Less guanxi, please

Senior Chinese leader Xi Jinping has urged the Party to improve its criteria for selecting and appointing cadres in the process of building the Party in the new era. Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks recently at a workshop attended by delegates from the Party's Organization Department in Beijing.

Cadre -- In 1987 the party and government cadre (ganbu) system, the rough equivalent of the civil service system in many other countries, was entering the final stages of a massive overhaul aimed at transforming the bureaucracy into an effective instrument of national policy. The term cadre refers to a public official holding a responsible or managerial position, usually full time, in party and government. A cadre may or may not be a member of the CCP, although a person in a sensitive position would almost certainly be a party member.

Guanxi -- describes the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is a central concept in Chinese society. In Western media, the pinyin romanization of this Chinese word is becoming more widely used instead of the two common translations—"connections" and "relationships"—as neither of those terms sufficiently reflect the wide cultural implications that guanxi describes.

It's hard to imagine that anyone but Party cadres and academics outside of China would pay attention to this, but Xinhua featured it in the "Window on China" section of its web site.It's another vague statement of opposition to corruption. Action takes place in a totally different world -- maybe not this world.When Party leader Xi talks about the criteria that should be used for "selecting and appointing cadres," what is he saying about the criteria now used?

"Senior Chinese leader Xi Jinping [above] has urged the Party to improve its criteria for selecting and appointing cadres in the process of building the Party in the new era...

"The Party should set officials' integrity, performance and their dedication to their work as an important criteria for selecting and appointing cadres, Xi said."The CPC's 17th national congress put forward the aim of increasing public trust in cadre selection and appointment...

"The Party should give special attention to cadres who have long been working diligently in places fraught with hardships and difficulties, and promote cadres who work hard, enjoy popular support and have political integrity, Xi stressed.

"He vowed to severely punish crooked Party officials linked to corruption and dereliction of duty."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/20/content_7632876.htm

China's Katrina?

By Feifan

As you might know from the news, at the beginning of this February, China was hit with a series of severe winter storms. How severe? It was reported to be the worst winter weather in over half a century, and the coldest winter in 20 years. The storms covered a huge swath of land from the beginning of January to the beginning of February from Xinjiang on China’s northwest border all the way to the eastern coast.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/China_snow_2008_eng.png

The effect of all this was disorder on a massive scale. Many small buildings were damaged when their roofs collapsed from the snow, 223,000 homes were destroyed and 862,000 others were damaged. Many cities were left without power or water, and telecommunications and internet infrastructures were damaged across the nation as well. China’s Xinhua news agency reported that 129 people were killed as a result of the snowstorms, with another 1.8 million Chinese citizens having to be relocated. Among these fatalities were a bus crash in my home province of Anhui in which 11 people died, and the incident with 3 workers who were killed trying to remove ice from power lines, a story that the government quickly jumped upon, calling the 3 men “revolutionary martyrs”. As well, there was massive damage to China’s agricultural infrastructure (refer to link).

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080201/98198463.html

Note that the picture on that story is either the PLA or the People’s Armed Police out in force to shovel the snow, while red flags wave in the background. Particularly amusing is that one guy in the middle raising a flag. Interesting, the kind of public relations you get in a country still ruled by a communist regime. :]

The effect on China’s people was profound as well. As luck would have it, these storms happened to fall exactly at the time of the yearly Spring Festival (also known as Chinese New Year) celebrations. As you might have seen in the news, countless numbers of migrant workers that are employed in cities were trapped at bus and train stations (especially in Guangzhou) by the bad weather.

Now thankfully, everyone in my family generally just stays in our hometown of Hefei, but for all those who work away from their relatives, getting home for the holidays was imperative. It seems like aside from the small stores and restaurants, usually when Spring Festival rolls around most of China grinds to a halt as people find time to visit with their families. Of course, Chinese values espouses the importance of close family ties, so it’s not as if all those stranded at transportation hubs were just about to give up. But ultimately, millions of travelers were forced to cancel their plans. Not exactly a great way to ring in the New Year.

A special report on "China's War on Snow Havoc" can be found here:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/08snow/index.htm

Here's Ralph, Again

Ralph Nader is running for President again. Even if he loses, he might eventually get the Harold Stassen Award for the most number of pointless runs for the Presidency after you have already become a national laughingstock. If you follow the Stassen link to the bottom of the Wikipedia page you can find how the continually running candidate got his name into a Simpson's script.

If Hillary Clinton is the nominee, Nader might actually get a few votes. If Barack Obama is the nominee, it seems unlikely that he will even hit 1%. Few Democrats over 25 have forgotten that if Al Gore had gotten 1% of the 92,000 votes Nader got in Florida in 2000, he would have become President. Democrats under 25 seem obsessed by Obama. Republicans want no part of Nader.

