Inside the Asylum

Sorry for the lack of activity. I told you I was going to be incredibly busy. Still am. In the meantime, something to amuse. Cool Mona Lisa parodies, brought to you by Xinhua, no less.

That's right, Xinhua, a Chinese government news organ, reports without negative comment, that

The U.S. government is testing a new technology in China that could soon give the country's 300 million web users another way to access information blocked by domestic filters... The "feed over email" (FOE) system being tested by the U.S. would allow people living in China to access blocked information via encrypted news feeds sent to foreign email accounts.

Then they quote a non-government Chinese expert:

Hu Yong, a founding director for China New Media Communication Association, said, "Chinese netizens have been using proxy servers to access blocked information for a long time. FOE is just a more convenient tool."

They attempt to quote a government source, but

Officials from the Internet affairs bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were not available on Friday to comment on the news

I'd normally say "you wouldn't read about it" ... except you can.

In a case of "now why can't that happen here?" Egyptians must be delighted that their favorite people are taking time off.
A large part of the problem is that Egypt has a lot of government recognised (read government run) unions that really don't represent workers ...

Today’s protestors carried banners describing the head of the General Federation of Trade Unions and Farouk Shehata, the head of the state-backed General Union of Bank, Insurance and Finance Workers, as “thieves."

In the United States the unions might not be government run, but they're mostly heavily Democrat, and are just as bad as the ones in Egypt. I know for sure that "my" union certainly doesn't represent anything I stand for ... but I have no choice other than to give them money every month. No choice at all ... that's the law ... and if that isn't a government union, then what is? Who makes the laws that say I have to give them money whether I want to or not, if not the government? I have no hesitation in describing my union as "thieves". I stand in solidarity with the Egyptian strikers.

I continue to be astoundingly busy, but I didn't want the blog to sit idle too long ... so I bring you instructions on how to build your own Formula-1 racing car for only $9000 ... all you'll need is 956,000 matchsticks, 1686 tubes of glue, and at least three different varieties of mustache ... apparently.

Didn't I tell you there was more going on in that Chinese editorial than met the eye? Here's something from the Indian side of the story:

Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at Delhi's Centre for Policy Research. ''Things are getting really intense and from the Indian perspective outrageous.'' More aggressive border patrolling by Chinese forces including incursions into Indian territory has forced the Indian army to bolster its presence along the 3500-kilometre border, analysts claim... Feathers were ruffled in Delhi last week when the Indian media said Google satellite maps mysteriously showed the names of several towns in Arunachal Pradesh in Mandarin, not English or Hindi, making it appear the region was part of China.

Then there's also this:

India's foreign policy establishment was rattled by Indian media reports that a think tank linked to the Chinese military had called for India to be split into 30 independent states. The paper said that if China ''takes a little action, the so-called great Indian federation can be broken up''.

I've been following some discussion of this for a few days now ... and as one member of a list serve I belong to commented ... China is probably at least as much at risk of breaking up, so they really ought to be a bit more careful about such talk. It's hard to say just exactly how official this point of view is ... it's unlikely in the extreme to be official doctrine of Beijing ... but in China there's always the potential of the military going its own way. The last time China broke up, the only coherent body that was left was the military ... until it in turn fractured with the death of the only man most of the generals owed loyalty to (Yuan Shikai in 1915). Even then after the country disintegrated, the only groups who maintained any semblance of order were the sub-units of the Chinese military. It wasn't called the Warlord Period for nothing.

There have already been minor signs of independence from the military during the US spy-plane crisis and concerning Taiwan policy. Heck, the way things work in China, the troop incursions across the Indian border are more likely to do with internal Chinese politics, and the fallout in Sino-India relations is just a side effect. Watch the Chinese media ... if you suddenly see a flurry of reports about how incredibly loyal the military is, with lots of little stories of individual devotion to the Party, then you know the leadership in Beijing is getting concerned.

Al Dente asks for the identity of the Cucumber Bandit ... and I have the answer. I know it says they're pickles, but that's just part of the cover story.

PS. Explosions aren't funny ... but some of them are really quite droll.
(via Instapundit)

Jane's reports:

The televised signing of the 'New Statute on Military-Technical Co-operation' followed an earlier announcement by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on 24 July that Venezuela was intending to buy enough Russian tanks to double its fleet.

Well, I guess that means FARC won't have to rely on Swedish weapons anymore. Of course, when Colombia points out that the sudden use of T-90s by FARC looks just a tad suspicious as far as Venezuelan involvement is concerned, Chavez will be mightily offended and recall his ambassador again. Maybe the Colombians can get some use out of those captured Swedish-Venezuelan-FARC anti-tank rockets.

