I guess the Palestinians have a lot of troubles. I can't do anything about those Israelis, but the donkey problem can be solved.
Not exactly sure how those troubles are related, though.
Donkey Pic
Keep His Head Up, Son:A Palestinian boy tries to control his donkey in the village of Jabel Mukaber in east Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 9, 2007. The Palestinian economy can't recover unless Israel dismantles a network of obstacles that has carved up the West Bank into a dozen enclaves and restricted Palestinian access to more than half the territory, the World Bank said in an exceptionally harsh report Wednesday. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Not exactly sure how those troubles are related, though.
Not exactly sure how those troubles are related, though.
WTF?
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot:
I know the Washington Times isn't always fair, but... surely this is a joke? "Dems: Use intelligence funds to study [global] warming."
A) Does anyone think that there is a scarcity of funds to study global warming? In academic circles, including "global warming" or "carbon" in your proposal is the best way to ensure you get the grant you wanted.
B) Does anyone think our intelligence systems are in such good shape that we can afford distractions?
I mean, if Congress really wants to devote funds to studying the issue, that's fine. But surely the intelligence budget isn't the place to go for the funds; and surely the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has more pressing oversight duties.
H/t: Cassidy.
A Crime Prevented
A Crime that Tried to Happen:
The story has a happy ending, though. Among his several valuable possessions, he had one priceless tool at hand.
H/t: Kim.
Blogger Machine Dreamer, a disabled gentleman, had a home invasion. The robber came knowing he was visibly home, came with a truck to take away all of his things, and came right through the door in spite of the dog barking loudly on the other side.
Anyone relying on a dog to protect them, take note.
I noticed a Budget rental truck, a 16 footer cube-van coming down the road towards my cul de sac. It seemed to be looking for an address but it stopped at my drive and began nosing in.What bothers him most about the episode was that someone must have tipped this guy off. Someone he knows -- a pizza deliveryman, perhaps -- found a criminal and told him that this guy, disabled, lived alone in a house that had some expensive electronics.
It now had my complete attention.
It began to climb my drive and I was alarmed to note the lack of license plates or unit number markings. I also noted that it was driven by a black fellow in his twenties with dark glasses whom I had not previously made the aquaintence of....
My main floor is sort of "U" shaped and I was on one end looking out my window when the dog began earning her keep at the other end where the door to the garage is located.
Then there was a knock on that door. It was in my mind that there was still a small chance this was not a home invasion.
Wrong!
I heard to doorknob turn, I heard the door scrape across the carpet and the dog's barking take on a hysterical note.
The story has a happy ending, though. Among his several valuable possessions, he had one priceless tool at hand.
H/t: Kim.
Dix Plot
The Dix Plot:
I have to admit that, this time, Wonkette hits the tone just right:
Ok. So, the plot was: six dudes from New Jersey buy some guns and storm Fort Dix. The Fort Dix that is full of lots and lots of Army reservists with way, way more guns. And, like, extensive military training and s***. Yes, thank god these terrorists have been caught and locked up before they could be killed within minutes of deciding to carry out the dumbest ****ing terrorist plot we’ve ever heard of.Yeah, that would have worked out great. But, now they can live at taxpayer expense for the rest of their lives. Maybe that's the real plan: "If enough of us get caught, we'll bankrupt the Great Satan."
VE DAY
VE Day:
Bthun sends a newsreel from 62 years ago. The reel of the British forces linking up with the Russians is classic:
Russian Soldier, shaking British soldier's hand: (*Unintelligible Speech*)
First British Soldier to Russian Soldier: "Ah!"
Second British Soldier to First British Soldier: "What does that mean?"
First British Soldier to Second British Soldier: "How do I know?"
Third British Soldier to Russian Soldier: "Well, all of the best old man!"
These newsreels were straight-out pro-government propaganda, telling the populace of the glories of the state. To what degree did these images enslave the British mind to the government?
That is easily answered. Within two months, victorious war leader Winston Churchill was voted out of office by the British electorate.
My Rifle
"My Rifle"
There is more than that, though. Like all the best technology, this machine is for something. If you love a tractor, it's because it helps you feed your family, to clear and maintain and master the land. The rifle, too, has a job. Here's how the gentleman describes that job:
There are well-educated men who say that this is madness:
You cannot name the culture that has not sacralized its weapons -- that has not decorated them, or named them, or built rituals around them. Traditional American society is the same as any other traditional society. Those who view this as strange are the ones who are cut off from their roots. They are the ones who have chosen to walk away from what their grandfathers believed.
America has come "to terms" with the gun, long ago. Our gentleman from Tennessee knows everything about his rifle -- both how it works, and what it is for, and what it is not. His words have echoes in the heroic poetry of every nation.
