In Kashmir, a war of words between China and India

With tensions on the rise in East Asia, China's relationship with its neighbor to the West also hit some turbulence this week.  On Thursday, India's new Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh alleged that there are Chinese soldiers stationed in the region of Kashmir that is officially administered by Pakistan (PoK), most likely to protect Chinese railway and hydro-electric projects in the area.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said General Singh's comments are "entirely groundless" and that China hopes to designate 2012 as the "Year of China-India Friendship and Cooperation."

Map of India and China / Map of disputed Kashmir region

But things don't seem so rosey from India's side.   According to a report from the U.S. National Intelligence Agency, "India is increasingly concerned about China's posture along the border and Beijing's aggressive posture in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific Region."  In fact, earlier in the week, General Singh assured the Indian people in his first press conference since taking office that the border between India and China is secure, and that something like the Sino-Indian War of 1962, where China took control of Indian territory, could not happen again.

China has been displaying its power all around India in recent years, from building ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and to strengthening maritime ties to Seychelles, Madagascar and other island nations in the Indian ocean.  Additionally, China has at least a half dozen airfields in the Tibet Autonomous Region, right at India's border.

In turn, it seems China is worried about India teaming up with Japan.  With still unresolved border disputes in Kashmir, the relationship between China and India is strained, while India and Japan share much strategic common ground and may find themselves in a similar boat as things continue to heat up.

Do-gooder in Philadelphia to be charged with trespassing after cleaning vacant lot

The city government of Philadelphia is looking to press charges against a man who took it upon himself to makeover a trash-filled abandoned lot owned by the city (at 20th and Annin).

Real-estate developer Ori Feibush, who owns a coffee shop adjacent to the lot in question, allegedly spent $23,000 of his own money beautifying the empty space, hauling away over 40 tons of trash as well as putting in new landscaping, sidewalks and picnic tables.

The lot before the make-over, with an alleged 40 tons of trash.

Meanwhile, the lot's actual owner is the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, aka the City of Philadelphia, and from a city perspective, Feibush is a trespasser.  Says the govt:

"Like any property owner, [the authority] does not permit unauthorized access to or alteration of its property. This is both on principle (no property owner knowingly allows trespassing) and to limit taxpayer liability."

Since the story broke out, "the Internet" has been up in arms, defending Feibush and lambasting the city as corrupt, backward, evil, etc.  Sites like Reddit.com have been filled with comments along the lines of "he just wanted to make the world a little bit nicer!" or "fuck the City of Philadelphia!"  And today, online vigilante group Anonymous posted a video planning to "go after" the government to fix this "tyranny and corruption."

But despite his good intentions, the truth remains that Feibush went onto someone else's property and completely overhauled it.  Whether it looks beautiful now, or is good for the community, or wasn't being done by the city, may be true but it's irrelevant.  He spent $23,000 modifying property that is not his.

The lot after Feibush's make-over.

If Feibush had simply cleaned the lot, lazy city officials may have still been embarrassed, but it's not likely they would want to charge him with anything.  But as Feibush's pictures show, the lot was changed significantly with construction and installations.  (I've clean a few trashed spaces in my home town with my friends, simply to feel good about it, but you can be sure if we constructed tables and fencing and landscaping we'd have been in trouble).


Trespassing laws are the consequence of living in a country with strong notions of individual liberty and personal property.  While Feibush seems like a nice guy with good intentions, imagine a city where people set out to "make over" any piece of property they feel is in disrepair without the owner's consent.  If the city of Philadelphia makes it impossible to improve or upkeep its vacant lots, the citizens should raise awareness of how best to streamline the government channels, or group together to purchase a lot to set an example, but violating property rights is a dangerous and ineffective precedent to making any city a better place to live.

Tensions surge after wave of violent anti-Japan protests in China

Not to be outdone on the protest scene, China saw a rash of protests break out this Monday and Tuesday, as tens of thousands of Chinese across a dozen cities rallied against Japan's recent purchase of three islands claimed by both countries.

Chinese riot police attempt to contain pro-China protesters in 

Beijing.

Known in China as the Diayou, and in Japan as the Senkaku, the islands are home to no one but are reportedly rich for fishing and may sit atop valuable natural resources.  Ownership of the islands has been a hot-button issue for decades but reached a new level this week after the Japanese government purchased three of the islands from a private owner and handed over the keys to the Japanese Coast Guard.