By the way, Ron Paul said in a Tuesday morning radio show that he would not run as a third-party candidate because the institutional obstacles make it too hard and, "really undemocratic."

Another factor this time is age. Nader is 2 years older than John McCain. Here's an SAT math question: Ralph Nader is older than John McCain. McCain says he is older than dirt. What is Ralph Nader's relationship with dirt? Well, as the Green Party candidate in 2000, Ralph was representing what 2004 Greeny David Cobb said was the party that, "is the heart and sould of the Democratic Party. Greens stand up for the disenfranchised. We stand up for plants and animals and Ecosysystems."

Here is Nader announcing his latest run on Meet the Press last Sunday. In 2004, as an Independent, he was only on 24 state ballots. How many state ballots do you think he will get on this year?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23320281#23320281

Nader says it's not always about winning, as the Swamp reports here:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/ralph_nader_its_not_always_abo.html

One-party democracy?

Before parliamentary elections held last December, pressure was felt at two of the region's largest universities, Volga State and Lobachevsky State, shown here. Students said they were warned not to join marches sponsored by the opposition coalition. And they said that before the elections, administrators issued a threat: if you do not vote for the ruling party, you will be evicted from your dorms.

Lost in all the horserace excitement over the New York Times and its front-page story about John McCain and the lobbyist, was a series the Times published with arictles that, "will examine the crackdown in Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin."

Does the regime under Putin -- recent past and future -- have legitimacy. And is there a different standard of legitimacy as Russians look in the mirror and out the window:

The Times reports that the meaning of the youth vote is very different in Russia. Check out the caption under the picture above. Or this graph:

"The city’s children, too, were pressed into service. At schools, teachers gave them pamphlets promoting “Putin’s Plan” and told them to lobby their parents. Some were threatened with bad grades if they failed to attend “Children’s Referendums” at polling places, a ploy to ensure that their parents would show up and vote for the ruling party."

Other passages:

"Over the past eight years, in the name of reviving Russia after the tumult of the 1990s, Mr. Putin has waged an unforgiving campaign to clamp down on democracy and extend control over the government and large swaths of the economy. He has suppressed the independent news media, nationalized important industries, smothered the political opposition and readily deployed the security services to carry out the Kremlin’s wishes.

"While those tactics have been widely recognized, they have been especially heavy-handed at the local level...

"Mr. Putin’s Russia is not the Soviet Union. For most Russians, life is freer now than it was in the old days. Criticism of the Kremlin is tolerated, as long as it is not done in any broadly organized way, and access to the Internet is unfettered. The economy, with its abundance of consumer goods and heady rate of growth, bears little resemblance to the one under Communism.

"Still, as was made plain in dozens of interviews with political leaders, officials and residents of Nizhny Novgorod over several weeks, a new autocracy now governs Russia. Behind a facade of democracy lies a centralized authority that has deployed a nationwide cadre of loyalists that is not reluctant to swat down those who challenge the ruling party. Fearing such retribution, many of the people interviewed for this article asked not to be identified..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/world/europe/24putin.html

One wonders if the Russian Federalism you read about in the paper constitution, which legend says was written in part on many of Boris Yeltsin's vodka cocktail napkins, has melted away like bar cubes.

'All We Want Are the Facts Ma’am'

Mourners at an NIU memorial last week.

From the 2 Regular Guys at CBS2chicago.com/school:

Common sense tells us that gun violence is a problem here in America.

It does not take the Valentine Day tragedy at Northern Illinois University to remind us that guns kill indiscriminately.

Furthermore many agree with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley this week when he called gun violence "an epidemic" in our nation.

Why is it that horrific gun violence continues to kill innocent lives and little to no public policy change occurs?

It is at this point that Joe Friday voice is heard saying, "All we want are the facts Ma'am . . . Just the facts." The facts may surprise you.

Though guns continue to be the method of choice (68%) when it comes to violent crime, such offenses in America are down 38% since 1990. Gun ownership continues to expand in the United States with an estimate of 70 million gun owners possessing over 200 million guns. That means roughly 45% of American households own at least one gun. Yet accidental deaths attributable to guns are down 90% since such statistics were kept.

The news frightens us. The facts may calm us.

What should our conclusions be?

Guns will be a wedge issue in the upcoming national elections. Conservatives, finding protection in the 2nd Amendment, will promote individual rights to own guns. Liberals, pointing to terrible incidence of gun violence, will call for greater individual responsibility and stricter gun control.

At that point, Dragnet fans, facts become irrelevant.

In the end, guns will be an issue in 2008. Policies will not change, but votes will.

And that is just a fact.

