Latest Posts
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Tibet: Media Bias versus Media Control (with reference to Han Fei Tzu)
I’ve been quiet on Tibet since my first post. It takes time to absorb the events as they unfold, and to hear various points of view. But one thing has struck me of late, the question of media… Continue reading
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“Bush’s War”
Last night I watched a good portion of the Frontline program, "Bush’s War." It was a frustrating reminder of the many, many inhumane decisions that led to the US war in Iraq. Then, this morning, I saw this… Continue reading
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4000
Four thousand American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Precise figures for the numbers of Iraqis killed are not available for political reasons – neither the US nor the current Iraqi government wants to detail the full scale… Continue reading
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Taiwan’s Presidential Election
No big surprises here. Ma Ying-jeou, the KMT candidate, appears to have won about 58% of the vote. This is pretty much what was expected following January’s legislative elections. We should be careful, however, in reading… Continue reading
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Do Children Need Fathers?
That may seem an odd question to some, but it is inspired by a piece over at Slate by Emily Yoffe. A couple of excerpts: In the last 50 years, there has been an extraordinary decoupling of marriage… Continue reading
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Breaking News: Mencius Right, Legalists Wrong
Nothing like some current psycho-social scientific research (hat tip: Zhongnanhai) to verify claims that have been around for a couple of thousand years: Common game theory has held that punishment makes two equals cooperate. But when people compete… Continue reading
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Two Years
Today is the second anniversary of Aidan’s death. It seems longer. Time has a way of extending and transforming as the years click by. I can still see him here with us, but his absence is palpable. Indeed,… Continue reading
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Calligraphy at the Met
I disappeared for a couple of days; went into New York City with my family to see a show (Gypsy with Patty Lupone – brilliant), to see some friends, to see the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and to… Continue reading
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Richard Perle, Please Read Mencius
One of the architects of the Iraq war, the unrepentant neo-con, Richard Perle, reflects upon the past five years of failure in a short piece in the NYT today. He remains completely in character: he was right and… Continue reading
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Tibet
Bad news out of Lhasa: Violent protests erupted Friday in a busy market area of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, as Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans clashed with Chinese security forces. The protesters burned shops, cars, military vehicles and… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 