Goldman's On The Euro, Buy ! Oh No, Sell. Wait, It Is A Buy........

Here's an interesting look at how Goldman analysts slipped up on their call on the euro, courtesy of WSJ's Overheard column.

Goldman currency analysts forecast the euro at $1.35 for months this year, even as the euro plummeted down to four-year lows.

Then on June 6th, they changed their three- and six-month forecasts to $1.15. Big mistake.

On June 7th, the euro bottomed and then went to $1.30.

So on June 15th, the analysts changed their euro forecast back to $1.35, where it is now.

The call shows Goldman freaking about the euro and then becoming bullish on the euro again, like they are now. But for a couple of weeks, they were very unsure - and wrong, about where it was headed.

China admits All Is Not Well With Their Banks

 

Although the financial news focus has been on the so-called stress-testing of European banks – tests which have been too easy for comfort -- the bigger news is surely the admission by China of the loan loss potential of its banks.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission said that as much as 20 percent of 7.7 trillion yuan loans to regional government entities could become non-performing. These were mostly for infrastructure and building projects many of dubious commercial value and comprised the lion's share of new lending last year of 9.6 trillion yuan.

These alone could mean losses of 5 percent of the loan portfolio. At present nonperforming loans are just 1.3 percent and banks have appeared to be good investments on the back of strong margins and rapid asset growth. They trade on an average of 13 times earnings.

In the face of now-confirmed worries about bank financing of local government-owned entities, Chinese bank shares have been relatively steady. Although they have been raising capital to reflect expanding loans, they have been extremely profitable – more than twice the global average and so able to build capital without too much resort to shareholders.

The listing of Agricultural Bank of China in mid-July may have been lackluster but to get such a gigantic issue away at this time demonstrated that belief in the China story is still strong among foreigners starved of good news from elsewhere. Meanwhile global liquidity and low interest rates almost everywhere are pushing sovereign wealth funds into equities like ABC even if they have to close their eyes as they do so.

It is hard to imagine that after such a prodigious state-directed rise in lending last year, losses on loans to entities other than regional government enterprises will not also increase. In sum, it is quite likely that unless the data is fudged and more money or easier terms are provided to borrowers there will be a huge increase in NPLs which would wipe out a chunk of the banks' core capital. That ratio currently stands at a seemingly comfortable 8-9 percent of risks assets for the major Chinese banks. But 5 percent losses would require shareholders to dig deep into their pockets to restore the capital bases and enable loan growth to continue.

Of course, such disasters for shareholders may not happen. As before, the central government may take many of the bad loans off the bank books and onto special purpose vehicles. The government budget, not the shareholders would take the hit. Or regional governments may be called upon by the central government to use local revenues to bail out their defaulting corporate entities. This would be fair as these vehicles were created to get around controls on borrowing by local governments but politically might be very difficult.

One way or another there is a large price yet to be paid for the lending spree which sustained China's growth during the global slump but led to much non-productive investment that was financed by interest-bearing loans. Indeed, there is now a clear struggle going on between the People's Bank of China, the central bank, which wants to rein in these loans in the name of responsible banking and those in the central government who fear it will lead to a sharp fall in gross domestic product growth, and those in regional governments who still have big projects under construction that have been financed by banks through corporate vehicles.

A major problem of some sort is in the works but how long it takes to materialize will depend on the PBoC's success. Sharply reining in credit now, at the cost of a similar growth slowdown, should enable the system to absorb NPLs without too much agony. But let the situation drag on, pretending that the problem is an illusion – as happened in Thailand and elsewhere in the 1994-97 era – is storing up a crisis of the Asian magnitude in perhaps two to three years. As the banks are mostly state-owned they will not face the same problems as Thailand's but they will be immensely costly to the government and accompanied by both a sharp rise in government debt and a halt to new lending. In other words, a prolonged period of slow growth.

For the PBoC, the state of bank lending is not its only worry. With US$2.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves it may have to prepare to take enormous losses on its US dollar holdings if China is eventually forced into a major revaluation. Such losses are not simply balance sheet items. They are actual yuan liabilities to local depositors. The loss is a loss to the nation and will ultimately be another drag on growth. An artificially weak yuan has boosted exports and China's prestige but at a cost both today, in terms of real incomes, and tomorrow in terms of capital losses

The US is not the only major country where politics has meant more benefits today to be paid for later.

Is China Faking Their Statistics ?

Chinese Banks Face Default Risk on 23% of $1.1 Trillion Loans/ Chinese Rating Agency Criticizes Moody's, Fitch, S&P

Here is an interesting pair of stories at odds with each other, the first article is about problem loans at Chinese banks, the second is about a rating agency mud fight.

Bloomberg reports Chinese Banks See Risks in 23% of $1.1 Trillion Loans

Chinese banks may struggle to recoup about 23 percent of the 7.7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) they’ve lent to finance local government infrastructure projects, according to a person with knowledge of data collected by the nation’s regulator.

About half of all loans need to be serviced by secondary sources including guarantors because the ventures can’t generate sufficient revenue, the person said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. The China Banking Regulatory Commission has told banks to write off non-performing project loans by the end of this year, the person said.

The nation’s five-largest banks, including Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., plan to raise as much as $53.5 billion to replenish capital after the sector extended a record $1.4 trillion in credit last year.

“In China now, it is the same as the people getting loans in Phoenix here in the U.S. three years ago,” said Vikas Pershad, chief executive officer of Chicago-based Veda Investments LLC. “People who want money get money, and then they all lose track of it.”

Local governments set up the financing vehicles to fund projects such as highways and airports due to limits on their ability to directly borrow money. The central government this year restricted borrowing on concern money isn’t being used for viable projects.

“The issue is symptomatic of the way the stimulus package was rolled out in 2008,” said Nicholas Consonery, Asia specialist at the Eurasia Group. “It is difficult for local governments to finance these projects. It is written under the Chinese constitution that local governments cannot offer their own debt.”

Chinese Rating Agency Criticizes Moody's, Fitch, S&P

The Financial Times reports China rating agency condemns rivals

The head of China’s largest credit rating agency has slammed his western counterparts for causing the global financial crisis and said that as the world’s largest creditor nation China should have a bigger say in how governments and their debt are rated.

“The western rating agencies are politicised and highly ideological and they do not adhere to objective standards,” Guan Jianzhong, chairman of Dagong Global Credit Rating, told the Financial Times in an interview. “China is the biggest creditor nation in the world and with the rise and national rejuvenation of China we should have our say in how the credit risks of states are judged.”

On the corporate side, Mr Guan argues Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings – the three companies that dominate the global credit rating industry – have become too close to the clients they are supposed to be objectively assessing.

Last week, privately-owned Dagong published its own sovereign credit ranking in what it said was a first for a non-western credit rating agency.

The results were very different from those published by Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, with China ranking higher than the United States, Britain, Japan, France and most other major economies, reflecting Dagong’s belief that China is more politically and economically stable than all of these countries.

“The US is insolvent and faces bankruptcy as a pure debtor nation but the rating agencies still give it high rankings ,” Mr Guan said. “Actually, the huge military expenditure of the US is not created by themselves but comes from borrowed money, which is not sustainable.”

A wildly enthusiastic editorial published by Xinhua , China’s official state newswire, lauded Dagong’s report as a significant step toward breaking the monopoly of western rating agencies of which it said China has long been a “victim”.

But even if the company can overcome reluctance from US regulators it may have a hard time convincing international clients that it is more objective than its western peers, especially considering the overtly nationalistic tone it strikes at home.

Pot Calls Kettle Black

Is the US banking system insolvent? Of course, but so is the Chinese banking system, the UK banking system, and the European banking system.

