December 2010

The League of Ordinary Gentlemen: Question for readers

If the publisher of a small website dedicated to the dissemination of the state-secrets of the Chinese government were operating their publishing outfit out of the United States and published a bunch of leaked Chinese state secrets (both on their website and through various larger media organizations) and the Chinese government declared that a violation of Chinese law, should the US government arrest and detain and possibly extradite that person to China?

Let’s assume for a moment that this person is a United States citizen. Is he guilty of treason against China? Let’s assume he is Canadian. Would it be reasonable to say this person was violating Chinese law and should be tried and possibly executed in China? Does Chinese law trump civil rights and civil liberties for non-Chinese citizens? Do China’s legitimate security concerns outweigh the civil liberties of non-Chinese citizens? Of American citizens?

One last question: Should all the media outlets who published the material they received from Assange be punished in kind? If not, why are they held to different standards? If so, what does this say about freedom of the press?

Makes you think a little about Julian Assange and Wikileaks.

CSMonitor.com: China counters Nobel Peace Prize with Confucius Peace Prize

What a joke.  And like other Chinese knockoffs, it’s cheap- $15,000 to the winner.

The first recipient is Lien Chan, former KMT party leader in Taiwan.  This is a total slap in the face to all those in Taiwan who seek independence.  Not only that, the Panchen Lama was also nominated.  The Panchen Lama is a Chinese government’s choice after the Dalai Lama’s selection for Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, mysteriously disappeared.

I’m surprised that they just didn’t give it to Hu Jintao and save the trouble.

ESPN.com: Pete Sampras’ tennis trophies stolen

Tennis star Pete Sampras says most of his trophies and other memorabilia were stolen from a West Los Angeles public storage facility.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that Sampras still has 13 of his 14 Grand Slam trophies.

But thieves took his 1994 Australian Open trophy and most of the hardware from his 64 tour title wins, two Davis Cups, an Olympic ring and six trophies for finishing world No. 1 in the year-end rankings from 1993 to 1998.
…
The items were not insured because there was no way to assess their true value, he said, according to the report.

It’s a strange theft.  What does one do with a room full of trophies?  It seems like difficult items to fence.

These are the droids we’re looking for.

Blackmilkclothing.com: Artoo
Blackmilkclothing: Threepio

NYTimes.com: A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web

A shocking story about how a certain web retailer does business.  It’s 8 pages long, but worth the read.

Google has already responded by changing their web algorithm to account for his business strategy.

NYTimes.com: Google Acts to Demote Distasteful Web Sellers

How to stop iPhoto or Aperture from loading when plugging in the iPhone.

CNN.com: Senate GOP pledges to block all bills until tax dispute resolved

House Democrats, meanwhile, announced their intention to move forward with a vote Thursday to permanently extend the breaks only for families earning $250,000 or less.

…

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, called it a “non-starter” and “political chicanery” that threatened to undermine the talks.

This is pretty much what the GOP does best.  Obstruction.

How is a proposal extending the tax cut to only those who make less than $250,000 “political chicanery”?

Gawker.com: Tea Party Leader: Restricting Voting to Property Owners ‘Makes a Lot of Sense’

Soon they’re going to be saying that having indentured servants and slaves are a good idea too.

NYTimes.com: Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt

It’s like the Klan.  You can say despicable things when you’re wearing a hood.