VIDEO: CBS 2 School: Gun Violence

Your Turn: Russia/China quizzes

The BBC has two comprehensive in-depth looks at Russia and China. Your job is to read through the sites and come 1) 10-question quiz on Russia; and 2) 10-quiz on China.

Provide answers to your questions.

Russia key facts at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/457000/457038/html/default.stm

China key facts at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm

President's Day Potpouri

There's been a lot of government and politics news over the last few days, so the Political Warrior will take this post to catch up. But before we do, we should reflect back on the U.S. President's we honor today. At one time a day to honor George Washington, then another day was added to laud Abraham Lincoln, now it's one day to honor all 43 -- love 'em or leave 'em.

As CitizenU.com wrote:

Most of us learned our U.S. history by way of presidential stories.Washington began it all.

Jefferson purchased Louisiana then hired Lewis and Clark.
Jacksonian democracy resulted in a chaotic inaugural.
Lincoln saved the Union.
Roosevelt gave us a New Deal and then saved the world.
Kennedy brought sex appeal, and so began a revolution.
Nixon broke our trust.
Reagan made us feel good again.

The threads that weave our American story invariably include one of our forty-three Masters of Ceremony, one of our Chief of State, one of our Presidents. For this reason we honor our Presidents today.

President's Day, at one time only a day to celebrate Washington, is now dedicated to remembering much more. A strong single executive has guided the rich tapestry of American history. Our story is wrapped in Presidents’ stories.

The President of the United States truly matters. Yet citizens matter too. Perhaps this is why our presidential candidates expend so much energy these days. Without us, their stories become less important.

Happy President's Day.
_________________


And then there were 193? Kosovo, by letter, declared its independence from Serbia and asked for recognition from the other states in the world Monday. Remember, recognition is one of the charicteristics (or pillars) of the state -- a body of people (population) living in a defined territory, organized politically (government) and having the power to make and enforce law without consent of a higher authority (sovereignty).

Does Kosovo have it? Bypassing official UN recognition, it did get props from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and most of the EU.

It did not get recognition from Russia (with permanent UN veto power) and Serbia. Russia considers Kosovo near-abroad -- the non-Russian countries that were once part of the USSR. More recently, Russian leaders have been referring to all 15 countries collectively as "Post-Soviet Space," while asserting Russian foreign policy interest throughout the region. Follow the still developing story here:

Bush: ‘The Kosovars are now independent’
U.S. formally recognizes nation; Britain, France, Germany say they will too

PRISTINA, Kosovo - The United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence Monday, and Europe's major powers said they would do the same, setting up a confrontation with Serbia and its key ally, Russia.

Kosovo's leaders had sent letters to 192 countries Monday seeking formal recognition of independence, and suspense gripped the capital as its citizens awaited backing from the key powers.

But the United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence in a statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and President Bush said, “The Kosovars are now independent.”

Serbia responded by recalling its ambassador to Washington.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy said those nations also would recognize Kosovo.

"A majority of (European Union) member states will recognise a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo founded on the rule of law," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after talks among EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Russia also rejected the declaration and persuaded the U.N. Security Council to meet in emergency session Sunday in an attempt to block Kosovo's secession. The council was to meet again later Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that independence without U.N. approval would set a dangerous precedent for "frozen conflicts" across the former Soviet Union, where separatists in Chechnya and Georgia are agitating for independence.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23219277/

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Valentine's Day Masacre

This from Indianapolis Star political cartoonist Gary Varvel on his shocking cartoon, covering last week's event which is becoming seemingly less and less shocking all the time. Why did I find the cartoon more shocking than the fact that a disturbed student has an arsenal and used it to kill on a close-by college campus?

"This cartoon is a shock to the system. It is disturbing and it should be. These things should not go together. The contrasting images of a bookbag, books, a rose and a valentines card should have nothing to do with blood splatters but this is the ugly truth of evil. Whether it's terrorists or some sick individual who decides to leap into eternity and take innocent people with him, we are left with unanswered questions and the empty feeling of helplessness. To those of us with children who still use bookbags, this is a nightmare image. On a day when we celebrate "love" we are gripped by grief. "

Last April I posted this after the Virginia Tech shootings, the opposite of sunsetting legislation, will the policy making window open up for those calling for madatory reportin of mentally ill on college campuses, or those who continue to call for further gun-control legislation:

Regardless of your stance, the gun attack has opened the policy-making window for somebody.

Thousands of bills are introduced in state and federal legislative chambers every year in America, but relatively few of these bills ever get enacted into law.

In many cases, lawmakers shelve a bill and wait to introduce the legislation at an opportune time when a window opens.