Recent "stress tests" show European banks are generally in good shape, but no one with an ounce of common sense believes the report. Likewise, does anyone really think China's banking system is in good shape, anyone other than Chinese rating agencies?

The last paragraph in the above article tells the story of one corrupt rating agency citing corruption in other rating agencies. In other words this is nothing more than a "pot calling the kettle black" type of story.

The way to fix the rating agency problem is to end government sponsorship of them. If Moody's, Fitch and the S&P got paid on how accurate their ratings were instead of how much volume they did, the problem would quickly go away.

I have talked about this sorry state of affairs before. Please consider Time To Break Up The Credit Rating Cartel


Mike  Shedlock

粵語之戰系列 -撲滅粵語 ? 屌中共那媽

"中國想撲滅廣州話，迎接亞運，因為廣州的「外來人」太多。外地人多了，聽不懂粵語的嘰哩咕嚕，覺得有礙民族「大一統」，禁粵語，是遲早的事。

只是粵語怎樣禁得絕？滅鼠容易，滅粵語難。因為街談巷議，尚且可以派幾個山西大媽，坐在西關的巷口，拿着一把扇子豎尖耳朵聽，誰說了粵語，馬上報公安來抓 人， 舉報一個，得十元人民幣獎金，很快這位北方大媽就會變富豪。但一對廣東夫婦 ，敦倫時在房裏用粵語說淫話叫床，又怎樣抓？

但公安如果是廣東人，來到現場，對方拒捕，相互碰撞，情急之下開口罵粗口，也必定是粵語，很難實現抓捕任務。學校教師也要大換血，從北方請幾萬名對廣東話 刻骨仇恨的人進駐──例 如：祖先在孫中山北伐、洪秀全的太平軍暴亂中被廣東蠻子殺掉過全家的──派來廣州教書，哪個小孩說廣州話，就狠抽嘴巴。
五十年代初期，毛澤東鎮壓地主，在廣東就受到阻力。粵共份子「上有政策，下有對策」，地主全是鄉親父老，執行起主席指示時，槍斃不下手，結果中央不滿，改 派北方人陶鑄和趙紫陽南來，村村要見血，才有效執行了任務。

廣 州話難禁，還有一個原因──撲殺廣州話，要先禁絕粵菜， 因為廣府菜的烹製，有炆、灼、烚、煲，烹 調的手法，全是廣東字，所謂「普通話」根本無法發音。禁絕 廣州話，須從口腔抓起，先一概把廣東菜列為非法，然後才是粵劇。所有粵菜食府，必須三天之內完成「菜式轉型」，改營麥當勞或京川淮揚菜，這就能釜底抽薪， 下一代逐步脫離粵語。

迎亞運、滅粵語，廣州先行，香港特區政府不是也爭辦亞運嗎？廣州廢粵語之後，到時高鐵起好了，大珠角一體化，就輪到香港。香港特府嚷嚷的什麼「起錨」，就 是一句罪惡的粵語，現在，廣州人借用了，這算什麼？輕者是與「內地」形勢脫節，重則是勾結廣州地方勢力在文化上反中央。看看 粵菜名家鏞記福臨門兄弟子女早點分身家，配合亞運，就聰明了。隔壁的名家左丁山，天天用粵語寫作，還是中環的精英呢，老左，你收到未？"

-齊唱光輝歲月

廣州民眾原定於今日25/7傍晚，於海珠區江南西地鐵站外舉行「齊撐粵語大行動」。但昨日傳出遭當局打壓，將活動定性為「非法集會」，更將發起人帶 走問話。雖然如此，預料大批民眾將會如期前往集會地點「圍觀」或「散步」，獨媒特約記者將於稍後到達現場作直擊報導。

7:10pm
現場被數百公安圍住，大部份民眾已散去。獨媒記者問了兩位八十後女士阿丸和阿雲，阿丸有聽商台熟悉香港情況，她表示今日「好似冇菜園村反高鐵咁勁喎」；阿 雲居於三元里，她抱怨廣州城中村改造工程導致不少地方要被清拆，擔心政府安排的遷置房會過於偏遠。她們倆均表示廣州的小學已不許講廣東話，擔心廣州未來會 像深圳般愈來愈多外省人來，變成外省人城市。
6:40pm
公安和保安已增至一二百人，組成人鏈分割民眾的範圍，表示將會清場，呼籲民眾離開。現場民眾尚有二百人在場，向警方不斷高呼收皮。獨媒記者訪問了兩位九十 後少女，她們指紀可光好仆街，搞到家宅不寧。話說早前有報導指有個孫仔在學校習慣了講普通話，回到家裡嫲嫲聽不明白，引起了很大爭執。她們又指，廣州市委 張廣寧上任以後，不斷強調廣州要「發展」，推普政策變本加厲，配合亞運會只是藉口。
6:15pm
因為現場太多人，公安在半小時前封了馬路。現場所見有二三十個軍裝，數十個保安，及數十個戴住頭盔的公安。
獨媒記者訪問了有份籌備活動的劉小姐和高先生，他們指今次其實只是導火線，之前已有三四單事件發生，包括廣州中學禁止學生在課餘時間講廣東話，否則 會被扣分；早前地鐵曾有意取消廣東話廣播，在群眾壓力才撤回決定；早前恩寧路被拆事件，引起不少廣州人不滿。他們覺得現時廣州市政府很多都不是廣州人，對 廣州沒有感情；同時，現在媒體上也愈來愈少廣東話報導。
劉小姐和高先生表示，除了剛才的售賣「言論無罪」T恤的鄭先生，有位被稱為「瑩爺」的朋友早前也被帶走。雖然政府將活動定性為「非法集會」會嚇怕一 些人，但他們認為既然大家都是社會一份子，政府應該容許他們關心社會。他們認為，政府打壓廣東話，可能是擔心廣州文化與香港太接近。廣州話是廣州自由的堡 壘，所以捍衛廣州話十分重要。
他們又指，今天大概已不可能賣「掉那媽，頂硬上」的T恤，但歡迎香港的朋友訂購。如有朋友有意訂購，可稍後電郵至inmedia聯絡。

Twitter 6:00pm @PKUsych
现场架起防护栏，警察正在尽力输送人群，劝大家回去洗洗睡吧！现场人群高喊，你们才应该回去洗洗睡！
江南西地铁站入口，江南西公路已经在管制，警察用三层人墙阻隔来自江南西北路的人潮。
大量普通警察退出，头戴钢盔，手拿防爆盾的防爆警察出现，与人群形成对峙。人群高喊叼你妈和收皮的口号！！！
Twitter 5:30-5:45
@LEMONed: 警车也被堵在内环，警察下车跑下去了
@PKUsych: 现场人群高呼你老母收皮的口号，就是你老妈闭嘴的意思，我身边有位刚来不久的外地维稳警察，问我这个示威口号是什么意思。
@freemoren: 前方记者：一个代表举手喊口号,全场举手欢呼复合,警察傻比了想牵手围住群众结果全场大骂番龟之后又喊收皮警察发现围错位置解散
@PKUsych: 广场人群在口号的指引下，向警察和推普竖出中指，高唱beyond的粤语歌曲！

