I've heard of Oh My News, mostly from its detractors [1,2], and I understand it to be something like a pro-profit version of Wikinews [3]. I don't see site-specific chat really taking off (I worked at a company that tried something similar, with little results), but it's a neat experiment.

As far as Arabic speakers (your second post), I agree. That German and French are often the main foreign languages taught in public schools owes a lot too outmoded Europhilia and structural inertia, and little that actually matters. If we view the world as tradingig in labor, capital, and violence, teaching worker-oriented (Spanish), investment-oriented (Mandarin or Japanese), and violence-oriented (Arabic) languages should be a top priority.

Subadei,

“What, beyond the “Party,” holds Taiwan, Tibet or the above mentioned Uighur from declaring independence? “
The People's Liberation Army? :-p
More seriously, each of these has problems.
East Turkestan, being substantially Muslim, has the typical provblems of crazed Muslim extremists. A Chechnya against Russia may be a good thing, as Russia' default strategy is to attack its neighbors (militarily, economically, politically) in the process of her centuries-long collapse. China has been much more quiet, and has not attacked any foreign country since her abortive invasion of Vietnam in the 1970s.
For better or for worse, the Tibetans have abandoned a strategy of forceful independence, and the same time China has adopted a policy of Sinization.
Taiwan is tricky. Beijing is hemmed in by her own rhetoric, unable to fulyl engage the Sinophile KMT because of hamfisted military threats. The best case scenarios are either a Taiwanese declaration of independence that Beijing doesn't prevent (say, during the 2008 Olympics, which would require a Chinese Nationalist government in Taipei) or the KMT being able to run some candidates in China in exchance to the CCP to operate in Taiwan (which would require a Taiwanese Nationalist government in Taipei). Neither is particularly likely, I fear. Instead we will probably see a continuation of the present, destructive status quo.

[1] http://freekorea.us/?p=2116
[2] http://freekorea.us/?p=2663
[3] http://en.wikinews.org/

“Let Americans Learn Arabic”
JOHN MCWHORTER
Publication:The New York Sun; Date:Jan 11, 2007; Section:Editorial & Opinion; Page:11 [2,3,4]

EXCERPT:
[...]we need to put many more resources into making Arabic one of the languages commonly encountered by schoolchildren. Yes, children, since languages are learned most easily by the young. Our task will therefore be to make Arabic one of America’s main taught languages, rather than the specialty taste that it is now.

Efforts to recruit native Arabic speakers will only ever yield so much. Many Arab-Americans will hesitate to join efforts they see as antithetical to their own people, and no amount of Karen Hughes-style outreach could make much of a dent in this.

The small upsurge in “interest” in Arabic courses at universities since September 11 is not enough. The same kinds of efforts the government put 60 years ago into cranking a viable amount of Russian speakers out of our universities must be put back into play now for Arabic.This is urgent because learning Arabic is a crucial gateway into winning the hearts and minds of native Arabic speakers.[...]

Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? Etc.?

[1] http://www.mercatornet.com
[2] http://preview.tinyurl.com/2y7uog
[3] http://301url.com/Teaching_Arabic
[4] http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getmailfiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2007/01/11&ID=Ar01103

Thanks for the points and the link. No doubt China faces some difficulties along the lines of an economic gap. Given that more than half it's population are rural poor, an influx of migration to economic centers will likely outpace job developement (even given China's dangerously brisk economic growth) a “peasant revolt” scenario makes sense (though I'd put more of a Maoish twist on it.)
Whether China faces economic collapse and class warfare or a more liberal, positive future I still have to wonder how culturally cohesive they'll remain. What, beyond the “Party,” holds Taiwan, Tibet or the above mentioned Uighur from declaring independence? What of the Hui or Kyrgs, will they divide along religious lines?
LOL. I don't expect an answer, just throwing ideas around, I suppose.

It enables a site's visitors to chat with each other.

Found out about this “chat” service through [3]

Look of the right side of the page (“Want to chat? Click here”).

Ever read Ohmynews? Interesting news site–it's been around for awhile, created in South Korea.

So, anyone find this service worth trying?

[1] http://www.gabbly.com/
[2] http://blog.gabbly.com/
[3] http://english.ohmynews.com/english/eng_section.asp?article_class=8

The last two economic downturns in China were democidal, albeit because they were intertwined by Mao Zedong's autogenocides. The previous one, caused in part by US manipulation of Chinese currency, was harder any better. So while I have wondered about how equally “Han” the “Han Chinese” really are, I agree with you on the dangers of intraethnic class strife.

From Fridman, M. (1992). Frankling D. Roosevelt, Silver, and China. The Journal of Political Economy 100(1), 62-83.

“The silver purchase program, initiated by President Franklin Roosevelt in late 1933 in response to the economically small but politically potent silver bloc, gave a large short-run subsidy to silver producers at the cost of… severe deflation on China, the only major country still on a silver standard, and forced it off the silver standard and on to a fiat standard, which brought forward in time and increased in severity the subsequent wartime inflation and postwar hyperinflation. The silver purchase program thereby contributed, though perhaps only modestly, to the ultimate triumph of the Communists. “[1]

Not that the US would ever think of manipulating Chinese currencies nowadays… [2]

Jeffrey,

Representative Wu has set back the coolness factor of scifi fans, and Congress, ten thousand years… and 20 parsecs.

[1] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3808%28199202%29100%3A1%3C62%3AFDRSAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2
[2] http://econ.claremontmckenna.edu/papers/2005-07.pdf

Enjoy.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-RqyLcDFfw

Jeff,

Klingons?! LOL. I think I'd lean more toward Romulans. A picture of the congressman wearing Spock ears at a convention would be priceless.

Wouldn't the widening economic and opportunity gaps within Chinese society be more dangerous in the near future than any ethnic considerations? After all, we have not yet seen the effects an economic downturn will have on China. It will be most interesting, and perhaps if the government struggles to contain the masses some ethnic separtism will unfold…..

Excellent read about oil, insurgency and corruption in Nigeria. (save the fact it doesn't mention China's widening role in the situation):

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/02/junger200702

I just wanted to post so that TDL could continue with his post.