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China’s New Leadership Takes Hard Line

Communist Party cadres have filled meeting halls around China to hear a somber, secretive warning issued by senior leaders. Power could escape their grip, they are being told, unless the party eradicates seven subversive currents coursing through Chinese society.

These seven perils were enumerated in a memo referred to as Document No. 9 that bears the unmistakable imprimatur of Xi Jinping, China’s new top leader. The first was “Western constitutional democracy”; others included promoting “universal values” of human rights, Western-inspired notions of media independence and civil society, ardently pro-market “neo-liberalism,” and “nihilist” criticisms of the party’s traumatic past…
The warnings were not idle. Since the circular was issued, party-run publications and Web sites have vehemently denounced constitutionalism and civil society, notions that were not considered off limits in recent years. Officials have intensified efforts to block access to critical views on the Internet…

“Constitutionalism belongs only to capitalism,” said one commentary in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily. Constitutionalism “is a weapon for information and psychological warfare used by the magnates of American monopoly capitalism and their proxies in China to subvert China’s socialist system,” said another commentary in the paper.

More from the NY Times

Frederick Douglass: New Tea Party hero?!

Last week, Frederick Douglass — who escaped slavery at 20 years old and whose words would help bring an end to the institution — was honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall in Washington, D.C. In the 1960s and ’70s, far left activists like Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panther Party and Angela Davis of Communist Party USA incorporated Douglass’ call to agitation in their various causes’ platforms. Yet in a fascinating turnaround, the brilliant abolitionist, writer and orator is developing a new – and perhaps, unexpected – political identity: Tea Party hero.

The recent rise in interest in Douglass by conservatives stems from their belief that his life epitomizes the self-reliance they champion, and his writings help provide justification for small government. It may be surprising to some that the fiery, black radical abolitionist of the 19th century, who once called Fourth of July celebrations “a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages,” could be inspiring to a Tea Party patriot. Or that social conservatives could find common cause with the man who bitterly attacked America’s Christianity as “a lie.” But that is exactly what is happening.

…But as Republican Speaker John Boehner took the stage, leading the ceremony that pushes Frederick Douglass deeper into icon status, calling Douglass “one of the greatest Americans who ever lived,” it became less clear than ever who will win the battle to claim the legacy of Frederick Douglass.

In the Middle Ages, animals that did bad things were tried in court.

In the fall of 1457, villagers in Savigny, France witnessed a sow and six piglets attack and kill a 5-year-old boy. Today, the animals would be summarily killed. But errant 15th-century French pigs went to court. And it wasn’t for a show trial—this was the real deal, equipped with a judge, two prosecutors, eight witnesses, and a defense attorney for the accused swine. Witness testimony proved beyond reasonable doubt that the sow had killed the child. The piglets’ role, however, was ambiguous. Although splattered with blood, they were never seen directly attacking the boy.  The judge sentenced the sow to be hanged by her hind feet from a “gallows tree.” The piglets, by contrast, were exonerated.

Such a case might seem bizarre to modern observers, but animal trials were commonplace public events in medieval and early modern Europe. Pigs, cows, goats, horses, and dogs that allegedly broke the law were routinely subjected to the same legal proceedings as humans. In a court of law, they were treated as persons. These somber affairs, which always adhered to the strictest legal procedures, reveal a bygone mentality according to which some animals possessed moral agency.

Former Governor, Now Purdue President, Wanted Howard Zinn Banned in Schools

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who more or less appointed the Board of Trustees that ultimately decided to hire him on as the President of Purdue University in January, is facing a new round of scrutiny for some heavy-handed moves he underwent as governor to remove ideas he didn’t like from school classrooms. According to a series of documents obtained by an Associated Press Freedom of Information Act request, Daniels also tried to use his position as governor to punish his enemies, including a professor at a local university. At the center of the story, however, is Daniels’ special hatred for historian Howard Zinn.