Twitter: 5:00 -5:30pm
@freemoren: 前方记者：有人那出宣传纸丢那马顶硬上张全场亢奋斗现场多了起码三十个警察全场群众虚他们
@PKUsych: 现场热点转移，疯狂拍摄一位穿着言论无罪T恤的人，现场人越来越多，现在估计人比刚才要多出一倍。
@PKUsych: 警察试图逮捕身着言论无罪T恤的青年引发现场高潮，人群和警察发生肢体冲突，全程大吼放人，顶硬上等口号！！！！
@PKUsych: 逮捕示威者的警察不过三到四人，很快便被多达千人的示威人群冲开，青年得救，现场爆发出雷鸣般的欢呼！！
@PKUsych: 现在整个广场彻底被围的水泄不通，十分钟前还可以挪动，现在人挤人，像极了北京最高峰时期的地铁
5:40pm
獨媒記者身處人群中，已數不清楚人數。現場民眾剛剛唱過《光輝歲月》和《海闊天空》，齊聲大叫「紀可光收皮」，「煲冬瓜收皮，廣州話起錨」。有人影印a4 紙作標語牌，標語包括「只當百花齊放，豈可一統糨糊」、「堆普機出沒注意」。
5:20pm
在場有位鄭先生身穿白色T恤，T恤前面是廣州電視台三位記者的照片，背後是「言論無罪」四個大字。數名公安意圖將他帶走，惹來群眾強烈不滿，「抗議」、 「掉那媽」、「廣州話萬歲」之聲四起。在群情洶湧之下，有人向公安高呼「你哋唔使帶佢走，我哋會帶佢走」。該名鄭先生現已不在現場，下落未明。
5:05pm
近千人忽然湧至廣場，現場民眾人數增至二千。有人用白紙寫上「掉那媽，頂硬上」和「言論無罪」，然後高舉標語，圍觀群眾不斷歡呼和拍照。公安上前驅散人 群，阻止民眾高舉標語。
4:50pm
地鐵站出口、KFC、名店城、仙蹤林門前，分別有約五六十人讓出中央位置「圍觀」，總數共二三百人，白衫者不足一半。獨媒記者引述現場某位姐姐指，「忽然 間人山人海，個個拎住手機相機，都唔知咩事，唔知影咩」。
4:30pm
獨媒記者到達江南西地鐵站。站內地下有四個保安在監視情況，站外地面則有公安、保安、地鐵職員約二十餘人，另估計在場大概有二三十個便衣。二三十個白衫民 眾在駐足等候，氣氛緊張。獨媒記者透過朋友獲悉，下午四時許左右，現場曾有民眾叫賣「廣州崛起」T恤，但很快就被公安帶去江南第一小學問話，阻止其在現場 售賣T恤。

廣州網民早前號召於25/7在江南西地鐵站外舉行大規模集會，呼籲民眾身穿白衣。按原定規劃，參加者將在地鐵站出口被問廣州話歇後語，答中者會獲贈 印有明代名將袁崇煥名句「掉哪媽！頂硬上！」的 T恤，在場也會有人派發傳單、扇等紀念品。
據報導，主辦者預計集會人數可望多達兩萬人，且已經向公安局備案。不過，昨日卻傳出活動遭當局打壓，不但取消原來的備案，將其定性為「非法集會」， 同時更將活動的發起人帶走問話。
「粵語保衞戰」事件
7月5日
廣州市政協紀可光向廣州當局建議，將廣州電視台的綜合或新聞頻道改以普通話廣播，理由是為亞運會創造良好的語言環境，也為廣州打造國際都市形象。建議隨即 引起當地市民強烈回響，引發「粵語保衞戰」。
7月11日
廣州人民公園舉行「我為粵語大聲唱」快閃行動，吸引過百名民眾參與。參與者高舉「廣府話起錨、煲冬瓜收皮」標語，並高唱《海闊天空》和《半斤八兩》粵語流 行曲。
7月14日
東莞文化部門下令，鏟除東莞石碣故鄉紀念園中袁崇煥雕像下刻有「掉哪媽！頂硬上！」的銘牌。
7月16日
網民號召本月25日在廣州舉行萬人集會，力撐廣州話。
7月23日
傳出「齊撐粵語大行動」遭當局打壓，被定性為「非法集會」，活動發起人更被帶走問話。

It Seems Everybody is preparing for a war with China.

Last month, delegations from the naval fleets of 14 nations met at the Chinese port of Qingdao to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA-Navy). It was a chummy affair of joint exercises and processions at sea, overseen by white-clad officers in full regalia. In a speech there, Chinese president Hu Jintao trumpeted his country's emergence as a budding maritime power, while assuring foreign observers that China "would never seek hegemony, nor would it turn to arms races with other nations." Instead, Hu claimed, the retooled and expanding Chinese navy would lead the region into "harmonious seas." 

But China's cuddly rhetoric has seduced few. In 2008, Beijing's annual military budget increased by almost 20% to $60 billion, according to official figures, though the Pentagon estimates that number could actually be closer to $150 billion. Its most recent report on the PLA warned grimly of China's ability to "develop and field disruptive military technologies" — tactics which the Pentagon thinks will change "regional military balances and... have implications beyond the Asia-Pacific." China's strategic interests now rim most of the world's continents and it remains embroiled in lingering territorial disputes with its neighbors. Though publicly muted, there is growing concern in capitals across the rest of Asia over Beijing's burgeoning pre-eminence. "There's no escaping the fact that, in the past ten years, China's negotiating power has increased while others have weakened," says C. Raja Mohan, a leading Indian foreign policy expert and professor at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School for International Studies.

In response to China's gains — which include putting out three new submarines a year since 1995 — neighboring countries have also set about beefing up their fleets. Just a week after the ceremonies in Qingdao, Vietnam announced its purchase of six kilo-class submarines from Russia. On May 2, the Australian government published a white paper outlining a twenty year, $74 billion plan to revitalize its navy so it could be ready, if need be, to counter a "major power adversary" — a thinly veiled reference to how some defense officials there imagine China's military project. "The front line of the Cold War may have been in Western Europe," says Andrew Davies, an expert on Asian military modernization at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a Canberra-based think tank. "But a future one could well be drawn through the western Pacific." 

A decline in American influence is at the core of the region's changing geo-political landscape. For decades after World War II, the U.S. authored the status quo in Asia's waters, with a series of naval bases from Guam to Japan, and a high-powered presence of marine corps and air-craft carriers to back up its interests with muscle. In 1996, when tensions between China and Taiwan bubbled over into threats of war, Washington was able to check Beijing's aggression by deploying two carrier battle groups off Taiwan's shores. That kind of move is unthinkable now, not just because the US is entangled in costly operations in the Middle East, but because of China's growing stature and military resources. "We were in a period that was essentially unipolar," says Davies. "Now the U.S. and China are going to have to reach some sort of an accommodation." 

Other nations in China's neighborhood are not holding their breath. Over the next five years alone, Asian navies will lavish an estimated $60 billion on upgrades and new technologies, outstripping all the combined spending of countries in NATO, excluding the U.S. Apart from China, the top Asian spenders include Japan and South Korea, nations that over the past 40 years relied on American military support to deter the communist states to their west. Now, Japan is due to launch its largest ship since World War II, a "Hyuga" class helicopter carrier — Japan's pacifist constitution forbids the use of carriers with more offensive aircraft — that is designed chiefly for anti-submarine warfare. Seoul paraded a similar 14,000 ton vessel at Qingdao. 

Of course, with many Asian countries bound together by their dynamic economies, few analysts expect a full-blown arms race that could disrupt the region's growth. Mike McDevitt, a retired U.S. admiral and director of the strategic studies division at the Center for Naval Analyses in Washington D.C., envisions a more tacit struggle for strategic supremacy, based on stealth and surveillance. "There'll be a capabilities competition between the U.S. and China going on for the foreseeable future," he says, with navies seeking to interfere with rival sea lines of communication, probing maritime borders with deep sea patrols likely involving submarines capable of bearing ballistic missiles.
Two tense standoffs in recent months between American and PLA surveillance vessels near China's southern Hainan island may be an augur of what lies ahead. A new submarine base there gives Beijing a vital edge in the South China Sea, whose waters are contested by five other governments. The disputed Spratly and Paracel archipelagoes, which sit above reserves of natural gas, have been an ongoing bone of contention between China, Taiwan and Vietnam. Further afield, China and India, Asia's other rising giant, are locked in a protracted contest of influence over the Indian Ocean, with China setting up a "string of pearls" — or listening posts — from Burma to Pakistan. New Delhi has stepped up its own military ties with Hanoi in an attempt to keep Beijing busy in its own backyard. 