It is others who do not understand: he understands perfectly.
This is my rifle, the man says, and then he tells you why. Kim du Toit noticed, and added:
Change a few of the words, and the man could be talking about a car, or a machine tool.... Real Men know all too well what the Wrangler is talking about.That's true: the simple joy of working with a machine, making it function, having it do just what you want -- that is obvious in the man's words.
There is more than that, though. Like all the best technology, this machine is for something. If you love a tractor, it's because it helps you feed your family, to clear and maintain and master the land. The rifle, too, has a job. Here's how the gentleman describes that job:
This is the rifle I'll grab if I ever have need of a longarm in a place other than a rifle range. This is the rifle that stands by to defend me and mine if necessary. This is the rifle that marks my personal line in the sand, the line that none who come looking for trouble shall pass with impunity.That assertion is at the core of heroic philosophy, whether that expressed by Greeks or Norsemen or those Pakistani tribemen we were talking about a few weeks ago. "This land is mine, these people are mine, I shall keep them safe, none shall harm them while I live."
There are well-educated men who say that this is madness:
Some years ago, the distinguished historian Richard Hofstadter told me that, after a lifetime of studying American culture, what he found most deeply troubling was our country's inability to come to terms with the gun — which in turn strongly affected our domestic and international attitudes. Emotions of extreme attachment to and even sacralization of the gun pervade American society.... Much has been said, with considerable truth, about the role of the frontier in bringing about this psychological condition. I would go further and suggest that American society, in the absence of an encompassing and stable traditional culture, has embraced the gun as a substitute for that absence, and created a vast cultural ideology we can call "gunism." Paradoxically, this highly destabilizing object became viewed as a baseline and an icon that could somehow sustain us in a new form of nontraditional society. That new society was to be democratic and egalitarian, so that the gun could be both an "equalizer," as it is sometimes known, and also a solution to various social problems.That is to misread the nature of the thing entirely. The importance of the rifle here isn't about "the absence of an encompassing and stable traditional culture," but the mark of one. A culture that lacks this value will not survive. Violence does not exist on the frontier alone, but pervades the world. If peace and civilization are to exist, men must defend them. A culture that has survived understands it entirely.
You cannot name the culture that has not sacralized its weapons -- that has not decorated them, or named them, or built rituals around them. Traditional American society is the same as any other traditional society. Those who view this as strange are the ones who are cut off from their roots. They are the ones who have chosen to walk away from what their grandfathers believed.
America has come "to terms" with the gun, long ago. Our gentleman from Tennessee knows everything about his rifle -- both how it works, and what it is for, and what it is not. His words have echoes in the heroic poetry of every nation.
It is others who do not understand: he understands perfectly.
French Vote
French Vote, Sarkozy Wins!
Well, actually the voting is far from over. That's just how I'd gamble if I were inclined to gamble on things. I don't have much to go on, except this BBC article. They interviewed voters at one precinct and labeled the story "French voters bucking trends," so I figure I'm also justified in drawing conclusions about the whole race based on the same single data set.
Only three pro-Sarkozy voters were encountered by the BBC, two women pensioners and a young professional, who were used to explain that "the centre-right candidate [Sarkozy] does have his supporters... both among older residents and the young professionals[.]" The two pro-Sarkozy speakers said he "does not change his opinion all the time" and has a program that is "coherent" and "properly costed."
The other voter said that Sarkozy "stands for reform" and "will take on public sector workers" whose unions have prevented that reform.
All the rest of the speakers are voting for his opponent, Ms. Royal. Their reasons for preferring her policies?
A) "I don't want Sarkozy, his social ideal is America.... France is not a violent society like the US."
B) "Sarkozy speaks well -- but his unspoken message is frightening. His ideas are racist."
C) "Segolene [Royal]'s policies are much more tolerant and humane than Sarkozy's."
D) Sarkozy is "brutal."
E) Sarkozy is "a sleek version" of Jean-Marie Le Pen (who leads France's largest far-right party, Le Front National).
F) "Sarkozy is too radical."
G) "Sarkozy is too close to big money, and it's about time we had a woman president."
That last statement is the only positive reason articulated for voting for Ms. Royal. Everyone else only cites reasons for voting against Sarkozy -- his racism, his radicalism, his unspoken violence, his connections to big money, that he likes America.
If we were to draw trends from this one data set (like the BBC), we'd say: the election is all about Sarkozy. His supporters are voting for him; his opponents are voting against him. Royal's policies and thoughts just don't seem to make an appearance, even among her strongest supporters.
