PBS, Audit: Security lapses & Rumsfeld on China's Military Threat,Taiwan & Korea

Rumsfeld blows whistle on China military threat -- Defense secretary warns of hundreds of missiles targeting Taiwan, Beijing weapons spending June 5, 2005, wnd.com

China's massive military buildup and its targeting of hundreds of missiles at Taiwan makes it a growing threat to Asian security, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday.

Rumsfeld criticized China at a regional security conference in Singapore, noting it was expanding its military spending and the purchase of large amounts of sophisticated weapons despite facing no threat from any other country.

[. . . . ] China has said it will attack Taiwan if the island tries to declare independence, and it repeatedly calls on the United States to stop selling weapons to Taiwan. [. . . . ]

Search: world's third-largest military budget , European Union , ban on selling weapons to China , North Korea

Canada will support the repressive regime rather than the democratic one. Our government is so concerned about . . . well, put global warming, greenhouse gases, for the good of the planet, UN protocol, Kyoto and the like together with Canada's "ethical stance" and you'll get it. Unfortunately, the plight of the Tawanese people doesn't hold a candle to the opportunities . . . not when business is involved and China has that large, untapped buying population . . . along with a network of Canadian friends. BS and realpolitick put the pedal to the metal. . . .

Check out the Bricklin-Chinese Chery vehicle which was shown at a Shanghai auto show; see the photo and article in the Financial Post today.

Update: concerning the oil patch off Newfoundland, Claudia Cattaneo in today's National Post advises Danny Williams to consider that oil and gas companies have been pulling back from deals where they consider the demands too onerous (pipeline, the North West, native demands, Kakfwi, Deh Cho) because the rise in the price of oil and gas means they will make money anyway and there is much going on elsewhere. Apparently, Husky will hang in but is interested in some concession(s).



Audit: Security lapses at Atlantic CRA offices Murray Brewster, Jun. 5, 05

HALIFAX (CP) - Months after they left their jobs at the Canada Revenue Agency, a handful of former employees in the Atlantic region still had the ability to access sensitive case files belonging to taxpayers, a recent federal audit concluded.

The security lapse involved identification codes and passwords that employees use to log into the agency's central computer. [. . . . ]

Since it appears to have occurred within the local area network and thus be internal, it would appear that there is not identity theft which John Williamson, executive director of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation fears. There was no mention of whether there would be political uses to which the information could be put.




PBS.org: Simply wonderful programs

Along with the history channel, PBS provides hours of great programs.

NOVA Online Flying Casanovas -- Sir David Attenborough narrating & bowerbirds courting

Nature: Forces of the Wild -- Retrace how extreme natural forces formed and shaped the world in which we live. narrated by James Earle Jones (I think)

Check for the Jungle series and for more of the NOVA Nature series. Jungle: "Canopyworld" was enchanting. In it,

Charlotte Uhlenbroek examines rainforests using specially developed platforms, walkways and rope systems to penetrate the high jungle canopy. Also: time-lapse photography highlights how the forest grows.

Check www.pbs.org for another in the series of Jungle programs, "Underworld" on the creatures and plants of the forest floor in an African rainforest.


Could we not have more of this kind of programming early in the evening on our Canadian channels, especially for the young--and people like me--along with more programs made in Canada by Canadians on Canada's features? Surely, with webcams and modern technology, it should not be as expensive as it had been. Or would that put too many in the Mothercorps out of their cushy jobs? I really enjoy some of our made-in-Canada programs. Why not put the late-night programs such as The Passionate Eye and Rough Cuts on earlier, instead of . . . well, mind candy?

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