Zinn, in case you’re not familiar, was the author of A People’s History of the United States, a book he described to the New York Times as a “history from the perspective of the slaughtered and mutilated.” It was, and still is, a controversial book, both as a work of history and as a work embodying a particular kind of radical approach to confronting injustice. But it’s a bestseller, hugely influential, and still used often in the classroom. Zinn died in 2010, while Daniels was in office. According to the Associated Press, here’s how Daniels marked his passing in an email:

This terrible anti-American academic has finally passed away…The obits and commentaries mentioned his book, ‘A People’s History of the United States,’ is the ‘textbook of choice in high schools and colleges around the country.’ It is a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page. Can someone assure me that it is not in use anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?

The former governor is the subject of criticism from many faculty, staffers, and alums of the college, both because of his conservative politics and because of his lack of academic credentials, given Purdue’s status as a major, science-focused research center.

Is the British Royal Family Worth the Money?

Calls for the U.K. to abolish the monarchy and become a republic are ever-present, but they tend to tick up during big, royal-centric events. Still, about 80 percent of Britons approve of the monarchy fairly consistently.

And that may be for good reason — there’s at least some evidence that the monarchy brings in heaps of tourism revenue.

According to Buckingham Palace, sustaining the royal family costs Britons 53 pence, or about 81 cents, per person, per year. The total came to about 33.3 million pounds (about $51.1 million) for 2012-2013, according to the Palace, up from 32.4 million pounds the previous year.

Calls for the U.K. to abolish the monarchy and become a republic are ever-present, but they tend to tick up during big, royal-centric events. Still, about 80 percent of Britons approve of the monarchy fairly consistently.

And that may be for good reason — there’s at least some evidence that the monarchy brings in heaps of tourism revenue.

According to Buckingham Palace, sustaining the royal family costs Britons 53 pence, or about 81 cents, per person, per year. The total came to about 33.3 million pounds (about $51.1 million) for 2012-2013, according to the Palace, up from 32.4 million pounds the previous year.

British Porn Ban Is on the Way

In order to (supposedly) protect women and children, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is going to announce a set of measures designed to curb Brits’ appetite for porn. Sometime around the end of this year, those living in the British Isles will have to let their Internet providers know if they want access to porn, and by the end of next year, it’ll be against the law to have “violent” porn.
The “moves” being enacted will include the following:

  • Every household in the U.K. will have its access to porn blocked by default. People will have to ask their ISP provider to opt out of this block.
  • “Extreme” pornography which involves violent scenes or simulated rape is going to be outlawed.
  • An organization called Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre Internet will come up with a set of search terms in relation child abuse/child porn that will then be blocked

“I’m not making this speech because I want to moralise or scaremonger, but because I feel profoundly as a politician, and as a father, that the time for action has come. This is, quite simply, about how we protect our children and their innocence,” reads Cameron’s expected speech today, which primarily will focus on children.

The “I Heart Boobies” Case Could Decide the Fate of Free Speech for Students

This week, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Philadelphia, ruled in a longstanding case about the appropriateness of silicone bracelets inscribed with “I ? boobies!” in schools. The bracelets are sold around the country by the Keep A Breast Foundation to raise awareness for breast cancer research.  Often, students wear the bracelets to support family members struggling with the disease. But across the country, schools have banned the bracelets as offensive sexual speech, confiscated them, and suspended students for wearing them. In some schools, officials reportedly snip them right off. The constitutional question is whether the bracelets are lewd sexual speech that proves distracting and disruptive in schools, or a political symbol of support for breast cancer awareness.

Two middle school students in Easton, Penn., wore the bracelets (with their parents’ permission) despite a school ban that called them “distracting and demeaning.” The girls were suspended and banned from participating in extracurriculars.

More at Slate

A Chinese Virtue Is Now the Law

The government enacted a law on Monday aimed at compelling adult children to visit their aging parents. The law, called “Protection of the Rights and Interests of Elderly People,” has nine clauses that lay out the duties of children and their obligation to tend to the “spiritual needs of the elderly.”

Children should go home “often” to visit their parents, the law said, and occasionally send them greetings. Companies and work units should give employees enough time off so they can make parental visits.

