2005.4.4=1[#94]:4703.2.26[#55/60]: Reduced Loan 1)Israel's Nukes. 2)US' Intelligence. 3)China's Ships.

Clear cool then mild: 2 or 3 am tel. wakes me ringing then announcing name (Jen-jen?), 6:25 up, mom up in old time, out to Albertson/Bk of Am with mom, back to o.h. lunch, collect tax documents for Rich also. 4:45 left for US Bk then Bk of Am, quickly Amy tel. Rebecca who tells me Rich(broker)'s documents are doubtful for $300,000 instead of $200,000 loan for occupied house (not our understanding), without lender identified, with 5.9990%(earlier email) or 4.99%(in document). Rich's documents are not contract and the interest rate is not locked. Change loan from $200,000 to $100,000, Amy is busy and waits for tomorrow. Gas $30, to home still for emails to some Chinese ship ruls. Now 11:05pm, Mei piano, Jyun his computer from Taiwan by me outside (used to be in my bedroom). Bed 12:50 ... ... 1) Israel's Nukes: "U.S. says Israel must give up nukes", by Amir Oren; Haaretz.com; Sun., April 03, 2005 Adar2 23, 5765 Israel Time: 02:30 (GMT+2): http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/560047.html "" The State Department yesterday called on Israel to forswear nuclear weapons and accept international Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all nuclear activities. This is the second time in about two weeks that officials in the Bush administration are putting the nuclear weapons of Israel, India and Pakistan on a par. The officials called on the three to act like Ukraine and South Africa, which in the last decade renounced their nuclear weapons. The similar phrasing used by the officials refers to Israel's military nuclear capability, as distinct from "nuclear option," which is to be rolled back, although not necessarily in the "foreseeable future." The rare use of these terms contradicts the custom of senior administration officials to avoid any possible confirming reference to Israeli nuclear weapons. "" 2) US' Intelligence: "Intelligent Manipulation", John Prados; TomPaine.com, April 04, 2005: "Using a presidential commission to cover up a scandal is an old Washington trick. Here, John Prados examines both scandals: the original manipulation of intelligence and the manipulation of the commission. Bottom line: the politicization of intelligence was the "smoking gun" for this administration, and Judge Silberman just issued a get-out-of-jail-free card. John Prados is a senior fellow of the National Security Archive, and author of the book Hoodwinked: The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War (The New Press)." http://www.tompaine.com/articles/intelligent_manipulation.php?dateid=20050404 3) China's Ships: (1) "Fighting Ships of the Far East (1): China and Southeast Asia 202 Bc-Ad 1419"(New Vanguard), by Stephen Turnbull, Wayne Reynolds (Illustrator) "These books complement my two previous volumes in the New Vanguard series that deal with the medieval siege weapons of the Far East..." (more) http://tinyurl.com/49cz4 "" Product Description: Fighting Ships of the Far East (1) adds enormously to the hitherto small corpus of knowledge about a fascinating and little known subject. Using detailed descriptions, accurate cutaway plates and reliable historical examples, this book covers the history of Chinese ship design and naval warfare from the beginning of the Han dynasty to the first few years of the Ming dynasty. The epic battle of Lake Poyang in in 1363, won by the man who was to become the first Ming Emperor, is also detailed. "" (2) "1421 The Year China Discovered the World", by Gavin Menzies. "OVER TEN YEARS AGO I STUMBLED UPON AN INCREDIBLE discovery, a clue hidden in an ancient map which, though it did not lead to buried..." (more) http://tinyurl.com/5tnqs "" From Publishers Weekly A former submarine commander in Britain's Royal Navy, Menzies must enjoy doing battle. The amateur historian's lightly footnoted, heavily speculative re-creation of little-known voyages made by Chinese ships in the early 1400s goes far beyond what most experts in and outside of China are willing to assert and will surely set tongues wagging. According to Menzies's brazen but dull account of the Middle Kingdom's exploits at sea, Magellan, Dias, da Gama, Cabral and Cook only "discovered" lands the Chinese had already visited, and they sailed with maps drawn from Chinese charts. Menzies alleges that the Chinese not only discovered America, but also established colonies here long before Columbus set out to sea. Because China burned the records of its historic expeditions led by Zheng He, the famed eunuch admiral and the focus of this account, Menzies is forced to defend his argument by compiling a tedious package of circumstantial evidence that ranges from reasonable to ridiculous. While the book does contain some compelling claims-for example, that the Chinese were able to calculate longitude long before Western explorers-drawn from Menzies's experiences at sea, his overall credibility is undermined by dubious research methods. In just one instance, when confounded by the derivation of cryptic words on a Venetian map, Menzies first consults an expert at crossword puzzles rather than an etymologist. Such an approach to scholarship, along with a promise of more proof to come in the paperback edition, casts a shadow of doubt over Menzies's discoveries. 32 pages of color illus., 27 maps and diagrams. Book-of-the-Month Club alternate. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition. "" "1421 The Year China Discovered the World", Gavin Menzies; Published by Bantam Press, London: http://www.1421.tv/the_book.asp