Gorgeous day, and not a whole lot of them left before the rains hit. So I hit the trails around the house....
Taoyuan Nights turned me on to Canon camera firmware hacks. Apparently you can teach your old dog Canon camera new tricks, like shooting stero pictures, shooting in RAW, having exposure times of over a minute, and others too amazing to describe. I haven't been able to get it to work on my S5 IS yet, but many other Canon cameras are supported
What's being captured on the blogs today?
Prince Roy reviews the Mexican restaurant in Taoyuan. Thirsty Ghosts hosts another article on the $30 million gone. I'm so pissed off about that, I don't even want to think about it, let alone blog on it. Scott on the Eighth Teaching and Language Conference. Fili grabs pics of the 347th Koxinga Festival. That's Impossible! blogs on Koo's put-down of the fair sex, and on the payolaaward given to local officials after the election. Not to mention Ma's warm words for Hu's 16 characters on China-Taiwan relations.The Bushman on the May Jam. Taiwan Photographer has a new photographer all the time. The Only Redheard responds to the Chinese poem. Sofa in the Sky blogs on sex harassment in America and the wealth divide. Poagao off to Taichung for a day with Prince Roy. Jonathan Adams, the freelance journalist, has a new blog up with a great piece of his on the vanishing Thao people of Sun Moon Lake.
MEDIA: Taiwan pulls out of Seoul book fair over "Chinese Taipei" name issue -- imposed by the Koreans, not the Chinese. I blogged a while back on the probable lack of boost for Taiwan airlines that the Chinese opening will bring, and now a new competitor wants in: the US demands that Taiwan open its upcoming air link to China to foreign airlines, but Taiwan is reluctant. FORMOSAT-2 has made big bucks for Taiwan since its launch. Notes from a sucky economy: April exports fourth highest ever. Koo Kuan-min quits the DPP chairmanship race, thankfully. The virus continues to blast China, and at least some of the event cancellations that the media is attributing to the Olympics paranoia are actually due to the virus outbreak there. US has nixed a Ma visit, AP reports with a very bizarre last sentence: "Unlike Chen, Ma rejects the possibility of Taiwan independence, reflecting American policy in the region." The official US position is that Taiwan's status is undetermined, and Ma's anti-independence policy has nothing to do with US policy. Making good use of the subsidies given to him by the taxpayers of Taiwan, Wang Yung-ching opens a hospital in China. Jon Adams in IHT reviews the recent trends in Taiwan's struggle with China over its South Pacific allies. Australian diplomacy is now a major factor in that game...
ANNOUNCEMENTS: My friend and fellow blogger J Michael Cole announces the publication of his new book SMOKESCREEN: CANADIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. Go Michael!
Taichung Food Fair: Four volunteers are needed for the Kidz Booth at the Food Fair on Saturday, May 24th. Volunteers will meet at Our House at 9:30 am at Our House and are needed until 10 pm. Event to be held at Art Museum Parkway. To volunteer please call Lance Carroll at 09-2278-6700 or email thetaichungvoice@yahoo.com.
[Taiwan]
I always love to see the nature shots you post over here. Great stuff.
ReplyDeletenathan - still in Japan
I think the IHT's article is quite balanced. It admits that there is plenty of blame to go around, and it does take the very rare and very true position that the "marginal" countries that are involved have a high degree of responsibility. To be honest, although I prefer Taiwan, I feel many of these countries would immediately switch to China if they really cared about long-term investment in their own welfare. China is just too huge a market for their goods and a good eventual bet for tourism revenue.
ReplyDeleteIn defense of the AP, while official US policy is not anti-independence, actions are currently speaking louder than words. The Bush Administration and the State Department are China's biggest cheerleaders right now. The AP's comment just has the unfortunate effect of making people believe that, on paper, the US is against independence.