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...addition to its historical significance, water on the moon holds prospects for the future. If humans are ever going to establish a long-term presence on the moon, they will need water to drink, and tapping a local supply would be a lot more convenient than lugging it from Earth. Beyond that, water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen - the former makes pretty good rocket fuel, and the latter is useful for breathing...
...According to the report, the black jails are generally used to detain people who travel to Beijing and other cities to petition the government for redress of injustices faced in the countryside. The control of court systems by local officials means that they can't find justice at home. They often come to bigger cities with stories of official corruption, illegal land seizures or workplace inequities. The petition system, a remnant of the Qing Dynasty-era letters-and-visits system, is wildly ineffective, with just 3 out of 2,000 cases resolved, according to one study. Still, for poor Chinese...
...having citizens complain to your superiors is not good for the careers of Chinese officials. Local and regional governments arrange teams of "retrievers" who round up petitioners before they can put their complaints before higher authorities. The petitioners are held in black jails - which could be anything from a hotel to an empty school - for weeks or even months before being sent home. Human Rights Watch interviewed 38 former black-jail detainees who described beatings, sleep deprivation and lack of food and medical care. A black-jail guard went on trial in Beijing this month for allegedly raping...
...line began forming at the state fairgrounds more than three hours before the main event and stretched longer than half a mile. The crowd wore buttons bearing her image and passed the time making jokes about the media while eagerly snatching up T-shirts a local talk-radio station was giving away that labeled Palin "America's Conservative Conscience." Once inside the cavernous exhibition hall, they chanted, "Sarah!" with growing fervor until their heroine appeared, flexing her distinctive charisma in a killer red dress, high heels and her trademark glasses. The event was closed to the press, and cameras were...
...with and destroy the enemy." This new form of warfare is not only weird, but dangerous: instead of living on one of the big, heavily guarded bases outside town, the battalion is based in New Baghdad, the area where it fights. Part of the job is partnering with the local Iraqi security forces; part of the job is providing social services, figuring out sewage problems...