But it sure seems slow and more than a little screwed up. Let’s hope it gets fixed soon. At least we know it’s not being blocked by the cybernanny.

Update: Sorry, it’s down again.

There’s a funny piece over at Danwei on how a new Chinese condom is being marketed. The article also points to a new survey by condom maker Durex that indicates the Chinese are very busy when it comes to personal pleasure.

Durex 2004 Global Sex Survey showed the Chinese have the most per capita sexual partners as 19.3, while with the most gloomy sex ardour.

Each Chinese has on average 19.3 partners toping the sex league table where an worldwide average number is just 10.5, according to the world’s biggest condom maker, Durex.

Paradoxically, the survey says the Chinese rank quite low compared to other countries when it comes to sex drive (7th lowest in the world!). Go figure….

There is a somewhat disturbing article in the unlinkable Atlantic titled “Straits-Jacket,” and it could lead you to wonder whether war between China and Taiwan is all but written in the stars. (The article can’t be linked, but you can find a PDF of it here.)

Like most articles in the Atlantic, it’s dense and substantive and serious. That said, I’m not sure I buy the premise of its writer, Trevor Corson.

He starts by telling how China has benefitted in every way from America’s war on terror, especially in the sense that it’s diverted the neocons’ attention away from one of their pet obsessions — villifying China and actively seeking conflict with it. And he points out how at least in economic terms, relations between Taiwan and China are good — but there could be trouble in paradise.

To some, these developments suggest that time is on the side of a peaceful solution to the problem of Taiwan’s disputed status. But the reality may be quite the opposite. In fact, a number of analysts in both America and East Asia believe that military conflict between China and Taiwan is not only likely but imminent. Just how imminent depends partly on the Taiwanese legislative elections scheduled for December 11. If pro-independence parties gain a majority in the legislature, the stage will be set for a confrontation, producing a hellish prospect for U.S. foreign policy: on top of its ongoing military commitment in the Middle East, the United States may face a Chinese attack against Taiwan, a fragile democracy that America has promised to help protect.

On some level, of course, the idea that China would actually attack Taiwan—rather than merely threaten to do so, as it has for years—makes no sense. Attacking would invite a military response from the United States, and even without American intervention, it’s not clear that China’s military is up to the task of seizing the island. China would also risk losing the trade relationships that drive its economic growth.

Nevertheless, the threat of a Chinese attack has loomed over Taiwan since at least 1972, when China’s Premier Zhou Enlai, in negotiations with Richard Nixon, refused to renounce the use of force against the island.

He goes into the history of Taiwan-PRC relations, the military considerations and, of course, Chen Sui Bian’s posturing for independence. Still, I never feel he makes the case as to why analysts believe war is imminent.

The most interesting aspect is the reporter’s rather unorthodox but simple solution to the entire mess: let Taiwan fight it out.

The fact that Taiwan has matured into a prosperous democracy suggests a solution, albeit a radical one: let the island defend itself. In 1998 a Cato Institute analysis proposed that the United States withdraw its pledge to protect Taiwan; in exchange it would lift all restrictions on arms sales, allowing Taiwan to buy the weapons necessary to deter a Chinese attack. This course would require delicate diplomacy, because it would infuriate both Taiwan and China: Taiwan would lose its security guarantee, and China would face a new Taiwanese arms buildup.

Bereft of American protection, however, Taiwan would be forced to face the consequences of upsetting the status quo. The immediate result would be a dramatic reduction in China’s political fears, thus removing the incentive for a pre-emptive strike and buying both sides some time to move toward a peaceful solution. For Taiwan and its supporters in Washington, the idea may sound like a betrayal. But the best way to help Taiwan mature into a full-fledged democracy might simply be to ask its people to take responsibility for their actions.

Now that’s a radical thought.

It’s been quite a while since China was involved in a newsworthy “international incident.” Could this be the next big incident?

Japan took up with China the issue of a suspicious submarine that intruded into its waters amid alarm in Tokyo that the vessel was a show of strength from its neighbour and growing competitor….

The submarine spent about two hours in Japanese waters Wednesday near the southern island of Okinawa before being chased on the high seas by two Japanese destroyers and a surveillance plane.