Strategic analysts stress there's nothing wrong with emerging nations like India and China improving their naval prowess to match their heightened role in world affairs. "It is logical that these countries will build navies and project their power," says Raja Mohan. "The question is how does this all get managed?" As of yet, there is no regional treaty alliance in place, no new diplomatic structures like NATO in Europe, for example, that could reflect or bring order to the shifting power lines of the Asian 21st century. Last year, Japanese prime minister Taro Aso floated the idea of an "arch of freedom," a security consensus threading together democracies like India, Japan and Australia, but its obvious anti-Chinese subtext meant the notion gained little traction. "Nobody is going to sign up to an actual containment policy," says McDevitt of the Center for Naval Analyses. 

For now, a cloud of uncertainty looms over the shape of things to come. Experts talk of China's maritime rise in the same continuum as that of the British Royal Navy in the days of Victorian empire, and the U.S. fleet during the Cold War. At present, China's naval capabilities are still that of a regional power — its own state planners aim for the PLA to finally have "risen" only in half a century's time. By then, the world could be very a different place. The Chinese navy could act as a stabilizing force — or a source of conflict that threatens its neighbors. "It should not shock us that they're going to be there, out and about," reckons McDevitt. "We might as well get used to it." 

KL Stocks - Media Chinese & Xinguan Intl Sports

 

Are Big Breasted Women More Intelligent?

October 5, 2007 by Kristie Leong MD 
Published in Women


The stereotype has been perpetuated that big breasted women are less intelligent than their small breasted counterparts. It may be time to rethink this idea.

Are big breasted people less intelligent than their small breasted counterparts? Does breast size correlate with intelligence? Sometimes old stereotypes die hard. The idea perpetuated down through the ages is that big breasted women are less intelligent. This image has been reinforced in literature, in comic strips, and on television where the air headed woman is portrayed with overly processed blond hair and large breasts prominently displayed in an eye catching push up bra.

In contrast, the smart woman is generally depicted as being dark haired and small breasted, with thick rimmed glasses and a rather nondescript look. It may be time to rethink this outdated notion..

According to a study carried out by a Chicago sociologist in 2003, women with big breasts had ten point higher I.Q’s. on average than their less well endowed counterparts. This sociologist conducting the study, who admitted to being a 32A in breast size, looked at 1200 women of various breast sizes. She divided the women into five categories based on their breast measurements. These included extra-large, large, medium, small, and extra-small breast sizes.

The women were then given an I.Q. test to objectively measure their intelligence levels To the researcher’s surprise, women in the extra-large and large categories scored an average of ten points higher than women in the groups with the smallest breast sizes. Even women with medium sized breasts beat out the small breasted women by several I.Q. points.

While no one is sure why this correlation between breast size and intelligence may exist, it may have something to do with sex hormone levels which play a role in determining a woman’s breast size. There’s also the possibility there may be some natural selection taking place here.

If it’s true that men actually prefer women with larger breast sizes, the intelligent men may be selectively choosing larger breasted women as their reproductive partners. The resulting offspring would have a high likelihood of inheriting the genes for larger breast size from the woman along with the male’s genes for higher intelligence.

It’s interesting to note that women in the United States have the largest breast size in the world with an average bra cup size of C. Does this mean we have the smartest women in the world? There’s also the issue of breast enhancement. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely that a woman can increase her intelligence by getting large breast implants, though no study has been done to confirm or refute this.

So, the next time you’re tempted to call that gal with the big breasts jutting out of her Victoria Secret’s push bra a bimbo, think again. She may actually be a rocket scientist.

 

Hugh Hendry has a big mouth, as Hugh Hendry will tell you.

 

An Outspoken Man in a Secretive Trade
By JULIA WERDIGIER
LONDON


Hugh Hendry of Eclectica Asset Management, in his office in Bayswater, London. He says China's days of blistering growth will soon end in a crisis.

With a sharp wit and a sharper tongue, Mr. Hendry, a plain-spoken Scot, has positioned himself as the public contrarian thinker of this city’s very private hedge fund community.
The euro? It’s finished, Mr. Hendry proclaims.

China? Headed for a fall.

President Obama? “If there was a way to short Obama, I would,” Mr. Hendry said.

Mr. Hendry runs the successful hedge fund firm Eclectica Asset Management. It is an old-school macroeconomic fund company with a big-think, globe-straddling style more akin to the Quantum Fund, of George Soros fame, than to the high-tech razzle-dazzle of Wall Street’s math-loving quant analysts.

“Hugh is an anachronism,” said Steven Drobny, a founder of Drobny Global Advisors. “He reminds one of the original hedge fund managers from the ’70s and ’80s.”

At 41, Mr. Hendry is also emerging from the normally secretive world of hedge funds to captivate fans and foes with a surprising level of candor.
Last May, on British television, he verbally sparred with Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia and perhaps the best-known economist writing on developmental issues.
Before that, he took on Joseph E. Stiglitz, the Nobel laureate, about the future of the euro. “Hello, can I tell you about the real world?” Mr. Hendry interjected at one point. Video of the encounter was a huge hit on YouTube.
His verbal pyrotechnics have won Mr. Hendry a reputation for challenging the economics establishment. He is regarded and appreciated by many as overly pessimistic about, well, just about everything.

His big worry lately has been China. Like James Chanos, a prominent hedge fund manager in the United States, Mr. Hendry says he believes China’s days of heady growth are numbered. A crisis is coming, he insists.
“He’s an original thinker, and he’s definitely not afraid of saying what he thinks, even if he’s not always right,” said Jacob H. Schmidt, founder of Schmidt Research Partners.

Mr. Hendry has made — and sometimes lost — money for his investors. Eclectica’s flagship fund, the Eclectica Fund, is up about 13 percent this year, besting by far the average 1.3 percent loss among similar funds.

But returns have been erratic — “too much sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll” for some investors, he concedes. In 2008, the Eclectica Fund was up 50 percent one month and down 15 percent another. Mr. Hendry plans to change that.

The firm bet correctly that the financial troubles plaguing Greece would eventually ripple through to the market for German bonds, considered the European equivalent of ultra-safe United States Treasury securities. But the firm lost money betting on European sovereign debt in the first quarter of last year.

Last week, Mr. Hendry was musing about the financial world in his office behind a scruffy shopping mall in the Bayswater section of London. No Savile Row here: He was sporting a white oxford shirt, jeans and blue Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, along with a three-day stubble and hipster horn-rim glasses.

His latest obsession is China. He likens the country to Starbucks: good at growing quickly but not so good at creating wealth.

“The idea is that things would happen today that are commonly thought of as impossible, most notably a significant reversal of China,” Mr. Hendry said.

Maps cover the walls of his office. On one, blue magnetic pins plot his recent trip through China.

He filmed himself there in front of huge, empty office buildings and giant new bridges in the middle of nowhere — signs, he said, of a credit bubble.

Along with his fund co-manager, Espen Baardsen, a former goalie for the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, Mr. Hendry is devising ways to bet on a spectacular deterioration of China’s economy. He declined to divulge any details.

Mr. Hendry’s outspokenness has won him both fans and detractors.
Marc Faber, the money manager known as Doctor Doom for his bearish views, calls Mr. Hendry “a deep thinker.”
“He has strong views and expresses them, not to get publicity but because he has a great understanding of the markets,” Mr. Faber said.

Some London investors are less charitable. Two declined to comment on Mr. Hendry, saying they did not want to “get into a fight” with him.

