Clik here to view.
Chessmaster or Pawn: Readers on the Romney Strategy
I just finished an NPR show, To the Point with Warren Olney from KCRW, on the practical difficulties the Romney campaign is encountering through the combination of Bain and tax-return matters. Also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Filibuster Watch: If Sen.Reid Really Means It, This Could Be Interesting
Sorry to have an unusual pileup of items in one day, but lots of news. From the Washington Post today, following up on a comment by Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid last week on MSNBC: And of course the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crowdsourcing a Translation Question
I seek advice from people who know both English and Chinese. A Chinese writer is trying to figure out the best title for the Chinese version of my recent book, whose title in English is China...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mitt Romney's Most Interesting Ad
You may have seen this already. I hadn't, and I love it (seriously). It's worth the watch, on many levels: Soy James Fallows, and I too valoro mucho que somos un nación de inmigrantes. Congrats to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Can People Say America Is Going to Hell?
When I can stop by the local Kwik-E-Mart and there, alongside the Cheetos and 128-oz 2000-calorie Big Guzzlers, I can find sitting on the shelves:Â (All of them actually purchased at one place and one...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Now On Line: 'China and Democracy' Debate With Minxin Pei and Eric Li
As I mentioned two weeks ago, one of the most interesting (to me) sessions at the Aspen Ideas Festival was a debate between Minxin Pei and Eric X. Li about the nature and viability of the Chinese...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Certainty of More Shootings
Like everyone, and I'd say especially like every parent, I am of course saddened and horrified by the latest mass shooting-murder. My sympathies to all.And of course the additional sad, horrifying, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Possibility of Fewer Shootings?
Soon after the Aurora murders I argued that the worst part was the shared American knowledge that we'll go through this cycle again. In some other city, with some other setting, and because of some...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rich Guys: A Close-Up View
A week ago, the political news was about tax returns, negative ads, visions of capitalism, and so on. Naturally it has been elsewhere for the past few days, and soon the Olympics will begin. (That U.S....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alexander Cockburn
The main point about journalism is its perishability. That is also the main point about the reputation and sway of its practitioners. They are read or heard, have influence for good or ill, and are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Today's News: Colbert, Frogs, Chinese Names, Chinese Floods
In in-house news:1) I will be on the Colbert Report tonight, talking about my book (at right) -- which, just in case you've forgotten, uses China's current all-fronts rush to become an aerospace power...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rich and Interesting Reading: 'Slow Web' and 'Neo-Victorian Computing'
I am not even going to try to summarize the online essays I'm about to refer you to.But I will say that if you are interested in technology, and thought, and the relationship between the two, and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Placeholders on the News: 'Devils or Angles,' Extreme Weather Emergencies
I have been preoccupied by other matters, so two brief visual place-holders: 1) Anyone who loves the English-language Chinese press will love it all the more thanks to the kickoff to this new series in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On the Continuing Joys of the English-Language Chinese Press
It is hard not to appreciate this feature on Xinhuanet. More "serious" matters anon.
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Olympic Viewing Strategy
In the runup to the Olympics, I always think, "Why don't I just read some good books in the next few weeks, rather than spending time on these oddball sports?" But when the saturation coverage begins I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
NBC Olympic Announcers: Please Read This
Interesting coverage so far! Thanks and keep it up.Here's a minor tip. In your coverage, you must often refer to the site of the 2008 Olympics. For instance, in comparing how Michael Phelps is doing in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three Interesting Aviation Videos
No larger point, but each is interesting:1) Earlier this month an Air Force C-17 cargo plane landed, by mistake, at a little commuter airport near Tampa instead of at its real destination, MacDill Air...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seriously: Put Down the Damned Phone When You're Driving
I have hesitated before saying anything about this episode, because -- even now! even online! -- there is such a thing as too much personal info. But because it bears on a larger issue I decided to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is It Walter Cronkite's Fault? Why Olympic Announcers Keep Saying 'Beizhing'
As I mentioned as the Olympics opened, it should be easy rather than hard for English speakers to pronounce the name of China's capital, setting aside the whole nightmare of tones in Chinese. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
'Culture,' Prosperity, and Political IQ
I accept the idea that "culture" has a legitimate part in explaining national or regional success. In the late 1980s, after living in Japan, I wrote a book examining cultural differences between U.S....
View Article