China
On Theo Croker
I have a very brief Q&A [pdf] with Florida-born, Shanghai-based trumpeter Theo Croker in the Spring-Summer 2011 edition of Fairmont Magazine (published in Canada).
Three dangerous ideas
1. Torture is justified, or can be called something other than torture. Read Mark Danner’s essential NYT op-ed. 2. Antisemitism is “understandable.” So says British moviemaker Ken Loach. Does he believe that going out and harassing Muslims after a terror attack is “understandable”? I very much doubt it. 3. One-party dictatorships have rights; civilians who raise grievances against them do
The Olympics story that matters
As the world celebrates its athletes I’d like to acknowledge the determination and bravery of all those, Chinese and foreign, who have stood up in protest against the Chinese regime during these Olympic Games. Censoring the Internet is the absolute least of it. The regime set up three designated areas where protests would be allowed and then started detaining people
Murder by inaction
It is to the Chinese government’s credit that it is acting aggressively in response to the Sichuan earthquake, a tragedy beyond comprehension. But this shouldn’t obscure the destructive role China continues to play in the unfolding Burma crisis. Discussing the aftermath of Cyclone Nagris on the NewsHour the other night, Chinese ambassador Zhou Wenzhong told Margaret Warner: I think we
More China-bashing please
My feelings toward Hillary Clinton and her campaign couldn’t be a lot dimmer, but I have to credit her for an anti-China line so firm that it caused one of her advisors to quit. Richard Baum of UCLA’s Center for Chinese Studies accuses Hillary of taking “the low road” on the issue, but she’s done exactly the opposite. On the
South Africa: tide turning?
Since last I noted the disgrace of Thabo Mbeki continuing to shill for Robert Mugabe — and let’s face it, “quiet diplomacy” is a sham when your sole function is to take diplomatic pressure off your thuggish neighbor to the north — it seems the tide may have turned in South Africa. ANC officials are taking a different line from
The day in injustice
~ The amazing Dahlia Lithwick on vile torture-memo author John Yoo, whose worst punishment might be “to teach the dreaded 8:30 a.m. Friday class at Berkeley next year.” And to remain on TV as a talking head for years to come. ~ The poor Hu Jia, who has just been sentenced by the Chinese government to over three years in
Unintentional laugh of the day
It comes courtesy that champion of global justice, the Chinese Communist Party, which is very upset over the Dalai Lama receiving the Congressional Gold Medal from the U.S.: “Such a person who basely splits his motherland and doesn’t even love his motherland has been welcomed by some countries and has even been receiving this or that award,” Tibet’s Communist Party