The law was passed in December by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress. It does not stipulate any punishments for people who neglect their parents. Nevertheless, that officials felt the need to make filial duty a legal matter is a reflection of the monumental changes taking place throughout Chinese society.

Young Chinese People May Just Not Be That Into Western-Style Democracy

In my occasional search for contemporary Chinese political studies, I stumbled upon an interesting new study. Titled “What Kind of Democracy do Chinese Want?”, it’s a study from the leading state think tank in China, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Zhang Mingshu, the study’s author, apparently hopes to distinguish between different types of “democracies”. He explains thusly:

Generally speaking, one type is Western democracy. It originated from Greece … and through the catalyst of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, produced the type of democracy we see today in the United States and England. But another type is China’s democracy today, which we call “socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics.”

At this point, groans are emanating from astute China analysts about how such arguments typify Chinese political discourse today. What’s more, Zhang goes on to say that his exploration of the kind of democracy Chinese want is largely determined by the existing political and civic culture, citing the work of American political scientist Gabriel Almond on how specific civic cultures can shape the type of political system. This, of course, sounds awfully close to the longstanding debate over the lack of suzhi — loosely translated as civic values — that make Chinese society unprepared for major systemic changes.

But putting aside these issues for now, some of Zhang’s key findings nonetheless may offer some insight into the current state of political attitudes among Chinese, particularly of a younger generation of Chinese. [I can’t vouch for the soundness of the methodology, but the author claims that he conducted a survey with 1,750 random samples across four different regions in China. Each of the participants was given a 40-question survey to fill out.]

Table 1.1: Is democracy a good thing?

Number of respondents % of respondents
Good

961

54.9
Not good

47

2.7
Can’t generalize, has to be in context of whether it is appropriate for China’s current conditions

703

40.2
Other

0

0
Don’t know

39

2.2

Table 1.2: Is democracy a good thing? (age breakdown)

Age cohort Good Not good Can’t generalize, has to be in context of whether it is appropriate for China’s current conditions Don’t know Total respondents
18-21

44.1%

3.6%

50.5%

1.8%

111
22-31

48.3%

2.1%

47%

2.6%

387
32-41

50.6%

1.9%

46%

1.5%

411
42-51

63.6%

2.7%

31%

2.7%

365
52-61

58.3%

3.1%

36.2%

2.4%

290
62-71

61.4%

5.5%

31%

2.1%

145
>72

65.9%

0

31.7%

2.4%

41
Total

54.9%

2.7%

40.2%

2.2%

1,750

Table 2.1: Is China better or America better? (meaning models)

Number of respondents %
China is better than America

666

38.1%
America is better than China

140

8%
They have different national conditions, can’t be simply compared

901

51.5%
Don’t know

43

2.5%
Table 2.2: Is China better or America better? (meaning models)

Age cohort China better America better They have different national conditions, can’t be simply compared Don’t know
18-21

22.5%

18%

55.9%

3.6%
22-31

25.1%

12.1%

60.7%

2.1%
32-41

35.3%

7.5%

55%

2.2%
42-51

41.4%

6%

49.6%

3%
52-61

48.3%

4.5%

43.8%

3.4%
62-71

55.9%

4.8%

39.3%

0%
>72

65.9%

0%

31.7%

2.4%

After WWII, Europe Was A 'Savage Continent' Of Devastation

In the introduction to his book, Savage Continent, Keith Lowe writes:

Imagine a world without institutions. No governments. No school or universities. No access to any information. No banks. Money no longer has any worth. There are no shops, because no one has anything to sell. Law and order are virtually non-existent because there is no police force and no judiciary. Men with weapons roam the streets taking what they want. Women of all classes and ages prostitute themselves for food and protection.

This is not the beginning to a futuristic thriller, but a history of Europe in the years directly following World War II, when many European cities were in ruins, millions of people were displaced, and vengeance killings were common, as was rape.

Here is Lowe interviewed on Fresh Air

What a Cattle-Theft Case Could Mean for U.S. Law Enforcement Use of Drones

It was a strange and historic moment when North Dakota police decided to call in an unmanned Predator surveillance drone over a farmers’ dispute about animals. Now a court case in the small town of Lakota has become the primary testing ground for the use of unmanned aircraft by law enforcement across America.

