas, like banks, power grids and transportation industries. Obama also indicates that the US Department of Defense and intelligence agencies share confidential data with these companies. These orders allow companies regulating infrastructures, like dams, power grids and finance, to join an experimental program. The government will provide the contractor with instant reports about network threats. New York City University political science professor Xia Ming discussed Obama's State of the Union speech. Xia said, Obama firstly talked about the challenges <b>...</b> | Views: 10 1 ratings | | Time: 04:15 | More in News & Politics |
|
| North Korea To Perform Fourth Nuclear Test? Posted: 16 Feb 2013 08:59 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com South Korea National Intelligence Academy pointed out that 72 hours after the third nuclear test, it's likely that North Korea will perform a fourth nuclear test. According to the report of "Radio Free Asia", the third nuclear test, equivalent to 6000 to 7000 tons TNT explosive power didn't count as successful. So North Korea may perform an additional or more tests to acquire nuclear bomb technology. Busy markets become petition sites. The Beijing petition department did nothing and the local government cut off petitioners. So petitioners changed their petition methods during Chinese New Year. Using the busy markets of Beijing and Shanghai, the petitioners spoke out about the injustice they suffered. On February 14th 56 peasants who lost land and civil right person gathered at Tiananmen square to tell their injustices. They held up their civil right slogans to tell their injustice to the pedestrians. Soon, about ten police officers rushed to them and confiscated their slogans. The police brutally beat them and two petitioners were beaten to the point of injury. Now, these petitioners were detained in a dark room in "Ma Jialou", they will face repatriate to their villages. In Shanghai, on the fourth day of Chinese New Year, seven petitioners went to "Qibao town"-a famous tourist sights. They were, holding up slogans to petition. Fighting between two villages. One died and three are injured, police shot <b>...</b> | Views: 17 1 ratings | | Time: 02:23 | More in News & Politics |
|
| CCP Faces A Few Crises in 2013 Posted: 16 Feb 2013 08:57 PM PST | Follow us on TWITTER: twitter.com Like us on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com According to the Chinese lunar calendar, after the year of the dragon, 2013 is year of the snake. Analysts said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had been through a year of "troubles" in 2012. Now the CCP is facing a "perilous" year of the snake. The CCP is currently encountering crises in all aspects. In addition, the crises will all come together in 2013. Recently, people talked about crises that the CCP will encounter in 2013. These crises directly threaten the CCP's survival. So, what crises are indeed the CCP facing? Li Tianxiao, PhD in political science in Columbia University, Current Affairs Commentator said that first of all, the CCP will face the crisis of collapse. Li Tianxiao: "The CCP's collapse will be a gradual process. For example, the event of "quit the CCP" including its affiliated organizations began in 2004. The event of "quit the CCP" is like a flood, now more than 100 million people had denounced the CCP. This speed and ratio is much higher than the Soviet Unions' collapse." Li said, in the CCP's history of persecution during the political movement, who had been persecuted? In the future, murderers who were involved in the cultural revolution and democracy protest in 1989, will be investigated until being sentenced and punished. In addition, the CCP's system will face the crisis of being removed. Li Tianxiao: "For example, Xi Jinping vowed for the removal of labor camps. The <b>...</b> | Views: 14 0 ratings | | Time: 04:26 | More in News & Politics |
|
Comments