China defense chief says military hardware drive no threat

Jan 9 (Reuters) - China's military technology lags decades behind the world's most advanced armed forces and does not threaten any country, the Chinese defense minister said on Monday after talks with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gates's visit from Sunday to Wednesday comes a week before Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington.

"The efforts that we place on the research and development of weapons systems are by no means targeted at any third country or any other countries in the world, and it will by no means threaten any other country in the world," Chinese Minister of Defense Liang Guanglie told reporters after talks with Gates.

U.S. officials have noted quick advances in China's anti-ship ballistic missile programme, which could challenge U.S. aircraft carriers. China may also be preparing to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, faster than some estimates, and new photos indicate it has a prototype of a stealth fighter jet.
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No winners in Fouhy train wreck

No winners in Fouhy train wreck  The saddest thing about the retirement of Ben Fouhy yesterday was that there were no winners.
Those happy that the nettlesome Fouhy has removed himself from kayaking would do well to look up the meaning of pyrrhic victory.
Everyone loses here. The list is long and distinguished and starts with the national sports funding agency Sparc.
They were late on the scene of the Canoe Racing NZ crash and, like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, went through the motions of administering life support without fully committing themselves to the process.Worse, having looked as if they might have stitched something together that would have kept one of the country's premier athletes in his sport, they appear to have blown with the wind when the pressure came on.It is understood Sparc believed the rules of engagement with Fouhy changed when he did some work with CRNZ coach Gordon Walker, signalling a reintegration into the national programme that cancelled out the need for ring-fenced funding. Nobody in the Fouhy camp believes that argument bears any serious scrutiny.
Read more: No winners in Fouhy train wreck