You could make a pretty good case that the British empire was built by the Scots. Their soldiers were the meanest toughest bunch of all the redcoats, and they played a crucial role in campaign after campaign. I think they feel quite at home in Afghanistan. Not only have they served there before, I remember reading an account of a Scotish reporter who went into the country many years ago (the book was called Behind Russian Lines, which helps to date it), and one comment he made always stuck with me ... feuding clans in neighboring valleys? Add golf courses and it would be Scotland. Or something like that.

Nothing much has changed really. Scotish sniper Corporal Reynolds (any relation to Instapundit?) recently took out a Taliban commander at 1500 meters:

"He had been given a lead sleeping tablet. I was quite proud of that shot - it is the longest recorded kill in Afghanistan. I am going to use that fact as a chat-up line in the pub when I get back home."

His squad-mate also had a memorable kill, getting to take out a Taliban sniper with a rocket launcher:

"It was a real bullseye. The missile never even did any damage to the other wall - it just took out our target. "A patrol later went to the position and confirmed the kill. There was nothing left but a lot of blood and rags."

I've never been prouder of my Scotish ancestry.

China's Xinhua reports:

Both sides agreed to press ahead with the framework negotiations in accordance with the agreed political parameters and guiding principle so as to seek for a fair and reasonable solution acceptable to both countries. Prior to that, both sides should work together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas... The Chinese side also emphasized that China and India have no other option than living in peace and developing side by side.

Historic note: in 1962 the Chinese sucker-punched the Indians, and militarily seized a whole pile of territory along their disputed border. I know a guy who worked in Indian intelligence at the time, and he said the Indians were caught completely by surprise. The Chinese grabbed what they wanted, and then declared a ceasefire. In essence, it was a further extension of their expansionary push into Tibet in 1950, and part of the logic of empire in which new possessions must always be secured by the acquisition of new possessions. If China is serious about there being no other option that living in peace and developing side by side, then she must withdraw all troops to the pre-war lines, and enter negotiations about the frontier in good faith. Otherwise, it's no different from being mugged, and then having the mugger call for peaceful negotiations about the contents of your wallet.

Okay. Yes, that's him. Turkey's only Chinese professor. Okay. Bülent Okay.
A president called who (Hu), a premier called when (Wen), and a professor called Okay. I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.

I'm going to be very very busy over the next month (at least) and my blog posting is going to be intermittent. The blog hasn't been abandoned or gone inactive, and hopefully Dr Strangelove and Prof X will find time to post something.

In the meantime, please explore the archives. There's lots of stuff there about solar activity, North Korean weirdness, American politics and that lying liar who 52% of voters were stupid enough to elect into the White House, stuff about the Muslim World (a term which I actually think is inappropriate as you'll see if you look in that category on the right), and some very pithy quotes from two wise men, Robert Heinlein and Confucius, and more ... Enjoy!

In this case, Istanbul, Dresden (plus Alexandria and Tehran).
First Istanbul Turkey:

A 24-year-old street seller assaulted a man on the grounds that he was proselytizing Christianity, holding a knife to his throat in Istanbul before surrendering to police, newspapers reported Tuesday... The assailant – identified as 24-year-old pirate CD vendor – wrapped a Turkish flag around the head of İsmail Aydın, 35, put a knife to his throat and shouted, "This is Turkey, you cannot distribute Bibles here," Habertürk newspaper said. The stand-off lasted 20 minutes before the police persuaded the assailant to surrender, according to the daily Sabah... An Italian Roman Catholic priest was shot dead in 2006 and three Protestants – a German missionary and two Turkish converts – had their throats cut in 2007.

Now, for the record, Turkey is a secular republic, not a Muslim country. The Turkish news coverage of this incident is obviously disapproving, and the attacker was promptly arrested. The attacker's mental stability is questioned. This story reflects negatively on certain people in Turkey, but it is not representative of Turkey at all. That's not the point I'm trying to make. Let's continue shall we?
Now, Dresden Germany:

Initially it started out as a liable case: A Muslim woman filed a case against a 28-year unemployed German of Russian descent, in August 2008, after he had called her a “terrorist” on a Dresden street because she wears the higab – the Islamic headscarf that covers the hair.

But, after the Russian (not German) was fined 2,800 Euros for his crime, he decided to take matters into his own hands, stabbing Marwa Al Sherbini outside the courtroom. At least in Turkey the Christian wasn't killed, but there are clear similarities in the nature of the crimes. Now we get to the interesting bit ... the reaction to the incident in Germany in the "Muslim world" (whatever that is).

In Alexandria Egypt:

Alexandria governor Adel Labib “agreed to give the name of martyr Marwa al-Sherbini” to a street in the northern Egyptian Mediterranean city

There's also this:

It has also fuelled anti-German sentiment in Islamic countries, notably Iran and Sherbini's native Egypt, where she has been dubbed the "veil martyr" as she was wearing a headscarf when she was attacked... Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the German government for the act, and on the streets around 150 Iranian Islamist students pelted eggs at the German embassy in Tehran chanting "Death to Germany! Death to Europe!"

