This story is already a couple of months old, but this blog post about this amazing and grimly inspiring article set me thinking. 40,000 fingers… The price of progress.

Real busy at work again, but trying to capture things I like on my blog before I lose track of them.

Is this one of those “only in China moments”? I think it qualifies.

A Chinese online game aimed at curbing official corruption has been shut down just weeks after its launch after proving so popular that the number of users overloaded its server, state media reported on Tuesday. The government-sponsored “Incorruptible Warrior” taught anti-graft measures by requiring players to kill corrupt officials while avoiding attacks by their henchmen and bikini-clad mistresses.

…. Corruption has become rampant in China since market reforms were introduced in the 1980s, and the ruling Communist Party has warned the problem is so great it could threaten its hold on power if it is not curbed. The government has been trying various means to crack down on graft, from mass campaigns to handing down punishments as harsh as execution for top officials felled by corruption charges.

But the report said while “Incorruptible Warrior” was meant as a new way to target graft, it had been criticised by some users who suggested it was improper to encourage players to kill corrupt officials in violent ways.

Don’t worry, it isn’t shut down permanently – just long enough to beef up the servers. So you’ll still have a chance to kill a corrupt official, if only virtually.

John Cole, former supporter of Bush and the Iraq War, is shrill. Our obsession with terror has turned us into a nation of quivering fruitcakes. 19 men with box cutters caused America to lose its mind. Can we recover? Can we possibly get our sanity back after sinking so deep into collective psychosis?

Great post, even better comments. Since his conversion, Cole’s has become just about my favorite blog.

This is one of the best articles on the search for Bin Laden ever, and a great reminder of why, despite our love affair with blogs, real journalism mustn’t go away. Absolutely extraordinary; it reads like a thriller and makes clear just how catastrophic the invasion of Iraq was to our actual goal, the defeat of al Qaeda. The invasion of Iraq was our gift to Osama Bin Laden, a new lease on life for a monster we had cornered, yet allowed to get away as we tripped on our own red tape and CIA vs. Defense Department infighting. And it’s a gift that keeps on giving. We now face an emboldened, more determined al Qaeda, flush with new recruits inspired by America’s trainwreck in Iraq and dead-set on striking us again. Thank you, Mr. Bush. Look at what you’ve spent (lives and dollars) and what you’ve gotten back in return.

Update: A US soldier blogging in Iraq. More proof the surge is working and that victory is right around the corner. All we need is another six months….

I went back to work today after three whole days in bed. There’s nothing quite like being sick to make you appreciate life and all the things you take for granted (like being able to walk across the room). It’s good to be back.

China is still here in all its strangeness. I love the place, and it drives me insane. Things I found infuriating four years ago are now amusing. Well, some things, anyway. There’s still a lot to be infuriated with, but you can’t be consumed with outrage all the time, at least not if you want to get any pleasure out of life.

I’m still not up to heavy-duty blogging, so let me wrap this up by drawing your attention to a handy new list of do’s and don’ts the government is offering to Chinese tourists traveling overseas. It’s priceless.

China’s advice to its citizens who travel abroad: No fighting, no shouting and, please, no extortion.

The new guidelines for Chinese tourists, posted on the Foreign Ministry’s Web site Tuesday, cover a wide range of dangerous or problem behavior to help head off trouble.

Travelers are told to avoid drawing attention to themselves, respect local customs, and keep a wary eye on strangers.

“Keep peaceful in public places, don’t talk loud and avoid sticking out,” the guidelines said.

“Don’t get involved in other people’s quarrels in public places,” it added, a nod to the Chinese habit of gathering in large crowds to observe or even take part in others’ arguments and fights.

The suggestions also urged Chinese to respect local laws and not to try to cut corners or make threats.

“When your legal rights are violated, avoid making things worse and resolve the problem through upright channels, not through extortion or other illegal methods,” the guidelines said.

So remember, the next time you travel outside of China try not to practice extortion. If you feel you absolutely must extort somebody, try at least to keep it to a minimum.

Thanks for sticking around despite the paucity of new material.

I’ve been trying to post every weekend, but the plan got interrupted when I got hit hard on Thursday with a fever, shakes, headache, nausea, etc. (Still, I went out with my colleagues that night to see Mama Mia for the fifth time; it was harder to enjoy than usual, but I still floated out of the theater.) Went to Beijing United today and the doctor said it would take me two weeks more to fully recover, and gave me the usual goodie bag of pills and sachets and vitamns. I guess God doesn’t want me to blog at this point in my life. And now, back to sleep.