Mr. Hendry certainly does not fit the stereotype of a discreet London moneyman.

The son of a truck driver, he was the first in his family to attend a university — Strathclyde, in Glasgow, not Oxbridge. He studied accounting and joined Baillie Gifford, a large Edinburgh money manager.

Frustrated that he could not challenge the investment strategies of his bosses, he jumped to Credit Suisse Asset Management in London. There, a chance meeting with an equally opinionated hedge fund manager, Crispin Odey, led to a job. Before long, Mr. Hendry struck out on his own.

The inspiration for his investment approach comes from an unlikely source: “The Gap in the Curtain,” a 1932 novel by John Buchan. The plot centers on five people who are chosen by a scientist to take part in an experiment that will let them glimpse one year into the future. Two see their own obituaries in one year’s time.

Mr. Hendry calls the novel “the best investment book ever written” because it taught him to envision the future without neglecting what happened leading up to it, a mistake many investors make, he said.

Mr. Hendry hopes Eclectica will grow to $1 billion — still relatively small by hedge fund standards. But neither admirers nor rivals expect him to change his plain-talking ways.

“I’ve got such a big mouth,” he said, “I have to be very careful what I say.”

中國永远不会成为霸权 ?

7月6日，美軍三艘「俄亥俄」級核戰略潛艇不約而同在亞太三處同時浮起露面，頓時成為了世界媒體的焦點。「密歇根」號潛艇 停靠韓國釜山港，「俄亥俄」號在菲律賓蘇比克灣，而「佛羅里達」號則停靠印度洋中部迪格加西亞港口，對中國形成了包圍之勢，安全專家皆釋為對中國的震懾， 顯示出美國將力保亞太安全的決心。
事實上，這一次的威懾行動顯示，美國在一定的程度上，對中國欲主導亞太局勢的態度，表示了一定的不滿。
自1990年開始，中國便不斷強化其解放海軍的力量。除了積極自建軍艦以外，也向俄羅斯購買了不少先進戰艦，包括配有「火炎」反艦導彈的4艘「現代 級」驅逐艦，以及「基洛」級潛水艇等等。
2008年中東亞丁灣劫船綁人質案件頻頻發生後，中國海軍對該海域兩次派遣艦隊執行反海盜巡邏與護航任務。此後，中國國內開始出現「維護利益邊疆」 言論。

一名解放軍高官甚至還揚言：「國家利益拓展到哪里，解放軍的使命就要拓展到哪里」。

這一言論一度在外交界與國際戰略安全界引起密切關注與討論，顯示出解放軍欲踏出傳統「維護國家領土」的企圖，而這並不只停留在言論或是紙上談兵而 已。
近年來，中國大力資助南亞四大盟國，巴基斯坦（瓜達而港）、孟加拉國（吉大港）、斯里蘭 卡（汗班托特港）與緬甸建設龐大的軍民兩用深海港口，以利中 國海軍戰艦日後停泊有關港口。另外，中國也在南中國海海南島建築核潛艇基地。其欲突破南中國海與控制馬六甲海峽，與美國在 這地區一爭高低的戰略意圖更是顯 而易見。
這不僅引起本區域安全和軍事專家的關注，更讓越南對於中國此舉產生戒心重重。美國在此刻同時在印度洋與亞太地區讓三艘戰略潛艇高調浮出，向中國傳達 美國仍然注重亞太地區主導權的外交訊息。

在冷戰時期，「俄亥俄」級潛艇是美國戰略部隊之一，常年攜帶備有大量核彈頭的「三叉戟」導彈將矛頭對準莫斯科。冷戰後，其中四艘有關潛艇經過改裝 後，以戰斧導彈取代三叉戟核導彈。除此以外，有關潛艇還能讓60名特種部隊成員隨行執行任務。
這一次的美核潛艇會讓中國關注，不僅僅因為它們是戰略武器，而是因為每一艘「俄亥俄」潛艇能夠攜帶多達154枚戰斧導彈。中國突然發覺它被多達 462枚戰斧導彈包圍，而戰斧導彈巡航導彈射程多達1600公里，其威力在阿富汗、伊拉克和波斯灣戰爭中，已得以證實。

亞太與印度洋地區如今是美國核心利益所在之處，其政治決心不容置疑，軍事能力更是遠在中國之上。中國要稱霸亞太地區，恐怕還真是不容易。

粵語之戰系列  - 

我觉得非常自豪我係广东人:-

1) 廣東粗口硬係最X勁
2) 廣東菜是 全世界最好吃
3) 广东人都是刁民

　　近來有不少老廣州慨嘆粵語的衰落，因為他們發現自己的子女不只上學的時 候按照規定說普通話，連放學回家也還是滿口字正腔圓的普通話，無論如何就是不大願講廣東話。聽說有些孩子甚至認為講廣東話是低級的行為。於是我這幫廣州朋 友就打算發起挽救嶺南文化的運動了。

如果讓上海人聽到這憂思，他們一定要哈哈大笑，罵我們老廣真是身在福中不知福。可不是嗎？你瞧上海人一向心高氣傲，自成一格；一桌人吃飯也不管在座有沒 有外地人，動不動就轉換頻道大講上海話。而且他們還要把上海之外的人都叫做「鄉下人」，彷彿中國雖大，唯獨 上海是座城。

即使如 此，上海也沒有一條全滬語的電台頻道，更沒有一個純滬語的電視台。每天只有一小時可憐兮兮的上海話節目，他們就已經如獲至寶。反觀廣東，粵語電台電視台樣 樣不缺，而且聲勢浩大，長年把其他普通話頻道壓在下頭。放眼全國，哪一省有這等特權？哪一地 的方言有這般威風？加上香港的後方支援，廣東話乃在今日中國闖 出一塊獨特的地盤。

有的方言只能盡力保住自己的本來面目，少有順應時代鑄造的新詞；廣東話則不斷推陳出新，一年拼出好幾十個潮語 潮字，充滿生命力。為甚麼廣東話那麼流行，那麼長青呢？原因就在廣東話背後有一個以香港為主的文化工業，製造出大量的電影、電視和音樂，還把口頭詞語寫進 文字，透過報刊四處流布。在這個時代裡頭，一個語種的存活繁衍與文化工業的支撐有莫大的關係。

假如沒有粵語播報的電視新聞，沒有粵語流行歌曲和使用廣東口語擬就的報紙標題；那麼廣東話就會少了許多操演的機會，少了一個公共流傳的平台，以及某種 半正式語言的地位，繼而淪為私下小規模溝通的局部私房話了。

沒錯，廣東省內有深圳這塊飛地。因為移民眾多，使得普通話成為主流，你坐的士，一定要說普通話，否則湖南司機就聽不懂你在說甚麼；街邊覓食，四川菜館 數量多過廣東菜館，連招牌都比人大。而珠三角內外地勞工數之不盡，也很難使粵語暢通無阻。

但在可見的未來，我們實在還用不著擔心廣東話會被邊緣化得無影無蹤。最最起碼，我那些朋友的孩子仍然在說廣東粗口；唔知點解，佢哋硬係覺得普通話粗口唔夠勁。

KCPO:-  Will This Turn Into a Bigger 

Rally - 19/7/2010

Last week I was thinking that this market was going oversold because of the ADX climbing over the D-. Last Monday, the market took out my previous sell positions and immediately triggered a new buy signal as the Stochastic also turned positive.

The ADX has now started to turned down which is confirming the end of the prior sell cycle. The Stochastic continues its ascend and the MACD has also turned positive. The D+ has also turned gone above the D- while prices have gone above the upper Bollinger Band, all of these are confirming a bull cycle.

Place stop at 2405. As there was no divergence in the chart, so I would treat this as a normal technical rebound.
Watch 2495 and 2550 for upside targets.

