So, what now?

I find myself asking this question after reading stories like this one by the late Michael Kreca. This information is not new to me -- the fact that FDR, Churchill and Stalin steered America into a war that did not need to be fought. The consequences reverberate today in the Empire that emerged from the rubble of WWII. So.

I know. I agree, disgusting piece of work. In fact, I see the parallels with today's wars. I catch myself (and ninjas are forced to listen to me) yapping about the WWI roots of the current War on Terrorism.

Its hard to stay De La Rocha, when Wu-Wei beckons smiling from the riverbank.

The Du

Here is a little list of cool spots in Chengdu. This is actually a VERY incomplete list, but its a good start. holla.

Pig Fat

I've been using a lot of pig fat in my cooking recently. Yushi's dad dropped by and left two big bowls of lard, a pile of Chinese herbs and a comment on my latest essay on China. The pig fat is for daily use, the herbs are for the month of rest Yushi will need (according to the entire China Granny Nation) after the birth and the comment ... well it was to let me know that he's got his eye on me.

I got this funk from Big Scott when I was in California. Just in case you don't know, I urge you to check out the following:

William DeVaughan
Betty Davis
The Brothers Johnson
Eddie Bo
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and just for good measure
The Decemberists

If you don't know Bill Withers, disregard the above and listen to him first, then you are allowed to proceed.

Man i love this music so much it makes me feel so good every day it makes my fingers move and my voice just lets go and i walk around in my snuggies singing and when i see Yushi round the corner in my old chupa i let out a laugh cuz she looks like a funky monk with that big belly and the faux fur sleeves rolled up so she can chop jiu cai up for jiaozi ...

"Can we pretend, that from now on, there is no yesterday ...
Paint a portrait of tomorrow, with no colors from today
There is a love that shines in your face sometimes
that takes my feelings and wraps them around your knees
but there is a shadow that is hanging in your heart sometimes
that makes my feelings turn back in on me ... "

Haiti

here is a short essay on Haiti and Chengdu and some of the similarities and differences in the disasters that struck here and there.

Lu Guang's Photography: Pollution in China

Makes me real nervous to see pics like this. I know that pollution is everywhere, but seeing it up close and personal like these pictures by Lu Guang is still disturbing.

For an English translation, go to ChinaHush's post here.

In related news, here is a small story about "grow houses," which are houses built quickly by farmers who believe their land might be taken soon. If they manage to register a building, the compensation they receive can be higher. Ignore most of the text and the comments, except this one here:

“The non-existence of truly legal private land in this great socialist motherland probably also complicates matters further.”

You hit the nail on the head. That’s not the complication, that’s the reason for the phenomenon reported above.

The fact that people don’t actually own their unincorporated (non-urban) land and can be dispossessed quite easily is the major reason to engage in such tactics as these. If the government is going to dispossess one anyway, that person is given incentive to maximize whatever payout the government is going to make. I suppose in a system with transparency in government development plans, as well as clear and private land title, private developers would buy up well placed land, the government would lay clear claim (and pay fair prices) on the land it actually needs for the infrastructure itself. The farmers would make money, the developers would make money (building concessions, etc.), the farmers might even make enough money to start businesses in private developed companies… on the flip side, the government’s costs would not be artificially low, and it wouldn’t make any money renting out concession properties it developed itself.

Its fair to say that the government can see a clear advantage for itself in the current system: Its only expense to maintain the status quo is money for chengguan and demolition equipment to knock down these “grown houses” every day."

by Dr. Jones, Jr.

The Ancients said:

"And I wish that I were not any part
of the fifth generation
of men, but had died before it came
or had been born afterward.
For here now is the age of iron ...
when guest is no longer one with host
nor companion to companion
when your brother is no longer your friend
as he was in the old days."

"Don't be Evil" -- Tell that to Wall Street

After Google announced that it might leave China, Wall Street and other stock exchanges around the world reacted in typical fashion, by buying Baidu stock and selling Google stock. Baidu's stock jumped by at least 12%, while Google's slid by about 1%.

For the money-men -- the same people, let us not forget, who caused the real estate bubble, the ensuing collapse and rise in unemployment, who received billions from the government and are now giving each other BJs and bonuses -- these men (and women) are the core of what allows China to censor with impunity and keeps companies here way passed the point of violating their own principles.

In the world of capital, evil is rewarded and Wall Street's "golf clap" for Baidu's unexpected "good fortune" is a perfect example of evil at work -- or perhaps better said, a perfect example of the unwillingness to do good.

Sock it to 'em Google!