Latest Posts
-
Dealing with North Korea
George Bush and Condi Rice should read Mencius, and maybe even the Tao Te Ching. I say this because it seems that there has been a change in US strategy toward North Korea, a welcome change away from… Continue reading
-
Mao as a failed legalist
A new biography of Mao Zedong by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday is a reminder of just how bad that world-changing leader was. For a perceptive review see Perry Link in a recent TLS. Mao was… Continue reading
-
Sunday “Modern Love”
I guess I’m going to make this a weekly thing, too: blogging NYT’s "Modern Love" column. Today’s piece, by Sandra Burton, is great. It is about how technology mediates relationships. As I started to read it,… Continue reading
-
Friday I Ching Blogging: Will Karl Rove lose his job?
I think I will make this a regular feature: Friday I Ching blogging. Every Friday I will consult the I Ching (the ancient Chinese divination text, aka, The Book of Changes) on a pressing question of the day… Continue reading
-
Disability and Social Responsibility
For those who follow disability issues, the NYT story on very premature babies is not too surprising: Children born prematurely at weights of 2.2 pounds or less during the 1990’s have high rates of mental and physical disability,… Continue reading
-
Chinese Performance Art and Chuang Tzu
A story in today’s China Daily takes up the question of the use of the naked human body in performance art. It is an earnest piece, dutifully interviewing the theory-laden practitioners of performance as well as the mildly… Continue reading
-
Judge John G. Roberts and the silliness of originalism
At this point, Bush opponents should probably recognize that John Roberts will be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. If there was a battle to be fought, it was last November; and it seems that there will not… Continue reading
-
Eric Rudolph: killing in the name of abortion
On Monday, Eric Rudolph was given two life sentences after pleading guilty to bombing an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. He was unrepentant, saying: "Abortion on demand is a return to the ancient practice of infanticide." Those who… Continue reading
-
Baseball, Fate and Obituary
The story of Mickey Owen caught my eye. He was a catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who allowed a passed ball in the 1941 World Series that let the Yankees come back and take a three games to… Continue reading
-
Rat Race Hong Kong
Here’s a Reuters story, via China Digital Times: In crowded, fast-paced and expensive Hong Kong, where financial success is paramount, depression is a growing problem. There were 1,000 suicides in 2004, up from 915 in 2000. It is… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 