Actually, of course, I've been following the election more broadly; but the overall trends do seem to be the same. Royal's last rallying message to her supporters was that a Sarkozy win would be dangerous and "could trigger violence and brutality across the country." Even for her, at the last, the election was all about him.
Good Reading
Some Excellent Finds:
XKCD produces a map of the internet, graphed according to a particularly insightful compass rose.
I'm a little late in getting around to reading "Why We Fight Over Foreign Policy" from the Hoover Review, but it's a good piece. It explains, in a fair-minded way, the three main streams of thought in American foreign policy debates, and why an honorable person can hold any of them as predominant.
As the piece notes, there are bad actors in all schools: pure politicans of no principles who assert whatever happens to be of party or personal benefit. This is not that useful in understanding those scoundrels -- rather, it is a chart to understanding the good-hearted people who are suckered into voting for them.
That's highly useful in itself. One thing America needs is more of a sense that most of us are decent, for whom the Federal Government is at best a parasite, and at worst a common foe. The politicians are the problem. Those other Americans who seem so alienated are still trying to do something right, according to their own understanding.
New Poem
New Poem:
Russ Vaughn has turned his imagination to the current impasse over military funding. Russ isn't trying to be nice, so if you're easily offended by slaps at the Democratic leadership, you probably won't enjoy his poem.
On the other hand, if you're easily offended by the Democratic leadership, you'll probably enjoy it a lot.
Can't sleep?
Apparently their Patrons were Having Trouble Sleeping:
Visitors to the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa won't find the Gideon Bible in the nightstand drawer. Instead, on the bureau will be a copy of ``An Inconvenient Truth,'' former Vice President Al Gore's book about global warming.Isn't the correct way to say that, "They'll also find that the Gaia isn't equipped with working urinals"? Having stayed in a place like that in China, let me assure you, the environment does not benefit.
They'll also find the Gaia equipped with waterless urinals...
Tragedy
Tragedy:
Over at Arts and Letters Daily a note has been posted about a new book from the Tolkien estate.
Ostensibly, the tale of the Children of Hurin was written by J.R.R. Tolkien during his lifetime. Like many of the stories hinted at in the text of the Lord of the Rings, the tale of Hurin and his children was set in Middle Earth. Tolkien penned many versions, revisions, and emendations of these tales as he worked on his mythology.
After the death of J.R.R. Tolkien, his son Christopher took up the task of gathering and publishing what he could of these writings. Some tales were published in the collection titled The Silmarillion. Other tales (and fragments, and original versions, and emendations) were published in a multi-volume History of Middle Earth series. This series read more like a scholarly study of Tolkien's work than a novel.
Now one of the major elements of Tolkien's mythology has been published as a complete book. It is the tale of The Children of Hurin.
The tale does promise much of what we saw in the Lord of the Rings: a focus on a few individuals caught in the middle of a titanic struggle between good and evil. Like in the epic war against Sauron, the evil side has the stronger army. However, in this story (set in what would be ancient history to the hobbits who saw the War of the Ring), the hope of victory is scant.
The tale that unfolds around the family of Hurin is a tale of curses, fate, courageous resistance against evil, murders, attempts to hide from fate, and the evil will of the Dark Lord--primarily manifested through one of his servants, a malicious dragon.
Other tragedies can be found in the vast mythological world that Tolkien created. However, this tragedy was the one that Tolkien poured most of his thought and energy into. The story that resulted contains many elements which can be found in other tragedies--especially the Norse stories which Tolkien loved. But The Children of Hurin also contains many elements which are the result of long thought about the nature of evil, the virtuous response to evil, and the multifarious ways in which evil presents itself in the world.
Like Tolkien's other writings, this book is one that is worth reading, and reading again.
Over at Arts and Letters Daily a note has been posted about a new book from the Tolkien estate.
Ostensibly, the tale of the Children of Hurin was written by J.R.R. Tolkien during his lifetime. Like many of the stories hinted at in the text of the Lord of the Rings, the tale of Hurin and his children was set in Middle Earth. Tolkien penned many versions, revisions, and emendations of these tales as he worked on his mythology.
After the death of J.R.R. Tolkien, his son Christopher took up the task of gathering and publishing what he could of these writings. Some tales were published in the collection titled The Silmarillion. Other tales (and fragments, and original versions, and emendations) were published in a multi-volume History of Middle Earth series. This series read more like a scholarly study of Tolkien's work than a novel.
Now one of the major elements of Tolkien's mythology has been published as a complete book. It is the tale of The Children of Hurin.
The tale does promise much of what we saw in the Lord of the Rings: a focus on a few individuals caught in the middle of a titanic struggle between good and evil. Like in the epic war against Sauron, the evil side has the stronger army. However, in this story (set in what would be ancient history to the hobbits who saw the War of the Ring), the hope of victory is scant.