The U.S. Congress passed the PATRIOT Act within 45 days of the September 11th, 2001 attacks, but most components of the bill had been written more than a decade before 9/11/2001.

The terrorist attacks simply opened the window of opportunity for advocates to push the policy through.Just as the Reagan Assassination attempt opened the window to passing the federal Brady Law that requires gun buyers to undergo a criminal background check, the 1991 killings in Kileen, Texas opened the window to passing the Texas law that allowed Texans to carry a gun anywhere.

Angry NIU parents pushed for more gun-control following the campus tragedy.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-niu-parents-gun-control-080216,0,7705826.story

____________

Back to the Horserace -- Clinton accuses Obama of Plagarism

Hillary Clinton has accused Barack Obama of plagiarism as the former First Lady attempts to drag her high-flying young opponent into a pitched battle for the Democratic nomination.

Video: Watch Obama's 'plagiarised speech'

Having triumphed in eight consecutive primary elections, Mr Obama is forecast to continue his stunning ascent with victories in Hawaii and Wisconsin on Tuesday, although the latter is a close race.

However, he has been forced into the unwelcome distraction of fighting off charges from Mrs Clinton's camp that he lacks credibility after he used a short passage from a speech by his friend Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, nearly verbatim and without attribution.

Speaking at a titanium plant in Ohio, where Mr Obama was trying to focus on his ideas for saving US jobs, he said Mr Patrick had suggested he use the words.

“Deval and I trade ideas all the time. He has occasionally used lines of mine and at the dinner in Wisconsin I used some words of his. On occasion, Senator Clinton has used words of mine as well."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/wobama118.xml

McCain vote on torture a flip-flop?

This week, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., voted against an intelligence bill that stated:

"No individual in the custody or under the effective control of an element of the intelligence community or instrumentality thereof, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=deVf_fTSDP8

You make the call...the government listening...who's right on FISA?

While the Senate passed the FISA bill with telecom amunity last week, the House hasn't. This shapes up the classic political debate of our time. Who is keeping us safer from the terrorists? These comments in the crossfire from President Bush, who vows to veto a FISA Bill that doesn't give telecom companies legal immunity and Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

"I guess you got to come to the conclusion that there's a threat to America, or not a threat," the president said, warning that he might have to cancel a state visit to Africa. "I mean, evidently, some people just don't feel that sense of urgency. I do." -- President Bush

“The President has said that American lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not change FISA. But he has also said that he will veto any FISA bill that does not grant retroactive immunity.

No immunity, no FISA bill. So if we take the President at his word, he’s willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies.” -- Senator Kennedy

Remember, Politics is Easy. Governing is Hard.

______________

Also, late last week:

House holds Bush confidants in contempt

WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to hold two of President Bush's confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether a purge of federal prosecutors was politically motivated.

Angry Republicans boycotted the vote and staged a walkout.

The vote was 223-32 to hold White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt. The citations charge Miers with failing to testify and accuse her and Bolten of refusing Congress' demands for documents related to the 2006-2007 firings.

"We have space on the calendar today for a politically charged fishing expedition, but no space for a bill that would protect the American people from terrorists who want to kill us," said Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio.

"Let's just get up and leave," he told his colleagues, before storming out of the House chamber with scores of Republicans in tow.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080214/ap_on_go_co/white_house_contempt;_ylt=AoXamNQa6OkeAjBSuMHFZEms0NUE

Why is Congress investigating steroid use in baseball?

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said the main motivation for the investigation is the rising use of steroids among the country's children. Along with testimony from baseball players and executives, the committee also calls upon medical experts and parents whose children committed suicide after using steroids.

For our purposes, Congress has oversight powers, and in a contentious hearing on the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Major League baseball players, Brian McNamee testified that he had injected Roger Clemens and others with human growth hormones and anabolic steroids.

Mr. Clemens flatly denied Mr. McNamee’s statements under aggressive questioning by some committee members. Mr. Scheeler testified that he still stood by the results of his investigations for the Mitchell Report and believed that Brian McNamee was truthful about administering the drugs.

Mr. Clemens’ lawyers Rusty Hardin and Lanny Breuer tried to intervene on behalf of their client during questioning but the committee chairman eventually told them this was not allowed in hearings.

The full title of the report prepared by former Senator George Mitchell is, Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball.

Linked here is the four-hour hearing from C-Span.org. Congress also can use the "Necessary an Proper Clause" to take action, which could include recomending perjury charges against Roger Clemens. Baseball also has Congressional Anti-Trust exemption, which further gives members jurisdiction. Days before the hearings, while giving depositions, Clemens met with members. He was filmed giving away autographs. I bet he has not given one of those away at ballpark for years.

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?

Blog here and comment on any of the news of the last few days.