Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life, 1.24.24
Steve Kelman, Harvard Kennedy School prof, moderate Dem, pro free speech/anti cancel culture, pro tax rich, pro-Israel. Research improving gov performance, China interest. Blog reprints Facebook posts
Anti-semitic posts and Harvard undergrads
The Harvard Crimson reports that anti-semitic posts, including slogans such as "let them cook" in relation to Jews, have appeared on a site called "Sidechat" that is widely written by and read by Harvard undergraduates.
Surge in support for anti-immigrant party in Germany
The anti-immigrant German party Alternative for Germany is now up to 25% in the polls, compared to 10% at the last election. There have been similar increases in the poll results for the Sweden Democrats, the anti-immigration party there.
“Law and Order” season premier about murder of Jewish college president
The Forward reports that the season premiere of Law and Order is about the murder of a Jewish university president, who has upset pro-Israel students for allowing pro-Palestine events on campus and Palestinian students who see him as a tool of Israel.
Oldest presidents
The two presidents in American history who were the oldest when they assumed office are Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
James Bond and rape
James Bond says of one of the women he is involved with that "the conquest of her body...would each time have the sweet tang of rape." Would women friends agree we have made progress since the 1950s?
Deciphering Communist Party jargon in China
There is a newsletter out there whose mission is to interpret the weird phrases used in China's People's Daily newspaper.
Videogames in Asian sports competition
A Times story on videogaming in China reports that "e-sports" (i.e. videogames) was a medal event at last year's Asian games competition in China. China won.
Never see people smoking anymore
I'm coming across various descriptions of people smoking cigarettes in my 1953 James Bond novel. I am curious when the last time is that friends have been in near proximity to a cigarette smoker, whether at a meeting, reception, party, or public place? In the US I cannot remember the last time I have been in this situation; I have been in China and Sweden occasionally.
Nikki Haley as Nimerata
Trump has started repeatedly referring to Nikki Haley by her Indian first name Nimarata, which is a name she hasn't used for decades. Calling this a dog whistle is an insult to dogs.
Newsletter that turns out to come from China Communist Party
I received an invitation in my Outlook this morning to subscribe to a newsletter called DeepChina. I assumed that this was one of the newsletters, some of which I receive, that covers China. I subscribed, and they sent me the current issue, which immediately revealed itself as CCP propaganda.
I should have been alerted by some of the wording in their invitation: "DeepChina is an elite academic initiative that offers objective and rational analyses on a broad spectrum of topics related to China, encompassing politics, economics, culture, human rights, diplomacy, and geopolitics. We extend our invitation to distinguished thinkers and experts from both within China and overseas to share their ideas and insights, fostering constructive dialogues that promote mutual understanding and exchange between civilizations."
First, Chinese use the word "elite" more often and in more contexts than we do in the US. Second, "promote mutual understanding and exchange between civilizations" sounds like something from the mouth of Xi Jinping.