The tale that unfolds around the family of Hurin is a tale of curses, fate, courageous resistance against evil, murders, attempts to hide from fate, and the evil will of the Dark Lord--primarily manifested through one of his servants, a malicious dragon.
Other tragedies can be found in the vast mythological world that Tolkien created. However, this tragedy was the one that Tolkien poured most of his thought and energy into. The story that resulted contains many elements which can be found in other tragedies--especially the Norse stories which Tolkien loved. But The Children of Hurin also contains many elements which are the result of long thought about the nature of evil, the virtuous response to evil, and the multifarious ways in which evil presents itself in the world.
Like Tolkien's other writings, this book is one that is worth reading, and reading again.
Washington, Jefferson, Today:
Thanks to bthun, who wrote to point out that on this date in 1789, Washington delivered his first inaugural address. The page links to numerous other pages, including the online libraries for the papers of Madison and Jefferson. You can search their documents for anything that interests you -- including each others' names, should you like to read their correspondence.
Also at the Jefferson site are several historical articles. I thought the one called "American Sphinx" was, in spite of being a few years old, remarkably telling. It begins with a Jefferson reenactment, which drew four hundred people in small-town New England. It ends with an Iranian dissident:
At the end of August, The Washington Post published a long story on a wealthy Iranian named Bahman Batmanghelidj. His picture looked familiar, and then I recognized him as the philanthropist I met in Worcester. It turned out that Batmanghelidj was rallying opposition to the Merchant and Ivory film on Jefferson, which supposedly sanctions the story of Jefferson's liaison with Sally Hemings.It's remarkable the power these great men still hold, two hundred years on.
"Americans don't realize," Batmanghelidj warned, "how profoundly Jefferson and his ideas live on in the hopes and dreams of people in other countries. This movie will undercut all that. People around the world will view it as the defining truth about Jefferson. And of course it is a lie."
Well, yes, it almost certainly is. But then so is a hefty portion of the more attractive sources of Jefferson's image. Batmanghelidj's crusade was just the latest skirmish in the escalating struggle over Jefferson's legacy. The stakes are high, as can be seen in the stark formulation of James Parton, one of Jefferson's earliest biographers: "If Jefferson is wrong, America is wrong. If America is right, Jefferson was right."
Influence
It's Nice to be an Influence:
Which means what? It means that if you weight the system to 'prevent another Virginia Tech,' it will learn to treat all cases from a pro-lockup perspective. You can't really prove the guy was wrong to lock you up, so he has nothing to lose; but if he didn't lock you up and you happened to go on and do something bad, he's liable at least for criticism, and possibly for legal difficulties.
Thus, there's a strong economic incentive for a psychologist to strip liberties on any occasion they're asked to do so; and no economic disincentive, given that there is no standard of proof that can "prove" sanity or stability. There may be a moral or ethical disincentive; and then again, there may not be.
Inalienable rights aren't, sadly, in a practical sense -- our government has busied itself finding ways to alienate them almost from the moment it proclaimed them. Putting the power to alienate a man from his rights in the hands of people who have no reason to do anything else, and no final, scientific and falsifiable standards against which their decisions can be challenged, is no way for a liberty-loving people to act.
Although sometimes I feel bad when my passing comments inspire prolonged reflection, I do find it gratifying when a mathematician agrees with me:
I am hesitant to apply the label witch-doctor to doctors who study and attempt to heal minds, but the label may be valid. First, a quick case-study.Yeah, it is. But you mean before the fact. The case is even worse than that: it's impossible to distinguish between them even after the fact, except in one case: the rare case where a 1B engages in murder or suicide. A 2A can't prove he is not a 1A; and a 1B who doesn't end up hurting anyone looks just like a 2B.
If a person comes before a mental health examination for anti-social tendencies (with or without any noted predilection towards weapons ownership), the possibilities are:
(1A) The person is a danger to himself and others, and the examiner decides that he must be locked up.
(1B) The person is a danger to himself and others, but the examiner decides that he should not be locked up. (This could happen through several modes. Two possibilities are that the examiner misjudges the level of danger, or the examiner misjudges the examinee as not being dangerous.)
(2A) The person is not a danger to himself and others, but the examiner decides that he must be locked up . (Here the examiner erroneously diagnoses a non-dangerous person as dangerous.)
(2B) The person is not a danger to himself and others, and the examiner decides that he should not be locked up.
Given that this is a prediction of future actions based on present observations, and that the future actions cannot be compared to a control-case in a lab, I can agree that such determination is much closer to the activities of a witch-doctor than the activities of a scientist.
