China's Charter 08

"China, as a major nation of the world, as one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and as a member of the UN Council on Human Rights, should be contributing to peace for humankind and progress toward human rights. Unfortunately, we stand today as the only country among the major nations that remains mired in authoritarian politics. Our political system continues to produce human rights disasters and social crises, thereby not only constricting China's own development but also limiting the progress of all of human civilization. This must change, truly it must. The democratization of Chinese politics can be put off no longer."


This is the English translation of perhaps one of the most important documents in modern Chinese history, by Perry Link.

I have said to friends and in columns and blogposts that if CHina awoke -- not like Napoleon warned, as in economic or political terms, but in intellectual and moral terms -- than we might very well be on the verge of a great transition in society away from the Bushes of the world and toward pragmatic, aware, compassionate and intelligent societies.

The Last Transport is Away

Saw my man Doc Possible and his girlie Therin off to the Amtrak today. Doc is headed to illi-noise to re-tool and rest before embarking on a long and drawn out trip to take over the planet via gem dealing. We stopped by the China Garden in downtown Portland and head some Tie Guanyin oolong tea amidst the Japanese maples, magnolias, holly and of course the magnificent 100+ year old Osmanthus tree at the very entrance of the garden.

Life resumes, now that my tribe has dispersed again.

And life here is great in Portland. I love this society no matter what. But sometimes I hear something or read something or see something that just sets me off.

I was thinking today as I sat in Powells about the true impact of the "Greatest Gneration" of our grandfathers and grandmothers. And this is what I have come to:

WE all have the hero that stormed the beaches inside of us, but the Baby Boomers have discarded that hero and sold out. Now they revere Granpa who was a WWII hero and hate on us, the grandkid who rebels. When the true criminal in all of this is the 40 - 60 year old who is just now realizing that all his life he stomped on his world and blamed his kids for "not getting it." and only now is he figuring out that I have more in common with a WWII vet than he ever will. I have no more sympathy for the ignorant who claim that dreamers and hippies and antiwar activists and such are "anti establishment radicals who would never fit into a corporate world" and therefore of little regard to the "world at large." Where were these fools when MLK died? When Kennedy was shot? When NIxon was elected? When the war dragged on? They hid and sold while the hippies and Panthers were incarcerated and now they hate on us as we struggle hard against the coward they want us to be ... fuck them.

any man who believes that the established corporate world at large is the reality Man has been aspiring to is deeply scarred in some way that I have no more patience to even try and comprehend. I am sick of you people. Like Genghis I feel its time you were all rooted out, made to stand before your creations and held accountable. Quit hiding in your homes, behind your jobs, inside your cars and take responsibility for the shit I and my kids will have to deal with. How stupid do you have to be to destroy your planet in the name of quick and fleeting monetary profit and then turn to the kids trying to stop you and imprison them? I suppose the righteous have to believe in God because there is no solace for the rational benevolent man on Earth. Such men end up on the trash heap of society -- either in jail, on the streets or hiding out in the woods -- praying that he'll die a happy man before "they" come to get him and throw him back to the wolves. And I am preaching to the choir. If anyone even reads this to the end they are my friends and if they don't they'll "bounce" and shake their heads at just another pissed off half-rebel typing away on a busted Mac. Cliche, says the disinterested reader. Touche, says the bored soapbox pundit.

What made me think of all of this was a report from Brooklyn in which a man was sodomized by a cop for smoking a joint on the street.

A society that would even consider the justice of such an action is fatally sick. To beat the horse: How could you possibly rationalize the criminalization of marijuana unless you are so goddamn stupid and sheltered and disregarding of any and all facts?

When was the last time a man who was high beat his wife, died of cirrhosis, drove into a family of four, started a bar brawl or some other stupid drunken act?

When was the last time someone died of lung cancer, emphysema or some other long drawn out disease because he got high too much?

This is a small microcosm of our society that speaks volumes about the overall philosophy. When Blackwater mercenaries burn down weed fields and leave tobacco growing you know the world is all out of wack. I am sick of the hypocrisy and accusing tone of the "pillars of society" whose crimes make me vomit so bad i need to head to the local marijuana dispensary to get a repreive from the nausea ...

i am so sick of the bullshit. I see a face in my mind as I rant, its a fat pink face framed by glasses with a flattop haircut and Dick Cheney grin. I am infected by him and everywhere i go -- SE Asia, Africa, China, Tibet, S. America -- i not only see his virus spreading but i realize i am a carrier. Burning myself would give them too much satidsfaction so i guess i'll rant and fume and escape jail and the streets as long as i can untill i have my wilderness enclave to hide in. I get bitter when i think of Irvine, CA and the power they wield.

so i just think of my tribe scattered across the globe and hope the antidote we carry spreads as far as the virus. Godspeed Doc and take the revolution with you baby. I got you and believe i will hold it down in Portland ... me and the choir ...

A Perfect Majority

Yep. The Republicans are trying to win some seats in the Senate by saying: A one Party majority can't be good for the country.

They're absolutely right. When they had the majority, they didn't mention it too much, but they did indeed run the country into the ground. So now the pendulum swings ... back to the center i guess.

Here is a dope video. Intellectuals for Change.

Here is another dope video. Fools for a Racist God.

and check out this interesting story by Ivan Eland in Antiwar.com (also linked to your right) ... Al Qaeda endorses McCain because they realize that a fool in the White House is good for their recruiting drive.

Chicken Grease

Played cards with the boys last night and it was good "craic." I think that's how you spell the Irish version -- the lone Irishman at the spot won all the damn money, even though at the end all he could spit out were mumbles and curses, followed by a bellowed "Fiiive!" -- referring to the number of chips he was betting. in our games, five chips is the highest single bet (representing RMB25) and there are three raises, allowing for a total of 20 (RMB100) chips to be bet by any one person in one round.

I sometimes am accused of hating on China. Anyone who knows me personally will not agree, but in my columns and posts and such i know i get angry and offensive. I try to differentiate between the people and the government. Me and Chinese people are down, me and the leaders tend not to be. I suppose what has happened in my eight years here is I have developed a vested, emotional interest in the well-being of China and Chinese. So if you see how rude and vitriolic I am when speaking of the US leaders, then you may understand that I am emotionally attached to both nations.

I wouldn't get so angry if I didn't care, obviously. And for me Said's definition of the intellectual stands: the professional defines patriotism with the administration he works for, the amateur defines patriotic duty with the idea of a nation of people, choosing exile before obedience. I try my best to maintain an amateur-ish voice ...

So, in this vein I will present an article by Tim Swanson here for Lew Rockwell that goes through the common criticisms of China's foreign policy and compares them with what the US does in the same arena. The thrust of the column is what i am about: check your own garden.

Speaking of which, peep Nikki's blog for a sit-rep on her garden ...

But i can't resist a slight sneer: the Chinese Olympic team, driven by political goals, will cheat its little butt off in the Games. No question about it. I cant suppress the red cloud of nationalism that rises in my gut when i read of this drive to beat the yanks ... Its like being confronted in the street by a thug, its hard to take the so-called moral high ground and take a non-violent stance. When confronted with nationalism, its difficult to meet it with universalism. But i do my best. And in moments of weakness, chant U-S-A and throw up a fist ... sigh.