Steve Kelman On Politics, Culture and Life
9.27.2021
Self-promotion alert
A Facebook friend wrote on my page: “I am amazed by the number of thoughtful comments you share on FB are you sure there aren't two of you.
Campaign against legacy college admissions
The Boston Globe reports today about a Kennedy school student who has set up a campaign against legacy admissions at universities. They note was another practice originally introduced by Harvard president Lowell as part of his effort to reduce the number of Jewish students at Harvard.
Fewer in US working for newly established firms
The Economist reports that the proportion of workers in the US working for firms that have been established yet less than a year has fallen from 4% in the 1980s to 2% now.
AOC and Palestine
I saw an interview with AOC where she refers to the "occupation of Palestine." She did not say "occupation of the West bank." A kind interpretation is that she doesn't know the difference between these 2 phrases.
“All animals are created equal”
Again curious about to what extent Facebook friends, particularly younger ones, know some expressions that come more from my generation. What I'm thinking of here is one I posted on Facebook today, namely that ""all animals are created equal but some are more equal than others." in my generation this was an iconic quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm. Do people know it?
Arrested Chinese billionaire returns to China
Meng Wangzhou said on her arrival in China that her eyes filled with tears from the "embrace of the great motherland." The great motherland has certainly helped her family become billionaires.
Netflix series Occupied
Been watching the Netflix series Occupied from Norway, as recommended by Facebook friends recently. It is engaging and smart, a story about the Russians entering Norway to stop the government from ceasing oil shipments as a climate change protest. With The Restaurant from Sweden and Borgen from Denmark, Scandinavia is punching above its weight on streaming.
Illegal in Hong Kong to boycott the “election”?
Hong-Kong officials have warned opposition parties that boycotting the "election" could be a violation of the national security law. The government has already made it illegal to encourage people to cast protest ballots. The Chinese government representatives in Hong-Kong also corralled billionaires running unopposed in this "election" to appear in Street booths to extoll the new election system and hand out leaflets. This all falls into the category of things that would be funny if they were not so awful.
What is a Chinese billionaire worth?
A Chinese friend (who doesn’t like the Communists) noted that a Chinese "journalist" tweeted that Meng Wanzhou, the released billionaire, is worth "ten times" what the two Canadians China arrested in hostage diplomacy. Of course, she is a politically connected billionaire.
Taiwanese scallion pancakes
A heads up for Facebook friends who shop at the excellent Trader Joe's. They sell frozen Taiwanese scallion pancakes that you heat in oil in a frying pan. They are absolutely delicious, and and an added attraction is that they are actually made in Taiwan.
China Daily denounces US intelligence report on coronavirus origins – ignoring what report says
China Daily reports that China's ambassador to Indonesia has written an article in the Jakarta Post stating that "the US intelligence community's origins-tracing investigation report goes against science and won't yield any results." Nice to see them bring in a respected, impartial source.
"Jews will not replace us”
An article by the Jewish telegraphic agency with regard to Tucker Carlson 's endorsement on the air of the "great replacement theory" that there is an effort to make the country majority non white, notes that the Nazis in Charlottesville chanted the words, "Jews will not replace us.”