China Lacks Variety

Quick note from the Saipan Middle Road Shanghai Bureau: It appears that the Marianas Variety website is one of the "objectional" websites that cannot be accessed from China. The Saipan Tribune website, however, is fully accessible from China. Conspiracy theories are welcome.

2 Billion of Rats?

Another news that CNMI resident former Rep. Frank Cepeda would have been glad to hear about - an infestation of rats in China numbering to billions. Cepeda in May called Environmental Health division to report rodents infestation in his place up on As Matuis. But read this news from BBC:

BBC-Severe flooding in central China has brought a mass invasion of mice, raising fears of outbreaks of disease.
The floods forced about two billion mice from islands in Dongting Lake in Hunan province, local officials said.
Health authorities have been sent to three cities on the lake and crops have been destroyed by the field mice.
Flooding and landslides have killed at least 360 people across southern and central China in recent weeks, with more rain expected, officials say.

Residents' revenge

The rodent rampage began on 23 June, when the flooded Yangtze River raised water levels in Dongting Lake, forcing the mice from their holes on islands in the lake, China's state-run news agency Xinhua said on Monday.
But Li Junhua, from Hunan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told Xinhua there had not yet been any reports of disease caused by the field mice.

Happy now Mr. Cepeda? I would've fainted if I'd witness those billion of rats or mice scampering around the island! 'You think the local folks would have a problem with their (rodents') residency? Would we see a rodent governor, if this happens?

The Reveler

Piracy at the Caribbean, not!

China will be sued for piracy of American movies? Does that mean Sunleader here in the CNMI won't be able to sell them? Have you been to Sunleader in San Antonio and Garapan? DVDs and CDs galore baby! Here are some titles you won't forget when you splurge with these $5 DVDs:

*The Grunge 2 (This is hilarious. It's Sarah Michelle Gellar's The Grudge 2)
*Children of Min (I guess Clive Owen is Ho Chi Min here)
*Road to Rendition (Tom Hanks rendered a very good performance here)
*Shane Ward (A double CD of British Idol's debut album, the second CD when you listen to it, it's Robbie Williams)

Here's the news on CNN about US suing China:

CNN: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The United States is set to file a formal trade complaint against China after prodding the Chinese for months to crack down on pirated copies of American movies, music and software, news reports said Saturday.

The move, expected next week in a filing at the World Trade Organization, is likely to escalate trade tensions between the two countries. The Senate Finance Committee is looking into tougher legislation on China's trade terms.

The Bush administration will file two cases challenging China's lax enforcement of its own antipiracy laws and its tight restrictions on the distribution of foreign movies, music and printed material, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The complaints come after years of work in Washington to build a case against China over alleged intellectual-property abuses, which hit U.S. exports ranging from auto parts to movies to books to scientific journals, the newspaper said.

The Reveler