Dear Family and Friends:
On Thursday March 17th, Kelly and I welcomed a newborn son into the world which we have named John Patrick Vincent or JPV 2.0 as we had been calling him while in utero.
We plan to call him Jack. He arrived at 1:26 PM and weighed in at 8lbs, 12oz. He is a big boy and we are thrilled to have him join our family. I am super thrilled to have him arrive on his due date too - St. Patrick's Day! So very exciting for a Notre Dame fan, an Irishman and a Chicagoan. What a day!
We spent Tuesday, December 7th meeting with the largest law firm, the largest ISP and the largest developer in China. An important message from our hosts is their economic prowess. They are quite proud of their accomplishments in 30 years.
We also met with the largest embassy in Beijing, the U.S. embassy. An impressive group of people at our embassy for sure. We met with the political and trade officer as well as our civilian deputy chief in the ACS (American Citizen Services) section.
Big IPO for Chinese internet company Dang Dang on NYSE
China convinces 18+ nations to boycott the Nobel ceremony
Group of Chinese elites create Confucian Prize to "compete" with Nobel
Rising diplomatic tension due to North Korean violence and Operation Keen Sword
China calls U.S. lawmakers arrogant over vote to honor Liu Xiabo
Wikileaks reveal official U.S. concerns over Chinese incursion into Africa
Chinese demand developed nations meet Kyoto Protocol targets.....
More to come I am sure.
The day began with a meeting at the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Essentially, CIIS is a think tank, akin to the Brookings Institute.
