Neo-conservatism

(Consider this to be me playing the devil's advocate and trying to be provocative) First Tunisia, then Egypt, now Libya, and Bahrain (and god knows what else!) -- does all this mean that the neoconservatives were right after all?

SACO: America's concentration camp in China

I really really encourage everyone to read Xujun Eberlein's wonderful five-part post on America's Chinese concentration camp -- a camp that no American knows about but is almost imprinted in every Chinese mind.  It is utterly fascinating and a wonderful combination of history and memoir.

1. Prologue,
2. Evolution,
3. Puzzle,
4. Explorers
5. Revision

And no, nothing is what it seems.

Thuggish Rafa

Rafael Nadal looks like a thug on court.  But as I realized, the man is incredibly nice.  (Which is not to say that I am a fan.)   But this quote today from Nadal after losing to Ferrer in the Australian Open quarterfinal is typical Rafa:

He spoke about his physical problems reluctantly, and only when pressed, saying he did not want to give the impression that he always has an excuse after he loses. When beaten by Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals in Doha earlier this month, he explained that he had been weakened by a virus. "Today I have another problem," he said. "It seems like I always have problems when I lose. I don’t want to have this image.”