A determination that a person is likely to be a danger to himself and others requires a lower level of proof than the determination that he certainly will be a danger to himself and others in the future. A prediction that a person certainly will engage in pychopathic murder is a prediction that requires omniscient foreknowledge. Absent such certainty, it is very hard to distinguish between cases (1A) and (2A) given above--or between cases (1B) and (2B).
Which means what? It means that if you weight the system to 'prevent another Virginia Tech,' it will learn to treat all cases from a pro-lockup perspective. You can't really prove the guy was wrong to lock you up, so he has nothing to lose; but if he didn't lock you up and you happened to go on and do something bad, he's liable at least for criticism, and possibly for legal difficulties.
Thus, there's a strong economic incentive for a psychologist to strip liberties on any occasion they're asked to do so; and no economic disincentive, given that there is no standard of proof that can "prove" sanity or stability. There may be a moral or ethical disincentive; and then again, there may not be.
Inalienable rights aren't, sadly, in a practical sense -- our government has busied itself finding ways to alienate them almost from the moment it proclaimed them. Putting the power to alienate a man from his rights in the hands of people who have no reason to do anything else, and no final, scientific and falsifiable standards against which their decisions can be challenged, is no way for a liberty-loving people to act.
AFJ
From Armed Forces' Journal:
Let's say you want to be on the Supreme Court. Or an ambassador. Whatever. Does it help or hurt your chances if you've ever expressed strong opinions about any controversial topic?
Reward moral courage? That's the best way I can think of to make sure that no one of moral courge is ever considered for the post.
I like the idea to make review of the intellectual products of officers a part of their selection process. As long as it's done by other officers, that is -- the review has to be for quality, not merely quantity or popularity, which means that someone who actually understands the military science and history behind the writings does the review. Besides, to all evidence most Congressmen can't think their way out of a wet paper bag, and that's before they get into committees.
That review can only be a substitute for actual combat experience, in any event. We do have long periods of peace from time to time, and we do have generals who are from non-combat branches. For combat officers, the only thing that counts is success on the battlefield.
Yingling is right to say that some of the answers to 'what it will take' are shocking; but not merely the answers about price and manpower. It's hard to imagine any Congress having the stones to approve a general who says "It's fun to kill the enemy"; but General Mattis, who did say that, has been one of the most successful generals of this war.
This appears to be Yingling's full article that the Post was summarizing. He's earned his opinion, as noted below; but I wonder about his idea that involving Congress in the general officer selection process is likely to overcome the problems of politics. If anything, it seems likely to worsen them in key ways. For example:
To reward moral courage in our general officers, Congress must ask hard questions about the means and ways for war as part of its oversight responsibility. Some of the answers will be shocking, which is perhaps why Congress has not asked and the generals have not told. Congress must ask for a candid assessment of the money and manpower required over the next generation to prevail in the Long War. The money required to prevail may place fiscal constraints on popular domestic priorities. The quantity and quality of manpower required may call into question the viability of the all-volunteer military. Congress must re-examine the allocation of existing resources, and demand that procurement priorities reflect the most likely threats we will face. Congress must be equally rigorous in ensuring that the ways of war contribute to conflict termination consistent with the aims of national policy. If our operations produce more enemies than they defeat, no amount of force is sufficient to prevail. Current oversight efforts have proved inadequate, allowing the executive branch, the services and lobbyists to present information that is sometimes incomplete, inaccurate or self-serving. Exercising adequate oversight will require members of Congress to develop the expertise necessary to ask the right questions and display the courage to follow the truth wherever it leads them.Congressional confirmation procedures are something we've seen a lot of over the last several years. Does anyone really believe that these procedures ever, ever, ever even once, "reward moral courage"?
Let's say you want to be on the Supreme Court. Or an ambassador. Whatever. Does it help or hurt your chances if you've ever expressed strong opinions about any controversial topic?
Reward moral courage? That's the best way I can think of to make sure that no one of moral courge is ever considered for the post.
I like the idea to make review of the intellectual products of officers a part of their selection process. As long as it's done by other officers, that is -- the review has to be for quality, not merely quantity or popularity, which means that someone who actually understands the military science and history behind the writings does the review. Besides, to all evidence most Congressmen can't think their way out of a wet paper bag, and that's before they get into committees.
That review can only be a substitute for actual combat experience, in any event. We do have long periods of peace from time to time, and we do have generals who are from non-combat branches. For combat officers, the only thing that counts is success on the battlefield.
Yingling is right to say that some of the answers to 'what it will take' are shocking; but not merely the answers about price and manpower. It's hard to imagine any Congress having the stones to approve a general who says "It's fun to kill the enemy"; but General Mattis, who did say that, has been one of the most successful generals of this war.