Though the last weekly chart was flashing major sell signals , I was not too comfortable with the lowly Stochastic. I must explain here there is a great difference between a daily Stochastic which can stay oversold or overbought for days or weeks with prices continue to fall further. But the weekly Stochastic seldom (never say never) behave as the daily version. So whenever the weekly Stochastic goes into overbought or oversold zone, it may be worth your while to keep an eye as it may be near their terminal point.

Here we have the weekly Stochastic begins to turned upward and may be crossing up above the 20's signal line which may be taken as initial buy signal. This is complimented by prices already closed above the lower Bollinger Band. But you must also pay attention to the ADX which has begun to fall again. So with this, keep your eye on the Stochastic and ignore the MACD for a while as this cycle may be just another short lived one.

FKLI:- Get Read To Sell Again -19/7/2010

As I mentioned last week, the lowly flat ADX situation usually make trading difficult. Last Tuesday, the market went to test a low of 1324 again took out my stop. I went back in buy again the next day but again was stopped out again with price went below the upper Bollinger Band on Friday. So there is why sometime it is better to stand aside for a while to watch out for some stronger signal.

The current picture is that the ADX is still staying flat and at a lowly 14's. The Stochastic has gone overbought and seems to be turning. The MACD continues to rising and stay positive. Prices seem to be testing the 1350's areas but has been unable to break above it.

The weekly chart remains as uncertain as last week's. The Stochastic continues to rise but the MACD remains negative. The worst is that the ADX has now gone below the 20's signal line which is really telling us that there is absolutely no trend in this market.

I have drawn a horizontal line marking the D- recent peak on the daily chart, I would re-enter the market when this peak is taken out by either a rising D+ or D-. But if you want to continue to trade this market with minor signals, then I would recommend you stick to the Stochastic cross down as the next sell signal.

Of course the big picture remains dominantly bearish. So you should pay more attention to the sell signal over the buy signals.

『丟哪媽！頂硬 上！幾大就 幾大！』

 

明朝將領袁崇煥雕像下的銘牌（上圖）「掉哪媽！頂硬上！」被剷去，令廣東話捍衛戰越 演越烈。官方剷除袁崇煥名句

明代名將袁崇煥在廣東東莞石碣故鄉紀念園中的雕像基座上，原刻有一句具鮮明嶺南文化特色、反映 一代名將熱血性格的方言，近 日遭東莞文化部門下令剷除。事件引起民眾強烈不滿，令廣東話捍衛戰火上加油。

該紀念園是當地村民多年前在袁的故居舊址上修建的，其中一座袁 崇煥騎馬躍前的雕像基座上，鑲有一塊金色銘牌，上面刻有一句據稱是袁帶兵打仗時的口頭禪：「掉哪媽！頂硬上！」，下配英文翻譯，旁邊還有一段解釋，意指 「頂硬上」是袁當年保護京城的主旋律，而「掉哪媽」是罵昏君的語助詞。(so we know the real reason why it is removed)


由於這句口頭禪極具特色，有保安坦言，不少遊客就是衝著這句口頭禪而來參觀的。

但有中國記者發現，這塊銘牌已被鑿走。園內保安稱，銘牌是近日鑿去的，具體原因不清楚，「那是 領導考慮的事」。(因为这屌上他 们) 
 

當局指粗口不宜展示

香港《蘋果日報》記者13日致電該紀念園查詢，一匿名男子稱，自年初該紀念園收歸東莞市文化局管理後，領導認為是粗口，不宜展示，「領導還說沒證據 說這兩句話是袁打仗時口頭禪，所以要剷去」。
民眾這塊銘牌被鏟十分不滿。有遊客在現場稱，專門造訪想合影留念，但可惜再見不到了。

有網民指，此事與近期廣州掀起捍著廣東話一樣，是官場北方人要消滅廣東方言，「簡直是犯罪」， 「這不僅是石碣人的悲哀，而是所有講廣東話人的悲 哀」。

據悉，該六字口頭禪源自金庸論文《袁崇煥評傳》，其中有描述：「全軍上下在他（袁崇煥） 激勵下，人人熱血沸騰，決心死戰， 
『丟哪媽！頂硬上！幾大就 幾大！』」

香港次文化堂出版社社長彭志銘指，廣東話「掉哪媽」等同普通話「去你媽」，同是中原文化流傳。後者在北方通行，前者成為廣東話方言，原意是「你媽來 了也沒有用」，因廣東話「丟」字讀音似粗口「屌」，令人忌諱。

廣州廣東話捍衛戰

 

中 國廣州有年輕網民高舉「廣府話起錨、紀可光收皮」的標語，將矛 頭直指提出取締廣州話的廣州市政協委員紀可光。「收皮」是廣東話「滾蛋」的意思。

廣州市的年輕網民更號召本月25日舉行大規模集會，呼籲參加者身穿白衣，透過喊口號、派傳單、紙扇和T恤等活動，力挺廣州 話。據透露，集會人數可望多達2萬人。
網民近日在網上各論壇串連，初步定出25日傍晚，在海珠區江南西地鐵站的A出口舉行名為「齊撐 粵語大 行動」的活動。
按計劃，參加者將在地鐵站出口被問廣州話歇後語，答中者會獲贈印有明代名將袁崇煥名句 「掉哪媽！頂硬上！」的T恤，在場也會有人派發傳單、扇等紀念 品。(please give me one !)

網民也計劃在
現場高喊口號，暫定的口號有「光復廣州」、「我愛廣州！ 我講廣州話！」。有關這次的訊息近日不斷在網上論壇、微型部落格等傳播，許多人表示有興趣參 加。
據透露，活動人數可望多達2萬，主辦者已向公安局備案，但未有透露報備者的身份，及以向公安報備的活動內容。接近消息者稱，這次只是集會，不會舉行 遊行，以免遭當局打壓。

這是自本月5日，廣州市政協以「適應亞運會」、「打造國際都市形象」為由，向當局建議將廣州電視台的主要頻道改成普通話，觸發廣州話捍衛戰後，最大 規模的集會。

唱粵語歌抗「煲冬瓜」

本月11日下午，上百名廣州80後網民在越秀區的人民公園，舉行快閃集會。
他們仿照香港政改起錨海報，自製「廣府話起錨、煲冬瓜收皮」標語，並高唱粵語流行曲《半斤八 兩》、《光輝歲月》等，表達對粵語被「扼殺」的不滿，力 爭保留廣州文化。

「煲冬瓜」是「普通話」的粵語諧音，早期廣東人不懂北方人的普通話，便說他們在煲冬瓜。

致力推行廣州話的廣州政協委員韓志鵬曾在網上呼籲：「母語告急，嶺南文化垂危！」 他指出，廣州話和普通話之爭，「其實是嶺南文化與北方文化的衝 突」。他並指許多在廣州工作生活的華僑港澳同胞，大多數人都不會「煲冬瓜」，當局不該忘了他們對廣州建設的貢獻。
另外，自廣東媒體揭發東莞文化部門下令剷除明代將領袁崇煥雕像下「掉哪媽！頂硬上！」的名言後，當局對廣州話的立場變得低調。

東莞副市長嚴小康週四出席公開場合時稱，不管袁崇煥是否真的說過上述這六字名言，有關部門都要進行歷史考究。他更強調：「如果袁崇煥真的說過，必須 要認真對待。」

汪洋要「教化」廣東人  雖然廣州網民和當地媒體對捍衛廣州話的聲音極大，但官方立場仍然強硬。

中共廣東省委書記汪洋週五出席省委會 議時，引用《論語》名句大談「教化」廣東人，指廣東基本已「富之」，下一步是要「教之」，以教開智，以文「化」人。
汪洋在會中引述《論語》的故事說，孔子到衛國看到熙熙攘攘的人流，弟子冉有問，這個地方人口眾多，該如何治理？孔子答：「富之」；冉有又問，富裕起 來之後又如何？孔子答道：「教之」。

汪洋話鋒一轉，說廣東人均國內生產總值（GDP）已近6000美元（1萬9338令吉），可說基本「富之」，下一步是要「教之」，以教開智以文 「化」人。他說，「教之」就是透過教化提高人的素質。

對如何「教之」，汪洋提出要多參與文藝活動，提高文化素養；還包括推廣普通話，有條件的地方要鼓勵民眾學習外語，提高對外溝通能力。

And If You Think Michael Jackson Was A Great Dancer

The story behind the first video:-

 Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the movie Hellzapoppin. They were a dance troup from the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. The fella in the overalls is Frankie Manning. He choreographed this piece. Frankie just passed away this spring one month short of his 95th birthday. Thousands of dancers from around the world came to NYC to memorialize him. The only surviving member is Norma Miller, she's the one dancing with the chef. Believe it or not, people all around the world are still dancing LIndy Hop."

