Latest Posts
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Sunday “Modern Love”: sophomoric polyamory
I knew this was going to happen sooner or later: the column would run a piece that completely rubs me the wrong way. This is the week. Stephen Elliott describes his "relationship" with a married woman… Continue reading
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Friday I Ching: New Orleans
The growing tragedy in New Orleans has absorbed my attention of late; so, I asked the I Ching: what can we expect there in the coming months. The oracle brought back one of the most significant hexagrams, "The… Continue reading
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Virtuous Corruption?
Just noticed this forum at Beijing Review, discussing the case of Yu Bin, former vice mayor of a small city in Hunan province, who took bribes to fund projects for the poor. He was recently found guilty of… Continue reading
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Help
Donations to aid US hurricane victims can be sent to the American Red Cross. Donations for the victims of the trampling tragedy in Iraq, and for Iraq generally, can be sent to the International Federation of… Continue reading
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A Bad Day
Yesterday had an apocalyptic tinge to it. The statement by the mayor of New Orleans that hundreds, maybe thousands of people have been killed in that city was a shock. And then the news that approximately 1000 people… Continue reading
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What to Teach
The news that math SAT scores have risen seems good. But another education story is better. Star Wars creator George Lucas has been running a education foundation for some years that supports innovative teaching methods and goals. He… Continue reading
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Francis Fukuyama asks the Mencian question
My earlier postings about defining failure in Iraq have now been echoed in a prominent op-ed by Francis Fukuyama in today’s NYT. He asks the question that opens up the possibility of starting to learn from the mistakes… Continue reading
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George Bush, Meet Mencius
Leafing through Mencius today, I came across a passage that captured the media strategy of the Bush administration. Remember, for Mencius, the ancient past was a golden age; his present was riddled with war and corruption and dissembling… Continue reading
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Hurricanes and Fate
It is impossible to avoid hurricane Katrina in the news; so, let’s just go with the flow… What all this wind and weather calls to mind – at least a Chinese philosophy-influenced mind – is fate… Continue reading
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Stooges with whips
Donald Trump courting Beijing mega-builder Pan Shiyi and struggling against Hong Kong real estate tycoon Vincent Lo in order to create a Chinese version of his reality TV show… Confucius was right: If there was an honorable way to get… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 