Meanwhile, back in anti-Muslim racist Germany:

"A meeting with town representatives and the Central Council of Muslims is set to take place next week to decide how we can honour her," Kai Schulz told AFP, adding discussions would also take place with the woman's family. The city's immigration officer, Marita Schieferdecker-Adolph said: "We are thinking of naming one of the city's streets after her."

I guess all I'd like to say (or ask) in conclusion is this: how would people in Egypt and Iran (the ones getting all hot and bothered against Germany) care to respond to the attack on the Christian in Turkey? Anything to say? Would you suggest, perhaps, that chanting crowds should pelt the Turkish embassy in Berlin? Is it fair to blame either Germany or Turkey for these nasty incidents? Is what's good for the goose what's good for the gander?

More news of the weird, this time from India.

Hundreds of infants are dropped from the roof of a mosque in western India in the belief that the fall - which ends when the babies are caught in a bedsheet - would ensure good health and prosperity for their families. The ritual at the Baba Umer Durga, a Muslim shrine, is believed to have been followed for nearly 700 years, and each year hundreds of people, both Hindu and Muslim, take part in the ritual.

The news story is all about how terrible it is.

Child rights activists expressed outrage after the Headlines Today television channel showed the babies being dropped.

For me ... I'm conflicted. On the one hand I'd certainly never do it to my own child. On the other hand, even though it looks pretty frightening, no babies seem to have been harmed (which even the story acknowledges), and the video below also seems to show no ill-effects to the babies. I suspect that roller-coasters and bungee jumping put more stress on the human body ... but still ... baby tossing?

As a friend of mine commented, if it ever catches on it the west, it'll be in honor of Michael Jackson ...

Your friendless days are over, if you live in Tokyo. Yes, that's right, for a mere 20,000 yen (US$211) per friend, you can fill out your social calendar. If you don't like the ones the company sends you, don't worry, there are more available. If you don't like the service the company provides, you can always try one of their nine competitors. Apparently, there's a roaring trade in providing life-long friends for the day, mostly at weddings. This is just too weird ... I guess sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction.

A woman in a gray dress took the microphone to give a celebratory speech as a friend of the bride since junior high school. "She's the sort of person who thinks of others before she thinks of herself. She tends to keep to herself when she has something troubling her," the woman said. "I say this so her husband will notice and listen to what might be bothering her." The woman resumed her seat amid a hearty burst of applause. No one suspected that she met the bride for the first time that very day... "The bride herself thought up my speech," the 32-year-old stand-in guest, said. "I got it by e-mail through the agent. After I finished speaking I got together with the other staffers so I wouldn't have to engage in conversation with the real guests."

I've wondered for a long time what causes the occasional incredible incoherence out of the North Koreans. At last we have an answer ... it's because their false teeth keep falling out. Perhaps it's related to their magic toothpaste with special remedial result?

In my earlier post about the solar minimum, I jumped the gun in summarizing July's activity, forgetting there are of course 31 days in the month. Doh. This means that I was incorrect in saying that July was in equal-10th position with May 2008. Since July in fact had 24 days spotless days, that means it was 9th equal (for lack of sunspots) with November 2007. It's also worth noting that at the time, October 2007 (28 days spotless) and November 2007 (24 days) were considered to be the peak of the minimum. It wasn't until July 2008 that we had any months with less activity. Nobody ever dreamed that more than 20 months later we'd still be seeing an equally quiet sun.

To continue playing with the statistics, the average number of spotless days per month in 2008 was 22.4, and in the first seven months of 2009, that average is 20.9. Yes, it's a little lower ... but hardly enough to declare that the minimum is approaching its end. The simple truth is that no prediction concerning the sun has proved accurate, and we just don't know what it's going to do next.

Exactly how this is going to affect the Earth, again, no one knows ... but if the primary source of energy for the whole freakin' planet is doing something weird, only a fool would consider that it won't have any impact. Of course, there are a lot of fools out there who won't for a minute acknowledge that anything other than human activity could play a role in climate change, despite the fact that there was actually rather a lot of it on this planet before mankind came along. But anyone who points that out must (of course) be in the pay of the evil oil and gas industries. (Speaking of which, where do you sign up? I'm sick of doing their work without pay. I want my wages of sin.) The gospel of Global Warming cannot be denied.

What sort of media play do you suppose this will get in US news?

SAUDI ARABIA’S Foreign Minister rejected a fundamental premise of the Obama Administration’s Arab-Israeli peace efforts, saying Arab states could not start normalising relations with Israel until Israel agreed to withdraw from Arab territories occupied since 1967.

Ooops. Wrong question. Do you suppose this will get any coverage in US news? Now that's the right question.

The Rhetorician has turned one year old. As far as the blog-o-sphere is concerned, that counts as maturity. (I think two years is middle-aged, three is senility, and four is either death or sainthood.)