Getting Paid in China
I promised Bthun I would relate this story, which I'm surprised to discover I haven't posted before. It relates to my time as a professor of public speaking and English, at a college in Zhejiang province, China. This was several years ago, now.
I had gone to China with my wife, who was invited to take a resident-artist position with the China Academy of Art. It was a cultural exchange program; the first year she was to study speaking and writing Mandarin, and the second year she was to be an artist. In fact, we had to leave before the first year was out, due to the collapse of her health and the terrible quality of Chinese medicine. (Although, it turned out I was the one who had contracted tuberculosis -- and then killed it myself, before we got home, with no better medicine than unfiltered Chinese beer.)
In any event, shortly after we arrived I was contacted by the vice president of a local college, who had a job offer for me. I was not there on a working visa, and it would be illegal for me to take any such job -- but the man who had arranged the job was also the official in charge of approving my visa, so I didn't worry about it too much. We had a brief negotiation on rates of pay, and then I went to work.
About a month into the job, I still had not been paid. I asked my fellow professors (all Chinese nationals, except one lady from New Zealand) if this was usual. They assured me it was: this college, which was one of China's first private colleges, took tuition in at intervals. The college had to cover its capital expenses first, and so there was a period of time during which no one got paid. All back pay would be forthcoming, I was assured.
Two months in, still no pay. I asked around again, and began to hear that in fact, some of them had been paid. All of them, really.
So I went to the lady in charge of payment, and asked when I would be paid. "Maybe today!" she said cheerfully. Thus reassured, I went on about my business.
Well, it wasn't "today," nor the next week, and the week after that I went back and asked again. "There has been some trouble," she said, "but we are sure to pay you any day now."
Hm. By this point it was getting cold, and I had only summer clothes... and the building we lived in would not be heated during the winter, we were told, as the government had decided not to spend the money on heating it this year. Communism is wonderful.
So I went to the vice president and asked him about my money. I informed him that I'd been promised by the lady who paid people that I might be paid any day now, for several weeks, yet no money had appeared.
This, it turns out, was a major violation of Chinese etiquette on my part. I embarrassed her terribly by going to her superior with a complaint. The poor woman hated me forever after that. She was doing, she felt, nothing wrong. In China, it is considered polite and proper to lie, if the lie will make people feel more comfortable and happier. She was doing what she had been raised to believe was proper: helping me not worry about my pay, by assuring me it could come at any time. And I had repaid her kindness by humiliating her in front of her boss.
All that said, her lie wasn't exactly of the "white" variety. In fact, the truth was that there was no possibility it could have been "today," as the college had come to the realization that it couldn't legally pay me at all. The visa issue meant that, should they transfer funds to my accounts, they would be in trouble with the government.
The college did intend to pay me, my friend the vice president assured me, but it was having to launder the money out of petty cash transactions, and it might be some time until they had enough such laundered cash to pay me three months' backpay. Still, he would make certain that it was done.
Shortly thereafter, I was given a big fat envelope full of 100 yuan notes, complete with portraits of Chairman Mao. I was never happier to see the man. After that, the college paid me faithfully, always in cash, always discreetly.
I told you all that to tell you this story:
After we decided to go back to America to get treatment for my poor, increasingly sick wife, I contacted the college to let them know I was going to be leaving. I apologized for cutting out on them before the end of the year, and explained about my wife's illness and need to get her home.
The vice president said he understood, and wanted to meet me to give me the last of my pay. I said that would be fine, as I wished to make a donation to the school. I had accumulated a lot of English-language books from the big foreign-language bookstore in HangZhou, and didn't want to try to ship them home. I thought the college's library could use them, as I had examined it and their collection of English-language literature was very small.
So, I packed the books into a suitcase, and took them down to meet the vice president. He'd chosen to meet me at the front gate of the university where my wife was studying Mandarin. I walked down there one morning just at dawn, and waited for him to show up.
Chinese universities are a major point of cultural pride for the country, so they are given all the incidents of state power and authority. This includes a formal guard: Chinese Armed Police stand watch at the gates. I was standing there, under the eyes of about four of these gentlemen, who must have found me a fascinating sight: a big Western man, with a long forked beard (I hadn't shaved the entire time we were in China), and a giant cowboy hat. Also, a suitcase.
About this time, a black car pulls up and the vice president gets out. He starts speaking to me in English, which he can do quite fluently, having lived in America for several years. Our friends the Chinese armed police, however, don't speak it.
After a short chat in English, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a very fat envelope for me. I take it and thank him, and then pass over the suitcase.
It was about this time I suddenly realized what this must look like to the cops. I started making my apologies and goodbyes, so I could get out of there.
