China's 26th Dynasty

 

Today, the public officeholders in China are still referred to as “父母官,” literally meaning the “father and mother officials.” On the other end of the hierarchical spectrum, the people still address themselves as “老百姓,” literally meaning “old hundred surnames.” It is a term that emerged with the founding of the Qin dynasty that ended feudalism in China. The nobility and the slaves disappeared, and in their stead emerged the class of the “old hundred surnames,” a submissive population of probably the world’s first centralized state.



It is why the three student representatives, supposedly fighting for democracy, nevertheless knelt on the steps of the Great Hall while holding a petition paper over their heads—the typical manner of the subjects seeing the emperor—when petitioning for a dialogue with the government officials.

Many of China's government departments have "Letters and Visits" offices to receive complaints. The complaints system allows citizens to report grievances to authorities, who are then supposed to instruct other government departments to resolve the problems. It is a throwback to China's imperial days when citizens could plead their cases all the way to the capital if they couldn't get justice at home.

Today, the petitioners' thinking is heavily influenced by this tradition. They're looking for an upright and sympathetic official to personally intervene in their case. One recent survey found that only 2 percent of petitioners in Beijing had their cases resolved by the "Letters and Visits" system. But many petitioners have no other choice, as the local courts and media tend to be under the control of local governments. Petitioners complain that the "Letters and Visits" system often hands their cases right back to the local officials who cause the problems in the first place.

Brutalism is Back

 

Israel has many Brutalist public buildings, like Court Houses, the Negev Statue in Beer Sheva, and others. I never liked them, it seems to be lacking imagination, and sheer poverty. 

Yet, the Wall Street Times writes that "On balconies and in backyards, hulking stone chairs and chunky concrete tables are making their weighty presence known. The look, though not actually prehistoric, is one with a past. Brutalism, the modern-design movement more typically associated with no-frills 1960s and 1970s public buildings than patio furniture, has long been an aesthetic critics love to hate. So why, after years of trim minimalism, are designers embracing the monolithic look for the outdoors?"

Why? Because it is ugly in an impressive way.

President Biden COVID positive

 

He caught the virus on his Middle East tour. For a 79 y/o/ man it is rather worrying. 

Pic.: Vicepresident Kamala Haris. It seems to me that she will make a strong President. 

Stoned Bovine Art

 

The World as Anarchy vs Legality

 DER SPIEGEL: One of the basic assumptions of political realism (Mearsheimer) is that the international system is ultimately anarchic and that there is no authority above that of individual states. Does your experience confirm this assumption?
Kissinger (nearing his 100th birthday): No. The principle of sovereignty on which international relations were based in Europe, and via Europe, in the rest of the world, permits the evolution of the concept of legality in international law.  

The USA is working towards a world based on legality, establishing regional alliances like NATO, following the examples of the Athenian Delian League * and the Roman Latin Alliances. 

(*) The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, with a number of members between 150 and 330 under the leadership of Athens.

Success in Eastern Turkestan

Recently released Chinese census data show that in 2020, Xinjiang’s #Uyghur population aged 0-4 was only 36% the size of that aged 5-9, notes @fuxianyi of @UWMadison. https://bit.ly/3ANy8rV

Pic: Uyghur fighters in Idlib, Syria. But the Uyghurs are going and soon gone. China has defeated its Muslim terrorism. A success for the Chinese and a lesson for the rest of us. 

Arik Einstein z"l