Both countries have been cautious in identifying the nationality of the submarine. If confirmed as Chinese the incident is expected to damage already sour diplomatic relations between the Asian powers….

The Sankei Shimbun called the submarine an “alarming sign” and suspected China wanted to show its military might to Japan, the United States and Taiwan, where support has been growing for a declaration of independence from Beijing.

“It is unlikely that China will come forward to reveal the submarine’s nationality and purposes,” said the daily, which is sympathetic to Taiwan.

“But if it was aimed to demonstrate the (Chinese) presence to Japan and the United States as well as Taiwan,” the Sankei said, “the objective seems to have been fully achieved.”

Developing…

(And thanks to the emailer for the link.)

God love him. This is a letter he wrote to our president; no wonder Bob Jones University is renowned worldwide for its tolerance, compassion and love.

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America—though she doesn’t deserve it—a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate.

….Don’t equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you.

….Undoubtedly, you will have opportunity to appoint many conservative judges and exercise forceful leadership with the Congress in passing legislation that is defined by biblical norm regarding the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government. You have four years—a brief time only—to leave an imprint for righteousness upon this nation that brings with it the blessings of Almighty God.

Now, where is Bob Jones University located? I forget….

Via Kevin.

Update: Poorman points out that Jones has infinitely more praise for shrub than for the pope, beginning a letter he wrote in 1978 with the line,

Pope Paul VI, archpriest of Satan, a deceiver and an anti-Christ, has, like Judas, gone to his own place.”

Wow.

Okay, Update No. 2: I just got an email from a reader:

I have an online friend who attended BJU for one semester before dropping out (she left the university, got into a car accident, suffered severe brain damage and ended up homeless… and her family laughed at her, telling her it was God’s will because she left BJU.) Anyway, she writes good stories about the weirdness of BJU from time to time, and just posted one a few days ago.

Be sure to visit that site! Here’s how the post starts:

This is the building the “dating parlor” is in at Bob Jones University. Yes, that is where you go if you are on a date or are studying with your boyfriend or girlfriend (they must be of the opposite sex and their skin color must match yours). There are people there to supervise you and make sure that you have no physical contact. There is a 6″ rule. you must be 6 inches apart at all times. They sit and stare into each others eyes for hours. That is all. how romantic is that???? It’s sick. and it’s a real weird feeling to walk into a room and have a dozen people staring at each other in the eyes. You cant touch each other because touching leads to hugging which leads to kissing which leads to sex. Sex is bad unless you are using it to reproduce little fundies.

Thank you, emailer!

I can’t believe this has anything to do with Jesus’ vision of what Christianity should be. It’s a puritan American aberration, a sickness that flies in the face of nature and being human.

What a strange world. The famous and successful writer-journalist was only 36 years old, and today she shot herself in the head. I read Rape of Nanking when it came out and was impressed with its thoroughness. Her latest book, The Chinese in America: A Narrative History, wasn’t well received, at least not in the reviews I read.

These stories keep reminding me that we all have problems, even the rich and the famous. It’s easy to forget.

Danwei says it’s due to the machinations of the cybernanny, but why should it be blocked in the US? I’ve been trying to log on for two days, to no avail. If it’s China’s doing and not some technical glitch, it’ll be a shame. Despite my problems with the way LiC has been managed, it’s still a great resource. Or was…?

On my own site, my site meter was down for nearly four hours yesterday, inexplicably, wiping out my traffic averages. I’ll have to think of a way to get it back up; I should be coming out with a killer story on China any time now, as soon as i get the energy to write it down. Stay tuned.

Very refreshing. Watch the clip.

Or so this rather outspoken poster suggests. Angry. Funny. Definitely heartfelt.

Update: I just went back and read the whole thing again, and am even more impressed with its genius. It’s an absolute must-read.

Sorry, but this is too good to ignore. In fact, it’s downright unbelievable. That last line — I mean, how prescient can one man be??

“[W]hen a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental–men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost… [A]ll the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre–the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” – H. L. Mencken, in the Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

From Sully.