In response, Chinese protesters have called on the government to defend against Japan's encroachment, with some protesters turning violent, burning people's Japanese cars as well as burning and looting Japanese shops, some of which later turned out to be Chinese-owned.  Click here for a gallery of photos.

In response, Japanese companies such as Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Canon, Panasonic, and Sony have shut down factories and shops in China, with some leaders fearing for their lives.

On Monday, Chinese state-run media claimed an army of 1,000 Chinese fishermen were headed directly to the disputed area, though overall it seems its just the start of fishing season, albeit a very patriotic one.  Dozens of Western media outlets have parroted the claim, but as of Tuesday evening in China, only a reported 11 ships have entered what Japan considers its territory.  Meanwhile, top Chinese general Xu Caihou warned on Friday that Chinese forces should be "prepared for any possible military combat."

A Chinese man in Xi'an was reportedly beaten unconscious for driving a Toyota Corolla.

Anti-American protests spread across Muslim world

North Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the "Muslim world" have been embroiled in protests this week following the publication of a film critical of Islam which protestors seem to be believe was condoned or supported by the United States. 

Following Tuesday's protest against the American embassy in Cairo, Egypt and deadly attacks following protests at the U.S. mission in in Benghazi, Libya, several other anti-American and "anti-Western" protests have taken place in:

Protests spread across the Muslim world this week.

Sanaa, Yemen: Thursday, 9-13-2012:  hundreds of protesters chanting "death to America" stormed the embassy compound and burned the American flag. The embassy said nobody was harmed.

Kashmir, India:  Friday, 9-14-2012:  approximately 15,000 protesters in took part in more than two dozen protests across the Muslim-majority region, chanting "Down with America" and "Down with Israel." Kashmir is notably a tense region, with an-going border dispute between China, India and Pakistan and with a large population of hardline Muslim followers who don't recognize the Indian government.

Jakarta, Indonesia:  Friday, 9-14-2012:  roughly 200 protesters chanted slogans and held up signs in an overall peaceful demonstration outside the heavily-guarded U.S. embassy.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:  Friday, 9-14-2102:  peaceful demonstrations were also held in the capital city of Malaysia, where about 30 protesters called on the United States to block the distribution of the controversial film.

Extra crispy KFC in Tripoli.  [Photo:  Twitter/@Racha93halabi]

Khartoum, Sudan: Friday, 9-14-2102:  Several protesters attacked not only the American embassy in Sudan's capital but Germany's and the United Kingdom's as well.  Protesters stormed the German embassy, pulled replaced its emblem with an Islamic flag, and set the building on fire.

Tripoli, Libya: Friday, 9-14-2102:  Protesters chanted against America as well as the Pope's three-day visit to Libya and later set fire to a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.  At least one person was killed and 24 were wounded in clashes with police.

For those already thinking a protest against the entire American government for the acts of a private filmmaker are misplaced, imagine how German officials (who had nothing to do with anything) must feel now.

Remembering U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens

The YouTube account for the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli has a great, short video honoring Christopher Stevens, the former U.S. Ambassdor to Libya who was killed during this week's attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghavi, along with embassy worker Sean Smith and two other currently unidentified Americans.

Stevens first arrived in the Tripoli in May of this year, and the video was posted at the time to serve as an introduction for a man who was a Peace Corps volunteer, teacher and U.S. Foreign Service member for two decades.

 

Stevens is the first sitting U.S. ambassador to die in office since Arnold Lewis Raphel in Pakistan in 1988, and is the eighth U.S. Ambassador to ever be killed in the line of duty.
 

Brain Check: Romney attempts to insult murdered embassy workers for their own statements

Making the rounds lately is a spat between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama regarding two separate attacks on American consulates in Benghazi, Libya and Cairo, Egypt that both happened this Tuesday, on the 11th anniversary of September 11th.  In Libya, four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed late in the evening after their offices were fired upon with rocket-propelled grenades and assault weapons.  In Egypt, there were no casualties, but angry protesters clashed with riot police, burned tires and ultimately climbed the U.S. consulate's walls to tear down the American flag.

An armed protester stands outside the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya as it burns in flames on 9-11-2012.  Photo credit:  Reuters

The causes of the protests and attacks (as well as others today in Sanaa, Yemen as well as Tunisia) are believed to be in response to a film allegedly made or produced in America which protesters say insults Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, though the assault in Benghazi appears to have been planned for a while.

