Aint Nothing Changed

Things is hectic in this piece ... for real.

after the K'ming bombings the government made a few changes to security that are putting a crimp in everyone's style.

In the Metro lines the only security they have are cadres of fussy old women -- the same people who yell at bicycles that cross the road when the light is red -- and battalions of young pimply kids who volunteered so's they can look good for the ladies.

The average Chinese seem blissfully unaware of the dangers. let's hope they're right and we dour, skeptical foreigners are all wrong.

In this blog i started out in strong support of Obama, going so far as to call Clinton a demented bitch for not conceding earlier. As time went on, i became more and more disappointed with ol' Barack as he moved closer and closer to the center ie "the liberal hawk faction of the Democratic Party." I said that he should and could rely upon "us" the antiwar, liberal, educated youth that got his ass the nomination in the first place.

Some of my friends said I had "lost the faith" and such. Well I would be surprised if anyone still has faith in the man as a Great Leader now. He is the Black Clinton. He does not have the courage to truly change any of this nation's foreign policy. The War on Terrorism will continue. But my man JSB has put together an ingenious argument in favor of Obama -- mathematically sound and double-checked by several known sages -- that is hard to ignore: Check it out and relieve thyself.

But if yer dour like me and you want to see what our future holds for us, read Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilization" which tells the history of foreign intervention in the Middle East. History repeats itself. The US War can result in nothing but a farce of the horrors of before.

And everyone pumping gas today has come to realize that politics, sadly, does matter to the average guy.

The death of traditions

It is so hot and humid in Chengdu right now that my brain is bathing in its own liquid, humming strange tunes to itself and sending me images of massive artillery guns firing into the distance.

Spengler is a columnist for Asia Times who has derided the Europeans for lacking the courage to face the modern world, upholds the Christian belief in salvation through God's grace as the answer to the world's crisis of faith and who is certain that traditional societies must change in the face of today, or perish.

And many other themes, some of which he touches on in this latest column about America's special place in the world and what he believes is Obama's deepest desire: to rid the US of that which grants us this special place, modernity.

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I lament the demise of funk streets the world over. I have been actively seeking out the jabbering markets where chickens are held up for inspection, approved, beheaded and plucked before your very eyes; the courtyards of stone and their rickety wooden enclosure, with door gods and drying tobacco leaf; the delicate dance of a family-supported courtship and marriage; the one stringed wailing and the gourd flutes; family charts, bamboo weaves and dog-hair sandbags.

But they are dying the world over. In some places quicker than others and a few places not at all, but their fate is sealed by the progress of the modern world.

In my own neighborhood, the old Hakka traditions are resting in the cataracts of an 80 year old as he sips tea and fingers his mahjiong pieces.

Every time I meet my man Zhuang Jian for tea, we trade bitter reports of this and that place lost forever to the modern hordes and whisper of the few that still survive. These conversations always end in silence, whereupon we turn to money issues and quote Candide:

"... one's own garden ..."

My heart aches when i read of this prognosis for the world: Modernity and the lonely quest of the individual for solace on earth and grace from heaven. Is it said any differently in Eccliastes or the Dao De Jing? I think tribalism is immortal in us and community is our last gasp to ward off death, but in the end i am my only keeper -- I suppose i lament what is gone until i am a part of what will endure.

Dammit, Spengler is right. Wherever I have gone in the world, people are choosing, being forced to choose and just plain drifting into the real world. The only way to reconcile the two worlds is to create things which cause others to dream. Make wishes and see them come true ... Aha! i finally know what the Auryn means!

And so the lamenting pray and hope for God's retribution before his grace. Only the ghosts of the dream world actually spout Mayan prophecies of 2012 to each other, discuss the civilizations that existed 10,000 years ago and that we are doomed to meet their fate.

2012 allows us to be there for it and have the last laugh on guys like Spengler when God's grace falls on those who longed for what's lost, instead of those who embraced what is. It is the Great Dream of all dreamers.

The elephant in my bathroom

how silly we humans be.

Sports are and have been one of the ultimate political experiences for societies since the dawn of the ball. A discus tossing match between a Spartan and an Athenian was the grand catharsis of the day. A football match between Turkey and Germany is passionate, bloody and emotional because it synthesizes political and social realities onto the pitch and makes us cheer and cry for our collective people. Sports replaces war, simply said, and therefore will always be political.

Football has saved Europe from destruction as much as the Euro.

These Games are the most politically charged in a long time -- since 1984 I would say. Or 1980. China, of course, denies this reality and decries those who live in it. But nothing could be more important politically and socially for the Chinese than a successful Games. And we all know it.

we all just want the elephant to finish his deed without destroying the commode ... if we acknowledge that the commode is in danger, isn't that as cathartic as a gold medal?

I've changed my mind

Well. It seems as if Hillary has finally decided to do the right thing and get behind the one candidate 100%. Of course its late and she managed to weaken Obama and strengthen her own hand in the process, but I suppose that is a politician's job. She has put herself in the best position possible to make it into the White House, as VP if not as the big P.

Her speech endorsing Obama was inspiring, so I have changed my mind. I apologize for calling Hillary a bitch and insulting her time and again in coffee houses and blog posts. I know she feels better now, as do I. SHe is a political animal, to be sure, so her movements are not nec. a surprise, but the good this is that even a power hungry woman like Hillary will get in line for the candidate that has mesmerized many of us this year.

But I am worried about Obama. He is already starting to bow down to the center-right and talk of doing "everything possible" to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He said this to AIPAC, the big Isreali lobby that many hold responsible for our destructive Middle East policies.

Now these words can be interpreted in a couple ways. One: Everthing includes war. Two: Everything includes sitting down and talking, which he has said before that he is willing to do.

We have seen this happen so many times, rhetoric before the big campaign to get us all hopeful and energized, then political reality sets in once the people are in line as they should be.

We the People are marginal actors in our own fates. We don't know any better and must be ruled by those who do. Obama in his words brought this truth out into the open and called for unity in the face of conflict, which will lead to changes in the American nation that will carry us past the war-mongering policies of the past and into a new future: We will grow up under his leadership and become a beloved leader in the world, instead of a hated bully.

well. I am worried. Obama folded once as a junior senator when squaring off against the nuclear power lobby ... He might just end up being a Clinton ... especially if he chooses the man's wife as a VP ...

"A people always gets the government they deserve ... "

*sigh* i always end up back with Candide:

"A man can only cultivate his own garden ..."