"No, no!" my friend replied. "You must count the money, to be sure it's all there. I want you to tell all your friends at home that you were paid faithfully, so they might come work for us!"
Well, what could I do?
I opened the envelope and counted through a fat stack of 100 yuan notes. It was probably two months pay for me, at the rate a Western professor can command; so it was doubtless a year's income for any of those cops. And I counted it out right in front of them.
Then I put it back in the envelope, shook his hand, and left. He picked up the suitcase, put it in the car, and drove away. I was just sure that, any second, I'd be grabbed up and hauled off -- but nobody tried.
That night I related the story to my best friend in China, an Australian gentleman from Freemantle. His face was so red with laughter by the end of it, I thought he might keel over dead on the spot.
Well, the police didn't hold me up, and a few days later we had a mighty spree in Shanghai. I didn't figure the yuan would be worth much outside of China, so we spent almost every scrap of it in the one night we were there before we flew out of PuDong.
One of the happiest moments of my life was feeling the wheels of that 747 break free of Chinese soil. It was a grand adventure, but Communism is not for me.
I had gone to China with my wife, who was invited to take a resident-artist position with the China Academy of Art. It was a cultural exchange program; the first year she was to study speaking and writing Mandarin, and the second year she was to be an artist. In fact, we had to leave before the first year was out, due to the collapse of her health and the terrible quality of Chinese medicine. (Although, it turned out I was the one who had contracted tuberculosis -- and then killed it myself, before we got home, with no better medicine than unfiltered Chinese beer.)
In any event, shortly after we arrived I was contacted by the vice president of a local college, who had a job offer for me. I was not there on a working visa, and it would be illegal for me to take any such job -- but the man who had arranged the job was also the official in charge of approving my visa, so I didn't worry about it too much. We had a brief negotiation on rates of pay, and then I went to work.
About a month into the job, I still had not been paid. I asked my fellow professors (all Chinese nationals, except one lady from New Zealand) if this was usual. They assured me it was: this college, which was one of China's first private colleges, took tuition in at intervals. The college had to cover its capital expenses first, and so there was a period of time during which no one got paid. All back pay would be forthcoming, I was assured.
Two months in, still no pay. I asked around again, and began to hear that in fact, some of them had been paid. All of them, really.
So I went to the lady in charge of payment, and asked when I would be paid. "Maybe today!" she said cheerfully. Thus reassured, I went on about my business.
Well, it wasn't "today," nor the next week, and the week after that I went back and asked again. "There has been some trouble," she said, "but we are sure to pay you any day now."
Hm. By this point it was getting cold, and I had only summer clothes... and the building we lived in would not be heated during the winter, we were told, as the government had decided not to spend the money on heating it this year. Communism is wonderful.
So I went to the vice president and asked him about my money. I informed him that I'd been promised by the lady who paid people that I might be paid any day now, for several weeks, yet no money had appeared.
This, it turns out, was a major violation of Chinese etiquette on my part. I embarrassed her terribly by going to her superior with a complaint. The poor woman hated me forever after that. She was doing, she felt, nothing wrong. In China, it is considered polite and proper to lie, if the lie will make people feel more comfortable and happier. She was doing what she had been raised to believe was proper: helping me not worry about my pay, by assuring me it could come at any time. And I had repaid her kindness by humiliating her in front of her boss.
All that said, her lie wasn't exactly of the "white" variety. In fact, the truth was that there was no possibility it could have been "today," as the college had come to the realization that it couldn't legally pay me at all. The visa issue meant that, should they transfer funds to my accounts, they would be in trouble with the government.
The college did intend to pay me, my friend the vice president assured me, but it was having to launder the money out of petty cash transactions, and it might be some time until they had enough such laundered cash to pay me three months' backpay. Still, he would make certain that it was done.
Shortly thereafter, I was given a big fat envelope full of 100 yuan notes, complete with portraits of Chairman Mao. I was never happier to see the man. After that, the college paid me faithfully, always in cash, always discreetly.
I told you all that to tell you this story:
After we decided to go back to America to get treatment for my poor, increasingly sick wife, I contacted the college to let them know I was going to be leaving. I apologized for cutting out on them before the end of the year, and explained about my wife's illness and need to get her home.
The vice president said he understood, and wanted to meet me to give me the last of my pay. I said that would be fine, as I wished to make a donation to the school. I had accumulated a lot of English-language books from the big foreign-language bookstore in HangZhou, and didn't want to try to ship them home. I thought the college's library could use them, as I had examined it and their collection of English-language literature was very small.