The original Tammi Terrell's solo version that comes with great dance scenes:-
 


Then the static version of the same song but this time with Marvin Gaye duetting (and you can read Harvey Fuqua's credit near the end. Harvey passed away last week) :-

An Advertising Industry's Proud Moment

BBH Loses Levi's...Again

Having already lost its U.S. Levi's account to W+K in 2008, BBH and the brand have parted ways across the Atlantic. It ends a 28-year relationship between the two parties, though according to Campaign, their bond is said to have "deteriorated in recent times, as the agency struggled to get its creative ideas through to production."

BBH in fact hasn't done anything really for Levi's since a Levi's Originals campaign in 2008. Still, the agency is being credited for turning one of its founding clients around in the mid-80's with the "Launderette" ad that was set to the tune of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

During this advertisement campaign, it brought Marvin's classic back into the UK and US's top 5 again !

Fools' Gold

We're beginning to build a massive amount of respect for James Altucher due to his willingness to say things that will get him absolutely pilloried by the masses.

He's taking on the gold bulls with a new WSJ  piece arguing that gold -- and yes, you've heard this before -- is really just a worthless rock that doesn't yield anything, has high carrying costs, doesn't have much in the way of practical use, and doesn't grow in value over time.

But, you say: sure, all that's true, but gold has been a major winner, right?

Yes, but over the long term, Altucher says no:

Gold reached its peak in 1980 when it reached $800 an ounce,  which is $2,000 in today’s dollars. So in real terms, gold has lost about 40% of its value since 1980. In the meantime, the stock market has gone up about 500% in real terms.

Some other time frames for comparison: From 1975 (post the U.S. getting off the gold standard) to now, gold is up 500%. The Dow is up 900%. Gold was worth about $20 an ounce in 1800. Since then it’s averaged a 2% gross return. Subtract out the costs of mining and storing gold, and what you have is basically a worthless rock that has a net negative return as an investment.

James, prepare to see the volume of hatemail in your inbox jump exponentially.

 

Pakistan (Land Of Pure) Soon Changing Its Name

Pakistan leads world in web searches for animal sex, rape pics, child sex

Part of the Muslim world’s contribution to science and technology that Obama keeps searching for?

They may call it the “Land of the Pure,” but Pakistan turns out to be anything but.

The Muslim country, which has banned content on at least 17 websites to block offensive and blasphemous material, is the world’s leader in online searches for pornographic material, FoxNews.com has learned.

“You won’t find strip clubs in Islamic countries. Most Islamic countries have certain dress codes,” said Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. “It would be an irony if they haven’t shown the same vigilance to pornography.”

So here’s the irony: Google ranks Pakistan No. 1 in the world in searches for pornographic terms, outranking every other country in the world in searches per person for certain sex-related content.

Pakistan is top dog in searches per-person for “horse sex” since 2004, “donkey sex” since 2007, “rape pictures” between 2004 and 2009, “rape sex” since 2004, “child sex” between 2004 and 2007 and since 2009, “animal sex” since 2004 and “dog sex” since 2005, according to Google Trends and Google Insights, features of Google that generate data based on popular search terms.

The country also is tops — or has been No. 1 — in searches for “sex,” “camel sex,” “rape video,” “child sex video” and some other searches that can’t be printed here.

Via No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches? Call it Pornistan.:- 

No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches? Call it Pornistan

By Kelli Morgan

Published July 13, 2010

| FoxNews.com


AP

Pakistan has banned content on more than a dozen websites because of offensive and blasphemous material. The Muslim country, which has laws on dress codes, ranks as the top country to proportionally search for certain sex-related terms.

They may call it the "Land of the Pure," but Pakistan turns out to be anything but.

The Muslim country, which has banned content on at least 17 websites to block offensive and blasphemous material, is the world's leader in online searches for pornographic material, FoxNews.com has learned.

“You won’t find strip clubs in Islamic countries. Most Islamic countries have certain dress codes,” said Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. “It would be an irony if they haven’t shown the same vigilance to pornography.”

So here's the irony: Google ranks Pakistan No. 1 in the world in searches for pornographic terms, outranking every other country in the world in searches per person for certain sex-related content.

Pakistan is top dog in searches per-person for "horse sex" since 2004, "donkey sex" since 2007, "rape pictures" between 2004 and 2009, "rape sex" since 2004, "child sex" between 2004 and 2007 and since 2009, "animal sex" since 2004 and "dog sex" since 2005, according to Google Trends and Google Insights, features of Google that generate data based on popular search terms.

The country also is tops -- or has been No. 1 -- in searches for "sex," "camel sex," "rape video," "child sex video" and some other searches that can't be printed here.

Google Trends generates data of popular search terms in geographic locations during specific time frames. Google Insights is a more advanced version that allows users to filter a search to geographic locations, time frames and the nature of a search, including web, images, products and news.

Pakistan ranked No. 1 in all the searches listed above on Google Trends, but on only some of them in Google Insights.

“We do our best to provide accurate data and to provide insights into broad search patterns, but the results for a given query may contain inaccuracies due to data sampling issues, approximations, or incomplete data for the terms entered,” Google said in a statement, when asked about the accuracy of its reports.

The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan did not reply to a request for an interview.

In addition to banning content on 17 websites, including islamexposed.blogspot.com, Pakistan is monitoring seven other sites -- Google, Yahoo, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, MSN and Hotmail -- for anti-Islamic content, the Associated Press reported in June.

But it’s not to censor the Pakistani people, Reynolds said. It’s to shut out the rest of the world.

“[It] could lead to conversion, which would undermine the very order of the state,” he said. “Part of protecting the society is making sure that there is no way it could be undermined in terms of foreign influences.”

Pakistan temporarily banned Facebook in May when Muslim groups protested the “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” page, where users were encouraged to upload pictures of the Prophet Muhammad. The page remains on Facebook, but Pakistani users are unable to view it, said Andrew Noyes, manager of Facebook’s Public Policy Communication.

And while Pakistan is taking measures to prevent blasphemous material from being viewed by its citizens, pornographic material is “certainly” contradictory to Islam, too, Reynolds said.

The country’s punishment for those charged with blasphemy is execution, but the question remains what -- if anything -- can be done about people who search for porn on the Web.

“It’s a new phenomenon,” Reynolds said.


You know, if they can work out some of their sexual frustrations, they would not have to pretend to fight for their religion so much.

 

 

 

Whoa: Some Guy Wants To Punch Jamie Dimon In The Balls Today

(In case you don't know who Jamie is, he is the current CEO and chairman of JPMorgan Chase)

So this is really weird: A Facebook group just popped up that asks people to punch Jamie Dimon in the balls today.

