Way OT (was RE: OT somewhat. China, our aircraft, delays.)

The report in this morning's paper here (Hong Kong, note that media reports here are usually pro China), is that the surviving pilot asked permission to shoot the US plane down. It did not state whether this request came before or after the collision. This request was obviously not granted. It also stated that the surviving pilot forced the US plane down in Hainan. At the present time the Chinese media seems to be distancing itself from the pilot's story. This would indicate the the Chinese leadership is changing its view of the situation. The pilot was initially good propaganda, get the locals excited and not thinking about local problems, now its time to shut him up so he doesn't get in the way. -- Dr. Mark Green mark(a)cs.ualberta.ca McCalla Professor (780) 492-4584 Department of Computing Science (780) 492-1071 (FAX) University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada