Absurdity, Allegory and China

In the wake of State Department spokesman P. J Crowley’s forced resignation an opinion piece in yesterday’s Washington Post (Pfc. Bradley Manning doesn’t deserve humiliating treatment) reinforces Crowley’s comments that Mr. Manning’s treatment is “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” Crowley’s comment riled the White House, and President Obama was forced to uncomfortably address the Manning [...]

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(I am stepping away from the China mode in this post, other than implying that China is one of the players/variables in the future ‘development’ of Afghanistan. So if you’re looking for a straight shot of China, tune in next time. PS: I am moving to Beijing in one week, and my writing has been [...]

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Jon Stewart has been on the hot little partisan tongues of Team NBC over the past week, some of whom have circled like musk ox defending their young from wolves. The “young” in this case is CNBC, the Consumer News and Business Channel, owned and operated by NBC Universal. The pack of wolves is actually [...]

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A Poem For the New Presidency A friend asked me if Obama is a lama. I said I think he’s more like a Rama. He fired back, they’re both into dharma! And all I could add was (comma), “I don’t know, to me he’s just Obama! But maybe he really is a lama. Just don’t [...]

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Woke up this morning and can’t stop wondering about Dick Cheney in a wheelchair. I watched the whole affair, or at least until after the poem – which limped and did nothing for me. The CNN coverage held up well, though the Facebook aspect was totally lame. Though I knew beforehand that “The Dick” would [...]

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As I watch the crowds on the Mall from my computer in China it is difficult not to recall this past March 31st when I tried to walk to Tiananmen Square to get a glimpse of the much-hyped Olympic Torch as it arrived in Beijing. It was a very private, invitation-only affair with guests and [...]

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It’s well after midnight and I can’t get to sleep. The wind is whistling through the windows, which don’t quite shut. Never have. Later today I’ll head to Beijing and early tomorrow morning to Qinghai where the wind will be stronger and the temperatures colder. The sky will be brilliantly blue if it’s not raining [...]

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What a week! First the Phillies won the World Series, and now Barack Obama has won the US presidential election.  This blog usually deals with things nominally China, though there are times when I foul one off into the cheap seats, most notably regarding baseball. No apologies. I love the game despite the hyper-spectacle of [...]

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Though it is highly unlikely that anyone hasn’t yet heard, the latest issue of the New Yorker with it’s trademark cartoon cover shows the Obamas in the Oval Office kitted out as rad-Muslims, a burning flag in the fireplace and an Osama portrait hanging on the wall. The Obama camp has called it “tasteless,” and [...]

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