So, I packed the books into a suitcase, and took them down to meet the vice president. He'd chosen to meet me at the front gate of the university where my wife was studying Mandarin. I walked down there one morning just at dawn, and waited for him to show up.
Chinese universities are a major point of cultural pride for the country, so they are given all the incidents of state power and authority. This includes a formal guard: Chinese Armed Police stand watch at the gates. I was standing there, under the eyes of about four of these gentlemen, who must have found me a fascinating sight: a big Western man, with a long forked beard (I hadn't shaved the entire time we were in China), and a giant cowboy hat. Also, a suitcase.
About this time, a black car pulls up and the vice president gets out. He starts speaking to me in English, which he can do quite fluently, having lived in America for several years. Our friends the Chinese armed police, however, don't speak it.
After a short chat in English, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a very fat envelope for me. I take it and thank him, and then pass over the suitcase.
It was about this time I suddenly realized what this must look like to the cops. I started making my apologies and goodbyes, so I could get out of there.
"No, no!" my friend replied. "You must count the money, to be sure it's all there. I want you to tell all your friends at home that you were paid faithfully, so they might come work for us!"
Well, what could I do?
I opened the envelope and counted through a fat stack of 100 yuan notes. It was probably two months pay for me, at the rate a Western professor can command; so it was doubtless a year's income for any of those cops. And I counted it out right in front of them.
Then I put it back in the envelope, shook his hand, and left. He picked up the suitcase, put it in the car, and drove away. I was just sure that, any second, I'd be grabbed up and hauled off -- but nobody tried.
That night I related the story to my best friend in China, an Australian gentleman from Freemantle. His face was so red with laughter by the end of it, I thought he might keel over dead on the spot.
Well, the police didn't hold me up, and a few days later we had a mighty spree in Shanghai. I didn't figure the yuan would be worth much outside of China, so we spent almost every scrap of it in the one night we were there before we flew out of PuDong.
One of the happiest moments of my life was feeling the wheels of that 747 break free of Chinese soil. It was a grand adventure, but Communism is not for me.
Katrina
Bush Administration to provide housing assistance until March 2009.
Can we say RINO? Talk about getting pissed off.
When hurricane Rita nailed Beaumont, Texas... my kinfolk drove to home depot and began purchasing supplies to get things done: cleared land, re-built where needed, re-roofed, etc. A few of the local university professors (friends of the family) were aghast when they saw the new construction, "how did you get FEMA to re-build so quickly?" Look, FEMA didn't build the homes or purchase the land... that's the homeowners job. It's also your job to get off your ass and find work and re-build your life. Living off the tit is not a good life strategy.
I do not understand the entitlement mentality.
Can we say RINO? Talk about getting pissed off.
When hurricane Rita nailed Beaumont, Texas... my kinfolk drove to home depot and began purchasing supplies to get things done: cleared land, re-built where needed, re-roofed, etc. A few of the local university professors (friends of the family) were aghast when they saw the new construction, "how did you get FEMA to re-build so quickly?" Look, FEMA didn't build the homes or purchase the land... that's the homeowners job. It's also your job to get off your ass and find work and re-build your life. Living off the tit is not a good life strategy.
I do not understand the entitlement mentality.
Hawk Pet
General Petraeus' Comments:
Greyhawk has posted key excerpts of General Petraeus' talk on Iraq, with a link to the full transcript.
[S]o what I asked was, "Hey, come on, it's about dusk, let's go -- we'll fly around the city a little bit." And we flew around. And so -- I mean, it was unbelievable.These are the people Reid, Pelosi, Obama and the rest want to abandon.
This is a day in which I think there was a car bomb in Iraq, some of Iraq’s seven million citizens were affected by that, but you could not have told that from what we saw over the city. There were three big amusement parks operational. I'm talking about, you know, roller coaster kinds of -- these are not just a couple little merry-go-rounds in small neighborhood parks. Restaurants in some parts of the city were booming. Lots of markets were open. The people were on the street. There were -- there had to be a thousand soccer games ongoing. They're watering the grass in various professional soccer fields -- the soccer leagues.
You know, all of this is actually so foreign, I think, in the mind of most people who see the news and of course do see that day's explosion or something like that. And actually there is a city of seven million in which life goes on, and again, citizens are determined to carry on with their life.
Less Polite
A Less Polite Rebuttal:
Joe was saying the other day how much he admired David Kilcullen's kind yet thorough rebuttal of Luttwak's writings on COIN theory. If you'd like to see the less-polite version of that, here it is.
I’d like to follow up Dave Kilcullen’s commentary about Dr. Luttwak’s specious article. Dr. Kilcullen is too much of a gentleman to suggest that someone has not taken their medication...I thought Kilcullen did a good job, myself.
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