Years of Poems and Spirits

Can’t help but I woke up this morning hearing GWB self-deprecating in front of S. American leaders, “(the protests outside”) Must be because of me … heyhey, heyhey”

I felt for that man. If there is anywhere in the world that GWB has a soft spot for, it is probably the Americas (the rest of the them). As late as 2001/9/10, GWB must have thought the immigration issue is his legcy in the making. Now the issue is listless and moot, which really is a shame.

In any event, GWB came to the 2nd term with a terse assessment: I’ve earned political capital. I intend to use it. Yet, even Cindy Sheehan couldn’t bring GWB to thinking adversaries at a such personal and initimate level as he did today, in front his peers in the world. A future biographer may very well pinpoint to this moment as the nadir of his presidency.

Afterall, it appears the president’s political capital is running dry. Now he has to borrow from his personal savings.

I have been following the reports on Paris riots for several days now.

WashingtonPost.com first had a very in-depth report on the front Web page.

It first told how the riot started (two teens get electrocuted, tear gas into mosque). Seems very compelling. Sympathetic to the Arab youth. Moving portrait of desperation and destitution.

NPR story told why the teens ran away from the police: because in their neigbhorhood, there are road blocks like in Palestine. Police can stop people and arrest them if they don’t have papers with them. One of the kid didn’t that day after playing soccer. When they saw the cops coming, they decided to run.

An article 2 days later asked the question on everyone’s mind:
“The violence also has cast doubt on the success of France’s model of seeking to integrate its immigrant community”
—Does this have anything to do with France’s Jacobin past?
—The French thumped their noses at Americans during the Iraq debate. They totted their soft power and they were able to secure the release of their hostages while others died.
—France has to come to terms, and to debate among themselves, that they are no models for the world. The anti-semite compaign and now this. Where happened to the European way?

Sarkozy first called the riot an “organized” crime. In the 2nd article, de Villepin said the same. I don’t believe it a bit. This riot is just as organized, in my opinion, as the sack of Bastille.

At the urging of class prof. Bachman, read this article on NYT.

Summary: despite acerbic diplomatic relations, China and Japan are becoming more and more dependent on each other through trade and commerce.

- 150,000 Chinese students in Japan
- 100,000 Japanese in Shanghai—the largest expat community overseas!
- You can find all the cats-meow in Shanghai’s Japanese CoC phone book
- Japan FDI in China is over $31.5

Questionable assertions:
“… with the Chinese economy not only outstripping Japan’s in size, but perhaps matching it in sophistication before long.”
—Any proof? Any per capita GDP data as proof? Any case study?

“… while cheap imports from China have driven costs down significantly for Japan’s long-suffering consumers”
—I thought Japan has long had “deflation” problem? What goods from China could make material impact on Japan’s cost of living? It may very well be. But still need proof.

My thoughts: Political tension between the two: neither the two is a liberal democracy. “China is certainly out of discussion in this regard. Even in Japan, where democracy is institutionalized, it is not the “liberal” democracy as in the western sense. I’d argue that the kind of students movement in West Germany in the 60s is unimaginable even in today’s Japan. ” see the whole blog…