Aside from the speculation into the causes, the big news lately is the charges Mitt Romney threw at the Obama Administration immediately following news of the attacks.  The soundbite reverberating through the 24-hour-fear-chamber that we call modern media is essentially: Obama apologized to the murderers in Benghazi for offending their religion.

Specifically, after word came that at least one embassy worker was killed in the attack, Romney issued a statement: "I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."

Protesters scale the walls of the American embassy in Cairo, Egypt on 9-11-2012.  Photo credit:  AP

More simply, Romney's accusation is:  "the Obama Administration's first response after the embassy storming in Egypt and murders in Libya was to apologize."  So, how accurate is this statement?

1.  Let's first and foremost take the crucial step of noticing that the statement Romney calls an "apology" was issued by the Cairo embassy and not the Libyan embassy.  The statement, which is now removed from the Cairo embassy website, said:  The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

This fact is crucial because, again, we're talking about two separate incidents.  By lumping both together, Romney makes a more scandalous (and of course more newsworthy) argument that the Obama Administration apologized to the murderers in Benghazi.

2.  Well then, it's true Cairo embassy was still attacked by dangerous radicals, but is it true their statement was technically the Obama Administration's "first" response to being attacked?  According to the NYTimes, the Cairo embassy issued their statement before the protests in Cairo began to gain steam, as American diplomats had become aware of tensions amongst citizens.

More importantly, after the first confirmed death in Benghazi on Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement condemning "in strongest terms the attacks on our mission in Benghazi today"—before Romney's statements were released.

3.  Ok, so the Cairo "apology" wasn't the Obama Administration's first response, and it wasn't in reference to murders in Benghazi, but can we at least say the Obama Administration apologized to thin-skinned Muslim radicals in Cairo?  All right, sure, this is technically true.  I say "technically" because it's true every American embassy around the world ultimately falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government.  For example, if I lived and worked in Cairo at the American embassy, and I issued a statement in an attempt to calm down growing anger on behalf of irate ultra-conservative Muslim citizens, technically you may hold the entire government, including Obama himself, accountable for my post.  But the question is—to what degree should we assume the actions of the embassy workers issuing statements are in step with the entire Presidential Administration?  Having lived overseas and endured the bureaucracy of European, Asian and North American governments, seeing many cases of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, I'm not so sure.

In the end, what to make of Romney's argument?  It wasn't the "first" statement.  It reflected the thoughts of the embassy's workers, not the entire Obama Administration.  But most importantly:  the protest in Cairo ≠ the murders in Libya. 

So let's take a page from Romney and lump things together for sensational point scoring.  Because Romney (intentionally?) confused a statement from the Cairo embassy is the same thing as a statement from the Benghazi embassy, and because he called the statement "disgraceful," then one might say Romney is insulting murdered embassy workers for their own statements?

Wingless Wednesday, and Counterfeit Beef Balls

Two days down, five to go.  So far the effects of being compelled to eat more greens has made me a very productive waste-removing machine.  That's the polite way to say yesterday I pooped four times.  I even pooped at 8 pm.  Who poops at 8 pm?  I don't, or I mean I never used to before.

Today's China-related meat thought of the day comes from the time I was shopping at Metro-brand grocery store in Guangzhou and I came across a bag of frozen meatballs translated into English as "beef balls urinating."

Just like mom used to make.  

I'm not a fan of frozen food, especially frozen dead things (though like many lazy teenagers, I'll admit to going through a Hot Pocket phase in high school).  However, it not's every day you can say you ate something that was urinating.  I picked them up, transfixed by the English translation.  牛肉 I knew as "beef" and assumed 丸 means "ball."  Shu was with me and said that 撒尿 is more directly "pissing" not urinating.  I guess the English translator thought the latter was more appetizing.

Ok, but whether it's urinating, pissing, tinkling, or draining the lizard—why use any of these words?  Because this style of beef balls are supposed to become so juicy and savory when cooked that they'll squirt out soupy goodness as if they were urinating.  Here's a more graphic 撒尿牛肉丸 packaging label that leaves little to the imagination.

As I continued to giggle like an immature American, a Chinese woman told Shu and I to be careful with the frozen meats.  Apparently, says the woman, lots of supposed beef in China these days is not beef at all, but comparatively cheaper cuts of chicken or pork that have been altered to look like beef on the outside.  Whether this particular brand was real beef or not, I do not know.  But a bit of Googling has turned up that yes, in modern China, sometimes even the beef is counterfeit.