…but it’s the first time I saw this video. Racist? There’s certainly some racial stereotyping, like the buck teeth, but whether this crosses the line from poor taste to racism I’ll leave up to you. (I’m less ambivalent about the comments, which are among the most racist and juvenile I’ve ever seen on YouTube.)

Does anyone remember, in the wake of our seemingly glowing victory in Iraq way back in 2003, teh president’s sweeping rhetoric about liberty, about how we were going to bring freedom to millions by paving the way to democratic elections? How we were going to reshape the Middle East by making Iraq a beacon of democracy, and as neighbors watched democracy work its magic they too would succumb to its charm? The underlying message was clear: the newly liberated masses would elect moderates who would ensure an end to tyranny and terror, the region would stabilize and the Middle East would blossom. Instead of being our blood enemy, it would be America’s friend. Unfortunately, this forecast wasn’t totally accurate.

“It’s the kiss of death,” said Turki al-Rasheed, a Saudi reformer who watched last Sunday’s elections closely. “The minute you are counted on or backed by the Americans, kiss it goodbye, you will never win.”

The paradox of American policy in the Middle East – promoting democracy on the assumption it will bring countries closer to the West – is that almost everywhere there are free elections, the American-backed side tends to lose.

Lebanon’s voters in the Metn district, in other words, appeared to have joined the Palestinians, who voted for Hamas; the Iraqis, who voted for a government sympathetic to Iran; and the Egyptians, who have voted in growing numbers in recent elections for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. “No politician can afford to identify with the West because poll after poll shows people don’t believe in the U.S. agenda,” said Mustafa Hamarneh, until recently the director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. Mr. Hamarneh is running for a seat in Jordan’s Parliament in November, but he says he has made a point of keeping his campaign focused locally, and on bread-and-butter issues. “If somebody goes after you as pro-American he can hurt you,” he said.

Oh, well. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I know some of our friends on the right will say, “But these people always hated America.” True, but they never hated us like this. Not the masses.

Iraq. The most catastrophic clusterfuck in America’s history. But not to worry. I hear the surge will turn it all around.

Obama warns over Pakistan strike

US presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he would order military action against al-Qaeda in Pakistan without the consent of Pakistan’s government. Mr Obama made the comments in a speech outlining his foreign policy positions. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said any threat to act against al-Qaeda from within its territory should not be used for political point scoring.

Earlier this month, Mr Obama’s chief rival, Hillary Clinton, described him as “naive” on foreign policy. The attack from Mrs Clinton came after a televised debate between Democrat presidential hopefuls. During the debate Mr Obama said he would be willing to meet leaders of states such as Cuba, North Korea and Iran without conditions.

In his speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington, Mr Obama said General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, must do more to end terrorist operations in his country. If not, Pakistan would risk a troop invasion and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid during an Obama presidency, the candidate said.

“It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005,” he said, referring to reports that the US had decided not to launch a strike for fear of harming ties with Pakistan. “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will,” Mr Obama said.

The BBC’s Jonathan Beale, in Washington, says such comments are clearly designed to bolster his credentials among a domestic audience. But a spokeswoman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Tasnim Aslam, told the AFP news agency that talk of military action was a serious matter and political candidates and commentators should “show responsibility”.

I wonder if he isn’t trying too hard to look “tough”. Certainly my opinion of him has dropped after this statement, though it was already low given some of his past comments. I hope that Hillary Clinton gets the nomination – Obama does not inspire confidence over foreign policy. At a time when US foreign policy is extremely important to the whole world, this is a critical point.

As if we didn’t know already. Still, this wonderful round-up (blogspot site so use your proxy) is devastating and will leave you pondering the scary fact that somehow this creature has become America’s most-watched television “pundit.” His rampage against Daily Kos is a frightening example of the old blacklist mentality. It’s just too bad the Kos response is to campaign for advertisers to stop sponsoring Fox, leaving them wide open to similar charges of blacklisting. There’s got to be a better way to alert the public that this fiend is a conscious and persistent falsifier of information and is intentionally and insidiously deceiving his audience, generating a lot of misplaced rage and hatred along the way. Then again, anyone who at this point is still among his audience is probably unsalvagable anyway.