Archives from October, 2006
Expected but still disappointed.
26 October 2006 – 6:01 pmTelecom New Zealand has started its new broadband plans today. Its new 'go large' plan attracted most attentions as it is the first time that Telecom has offered fast broadband without data cap.
Though this plan has Fair use policy which doesn't allows you to use more than 700MB during the peak time and Traffic management policy which mainly focus on use of peer-to-peer software, it is still the most attractive plan for family users.
Other ISPs who are using Telecom's lines, have also followed the move. However, as far as I understand, none of them is able to offer unlimited data allowance plans.
Just few days ago the Commerce Commission, the regulator of Bitstream sets the new wholesale price at $27.76, which is again a mix of bureaucracy and Telecom's abuse of its market dominance. Once the GST is added, Telecom's retail price is even cheaper than the wholesale price.
Sure it's very clear now the Telecom is the main blockage that stops New Zealand's internet from moving forward.
Tour to China.
25 October 2006 – 9:11 pmJust few hours ago I have confirmed my air ticket to China.
This is the first time to home when I leaved nearly four years ago. I will be leave New ZEaland on December the 4th, and expecting to be back around early February.
I'm currently planning to stay at Shanghai for few days first before back to my hometown, Chengdu (Wikipedia:Chinese(featured article)|English(translation of Chinese version)). I'm expecting to meet up few friends who are doing pretty well there and expecting them to pay up my dinner money and if possible, offer me a shelter.
Of course another reason is I have never visit this one of China's fast changing cities, and the most corrupt one.
Throughout this period the most thing I want to do is travel, I have made up a list of places where I have never been to before and so desperate want to see, however some of them are quite difficult like Tibet(to a foreigner) and North Korea(but I have to see this amazing land before Kim Mentally Ill's dictatorship collapses).
Hope that comment won't be seen by any North Korean diplomats and accordingly turns down my visa application.
However it's the exams first....
当难民的后果
12 October 2006 – 6:46 pmNews Digest|Source:Times online UK
The consequence for being a refugee in China
North Korea claims it has conducted a nuclear test
10 October 2006 – 7:11 pmNews Digest|Source:Wikinews
According to South Korea-based Yonhap News service, and the Associated Press, North Korea has announced that it has successfully conducted its first nuclear test.
North Korea first announced it possessed nuclear weapons in 2005, though because it had not conducted a nuclear test its nuclear capability remained ambiguous. The United States, Japan, China, and South Korea have all urged North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. North Korea released a statement on October 3 saying that it would soon conduct a nuclear test, and also emphasized that it would neither use nuclear weapons first nor aid other countries in nuclear proliferation. The state claimed that it would only use the weapons as a deterrent against the United States Isreal, the United Kingdom and their allies. In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said that they "would not tolerate" a nuclear North Korea. China and Japan have also expressed concern.
Rumors of an impending nuclear test have circulated since North Korea announced its weapons capability.
According to North Korea's Central News Agency, the country conducted an underground nuclear test successfully without any radioactive leakage. Underground tests, if they fully contain the nuclear blast, can result in a minimum of nuclear fallout contamination. If confirmed, the nuclear test by North Korea would be the first nuclear test since the dual Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests of 1998.
The U.S. Geological Service has recorded a magnitude 4.2 event in eastern North Korea at 01:35:27 (UTC).
In the first significant reaction to the announcement the South Korean government has decided to suspend a scheduled shipment of its emergency relief aid to its northern neighbor. An official from the Unification Ministry said "A ship was scheduled to depart … carrying 4,000 tons of concrete on Tuesday, but we decided to delay the shipment under the current circumstances."
North Korea nuclear test
9 October 2006 – 6:25 pm 
North Korea |
I don't know whether countries like Iraq and Iran are axis of evil or not, but as a Chinese who konws more about asian politics, I know North Korea is.
Its dictatorship isn't a threat before as the people who suffer from that are most likely to be North Korean, and sadly rest of world can, and did live with it.
But things are now different, a dictatorship with nuclear weapon is nothing more than very very dangerous. In the last few years, the North Korea dictatorship actually kidnapped surrounding countries particularly China as hostages to fulfil its greedy needs, from food aid to endless economic supports that keeps the country running.
This news is not the saddest to me yet. The saddest thing I have seen is that most Chinese netizens are showing their happiness and 'respect' to a country that is dare to confront U.S.
Those nationalists have long history theory that puts N. Korea as a barrier between China and a possible enemy (most time this enemy is Japan, or America), therefore they "have to" "keep" North Korea "red".
Apart from keep hating Japan and America, those people cannot see that China has the greatest number of surrounding countries that have nuclear weapons: Russia, Pakistan, India and now adding North Korea, and most of those countries have a history of occupy Chinese land (Russia), or a current occupation (India, south Tibet), and now adding a new one that always kidnap Chinese as hostages to threat other countries.
But sadly, the government is just keep fuelling the hate to America and people don't see how dangerous this neighbouring country is. If a war broke out in North Korea and a nuclear weapon is used, the whole northeastern China is possible to under the nuclear radiation.
If that is not enough, what will happen if there is a war broke out between N Korea and China? This is possible if you didn't forget about similar things happened from Vietnam.
