Latest Posts
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International Relations Lesson of the Day: Iraq is not Korea
Josh Marshall picked up this doozy from Reuters: President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat… Continue reading
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The Tao of Losing
As I have said before: I am a Taoist Yankee fan. And it is in Taoism that I find solace for the current Yankee losing streak. How about this passage from Chuang Tzu: Birth and death, living and… Continue reading
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This Just In: Mencius Is Right!
The Washington Post reports today on recent work by neuro-scientists: The results were showing that when the volunteers placed the interests of others before their own, the generosity activated a primitive part of the brain that usually lights… Continue reading
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A Father Mourns A Son
In today’s Washington Post, Andrew J. Bacevich reflects upon the death of his son in Iraq. The elder Bacevich is himself a military man, having served in the US Army in Vietnam. His son followed in his footsteps… Continue reading
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Tao Mitzvah
We went to another Bat Mitzvah today, for a classmate in my daughter’s seventh grade. As a part of the ceremony we recited this poem/prayer: Nature is God’s niggun,a wordless melody of unfolding life.To awaken God we must… Continue reading
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Sun Tzu on the “Surge”
Remember the "surge"? The increase in American troop levels in Iraq that was meant to improve the security situation and allow for political consolidation? Well, it seems not to be working: More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi… Continue reading
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Confucius, The Cartoon
You can’t make this stuff up: BEIJING, May 21 — The China Confucius Foundation will award a 500, 000-yuan (about 60,000 U.S. dollars) prize for the winner of a Confucius’ animated image selection. The selected imagery… Continue reading
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Euthanasia in China
A sad story in the LA Times yesterday about a severely disabled woman in China who is asserting a right to die: Confined to a rusty wheelchair and unable to control her muscles below her neck, Li Yan… Continue reading
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It Was A Massacre
Imagethief discusses (ESWN, too) the boot-licking performance last week of Ma Lik, leader of a pro-PRC political party in Hong Kong. Mr. Ma stated, in remarks in Beijing, that we should not refer to the Beijing massacre of… Continue reading
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Why is telling the truth about AIDS in China a threat to “national security”?
Just asking. You would think it would be the other way around: hiding the truth about AIDS in China is certainly a threat to public health and, thus, the nation in general. But when power-holders get… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 