The odd episode began in June last year when six cows wandered onto land owned by Rodney Brossart, who declined to return them to their owner until he was paid for the feed the cattle had consumed.

When police tried to get involved, Brossart’s family—who “prefer to limit their contact with governmental actors,” according to a court brief—allegedly chased the officers away with guns. Ultimately, a military-grade Department of Homeland Security-owned unmanned drone was deployed (for reasons that are disputed),  and a local SWAT team called in. Brossart became the first American to be arrested with the assistance of a drone—and the six cows were returned.

Quick is arguing that “the warrantless use of unmanned surveillance aircraft” was unlawful on Fourth Amendment grounds. He points to the United States Supreme Court judgment in Kyllo v. United States, which held that obtaining information by sense-enhancing technology not available for general public will be subject to constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Founding Rivalries: More Like Squabbling Brothers Than Fathers

Intrigue, duplicity, back-stabbing, and character assassination. Think it sounds like American politics today?

Try the 1790s, a decade that saw Thomas Paine–famous pamphleteer for the revolutionary cause–denounce President George Washington as a “hypocrite in public life” for signing a treaty with England. And earlier in the same decade, you’ll find the recently retired secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, telling his crony James Madison to get busy destroying the good name of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Yes, the same Hamilton whom Madison had collaborated with only a few years before in writing the famous articles in support of the Constitution.

And back-stabbing? Well, there’s the fine case of Ben Franklin penning a secret missive to Congress accusing fellow emissary John Adams of behavior “improper and unbecoming” for refusing to truckle to ally France’s every whim. Not nasty enough? Try Vice President Jefferson telling a French diplomat that President Adams is “a vain, irritable, stubborn” man. Given such a climate of slander and treachery, should we be surprised at the 1804 duel between the vice president of the United States and the former secretary of the Treasury, a duel in which the latter was killed?

Americans who think they live in politically divisive times might do well to look back at the first decades of their republic’s history.

Lagos' Homeless: Paying the Price of Progress

Under Lagos’s energetic governor, much lauded in the international financial media, this crowded megalopolis of high rises, filthy lagoons, fierce traffic jams and sprawling slums, home to perhaps 21 million people, has proclaimed its ambition to become the region’s, if not Africa’s, premier business center.

Infrastructure and housing projects abound, including a light-rail network whose trestles already vault crowded neighborhoods, and a vast upmarket Dubai-style shopping and housing development built out into the Atlantic Ocean, inaugurated last week by former President Bill Clinton. A new Porsche dealership has opened in the financial district.

In this gleaming vision, the old Lagos of slums has an uncertain future. Two-thirds of the city’s residents live in “informal” neighborhoods, as activists call them, while more than one million of the city’s poor have been forcibly ejected from their homes in largely unannounced, government slum clearances over the last 15 years.

Many said they were given 20 minutes, at most, to pack up their belongings.

The Guerrilla Skirmishes of the Sexual Revolution

The front page of the The Daily Princetonian
 

Fifty years ago this week, panty-seeking college boys lit the fuse on the 1960s.

“Imagine being the typical 20-year-old American-male college student in May of 1952. You have come of age in the new era of the American teenager. You are living in close quarters with thousands of peers amid a campus boom made possible by the GI Bill. Whether you study rocket science or history, you are being trained to win the Cold War. You are eligible to be drafted to kill and die in Korea, but you cannot vote, and you cannot spend the night with your girlfriend, and you cannot console yourself by rocking out to “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” because Mick Jagger is still 8 years old. Which is not even to mention that homosexuality is grounds for expulsion. You have been waiting for spring. You have been studying Robert Herrick in English lit. The leaves are on the trees. The sun is in the leaves. The personal is the political, but there aren’t yet any second-wave feminists to say so. The sap is rising in the trunk. The panty-raider’s pursuit of unmentionables is sometimes a conscious act of political speech, sometimes the unconscious expression of teen lust in a repressive climate.”