Some guy is pissed about losing $142. Unfortunately, there's no picture of this hooligan.

He writes in the description: "This guy owes me $142 dollars, if you see him today punch him in the balls and say 'Sean Michael Carey sends his regards, f*cker.'"

And there's more craziness in the form of advice:

    *
      I'm sure this happens all the time, so he's probably wearing a cup.
    *
      I recommend sneaking up behind him and kicking between the legs. That way you assure a solid nut punt.
    *
      Try to film it if you can.

He sounds sincere and mad. What the heck? So inexplicably mean.

China Biting Own Mother Nipples !

This comes out at  Nanyang Siang Pau front page today, but it is not been reported in other papers. I completely fail to understand why the Chinese government would want to attack their long time 大恩人 as Kuok was among the first group of overseas tycoons that helped China during her difficult years (during and after the Korean War, America was sanctioning China which as a result China depended on these people to 'smuggle" essential items through). It is only when I showed the paper to my daughter that she explains to me it is because a Chinese GLC lost their bids to buy Australia' s CSR to Kuok's Wilmar group by a smallish margin last week. I think the Australian authority would rather see 50% of their sugar production goes to Kuok than to a Chinese GLC. (you can see here again how bad is China's image in the international scene) Hence the Chinese throwing their shit here.

But all their accusations here are flawed. Kuok's group may be a known player in the commodities market, but compare to people like Cargill, Unilever etc, they are just another small boy. And to say one can corner a grain market is just too laughable. But you can see very clearly here China's true colors. Friends of the Revolution ? No lah, revolution eats its own children :-

新华社批郭鹤年抢高粮价

【中国企业家网】新华社昨日撰文针对马来西亚首富郭鹤年家族重金收购内地粮食小麦，导致内地小麦价格上涨;这是官方媒体首次公开撰文批评海外富豪的动作，香港明报解读称此动作反映了中央忧虑通胀发生的心态。以下是明报对此解读全文：


内地官方媒体新华社昨日撰文，点名马来西亚首富、糖王郭鹤年家族控股的“益海嘉里”等境外粮企，重金“抢粮”，引发农民惜售心理加剧，导致内地小麦价格愈抢愈高。但有分析员认为，小麦价抢高主因水稻减产，并非与粮企抢粮有关，然而这次官方媒体大喊粮价高，或反映中央对通胀的忧虑日渐升温。


本报昨致电“益海嘉里”在新加坡上市的母公司丰益国际，但对方表示不愿评论。


指多个集团纷纷直接收购粮食新华社指出，如“益海嘉里”等境内外私营粮食企业“抢粮”，导致粮价上涨。而今年抢购战激烈，主因除中国储备粮管理总公司带领下的地区储备粮管理公司外，央企中粮集团和中国华粮物流集团也加入到收购队伍，加上一些小公司以及外企如益海嘉里等委托当地粮食收购企业等直接收购。在产量没有明显增加下，收购需求又较去年猛增，终导致了价格疯涨。


分析员：涨幅“癫癫地”


据郑州商品期货交易所数据，今年9月到期的小麦期货价，昨日收报每吨2299 元(人民币.下同)，不到一个月上升逾1.5%。表面升幅好像不甚厉害。不过，新华社引述的例子是，自今年6月收购启动以来，山东济宁粮价几乎每天都在迅速上升，已从开秤初期的每公斤1.86 元涨到了目前的1.92 至2 元，涨幅多达7.5% ，远高于最低保护价1.8元。一位中资分析员向明报记者说：这样的涨幅“癫癫地”，但料此升势不能持久。


申银万国消费品分析师王海涛表示，今年因中国南方夏季水灾，水稻减产，同为粮食作物的小麦需求顺势上升。因预期小麦价升，农户惜售心理明显。但他认为，小麦价格走高不会维持太久，因国家小麦库存充足，市场调控能力强，内地小麦需求稳定，且国际小麦价格走势平稳。况且， “小麦储存对天气湿润度有一定要求，囤积过久会影响质量，农户届时不得不出售”。


从市场占有率看，益海嘉里和中粮掌握了内地油脂价格的控制权，而在食用油方面，益海嘉里无疑是行业老大;此外，近年来，益海正大举进入内地精品面粉市场。内地媒体曾尖锐地指出，如果没有国家干预，益海嘉里和中粮可轻松调整产品价格，获得高额利润。


益海需新利润增长点


针对益海进军面粉及大米加工业，王海涛分析称，丰益目前所在的食用油市场加工产能已严重过剩，需要寻找新的利润增长点。不过， “益海主攻利润率较高的深加工业务，生产高端产品，相信对相关行业冲击不大，对小麦需求也有限”。




SYDNEY/SINGAPORE: Singapore's Wilmar International is buying Sydney-based CSR's sugar business for US$1.5 billion (US$1 = RM3.22) in a surprise deal that trumps China's Bright Food Group and gives it control of more than half of Australia's raw sugar output.


CSR, the world's fifth-largest sugar-refiner, said yesterday Wilmar had agreed to buy its Sucrogen sugar arm, ending a year-long effort to either spin-off or sell the asset and pushing its share price up as much as 5 per cent in a weak broader market.


After a 150-year history in sugar, CSR is selling Sucrogen, a household name in Australia, to focus on its core building materials operations. Wilmar, the world's largest listed palm oil producer, is using the deal as a springboard for further expansion into sugar.


"This latest acquisition proves that Wilmar is well on its way to becoming a dominant global sugar player and will significantly raise the possibility of the injection of (Malaysian tycoon) Robert Kuok's sugar business into Wilmar," said Alvin Tai, an analyst at Malaysian brokerage OSK Group.


Kuok is the uncle of Wilmar chief executive Kuok Khoon Hong.


The deal was also a coup for CSR which has been trying to demerge Sucrogen from its core building materials business for a year.


The CSR board over the weekend rejected a lower formal offer from China's Bright Food Group, which has been chasing CSR since the start of the year.


One source close to Bright Food said the price agreed was A$1.68 billion (A$1 = RM2.71) and news of Wilmar's rival bid had taken it by surprise.


CSR chief executive Jeremy Sutcliffe, who was brought in to run the company in April due to his experience brokering major deals in the metals recycling sector, said Wilmar won the race with an offer at the "very last gasp".


"At the end of the day they (Bright Food) didn't quite get there in terms of price or certainty," he said.


UBS and Lazard advised CSR on the deal. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group advised Wilmar.


It was one of two major takeovers for corporate Australia yesterday after Centennial Coal Co Ltd agreed to a US$2 billion offer from Thailand's Banpu Public Co Ltd.


The Australian government's watered down plans for a big mining tax late last week were expected to clear the way for a string of deals in the resources sector.


Wilmar's purchase price was A$1.347 billion for equity and A$403 million for debt, 6 per cent higher than a conditional A$1.65 billion offer Bright Food made to CSR's board late last week.


Wilmar's shares rose as much as 2.3 per cent to S$5.88, (S$1 = RM2.31) outperforming a slight fall in Singapore's headline index.


"This is positive news as it'll help jump start their strategy to expand in the sugar business and (represents) the next growth driver for Wilmar," said DBS Vickers analyst Ben Santoso.


Santoso expected the new business to see synergies from capitalising on Wilmar's extensive distribution to China and Asia.


CIMB analyst Ivy Ng said the deal was positive in the medium term as it gave Wilmar knowledge to expand to other parts of Asia.


"But in the short term, based on what they have so far it does not appear the acquisition will significantly increase their earnings," said Ng.


"In the longer term, it would be good if they can replicate the business in other parts of Asia like China, India and Indonesia, but you won't see that tomorrow."


CSR said the deal was expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2010, and is conditional on approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board. - Reuters