“The
oppressor’s most powerful weapon is the mind of the oppressed.”
– Stephen Biko
We
are ending our visit to in Shenzhen today and are heading for Hong Kong. The people
we met here are focused, businesslike and practical. Everyone seems to be
working extremely hard to make and/or save money, to get a car, a better
apartment, to make a better life for their kids. No one spoke directly or openly
about politics, although they were quite interested in how we perceived
differences between their city and institutions and those in the US. We met no big picture people. More about
China next week after we return.
From
9,000 miles away, it seemed to be a typical week in US politics. The stock market
hit another all-time high, Republicans were for Sgt. Bergdahl before they were
against him, and Mr. Obama remembered D-Day:
Last week, Mr. Boehner said that he wasn’t certain about Climate Change, because after all, he wasn’t a scientist. Let’s take that to its logical conclusion:
And the Coal industry continues to stand behind its supporters:
The return of Sgt. Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for 5 years, predictably upset Republicans. Mr. Obama did not consult them on the release, the Sgt. may have been a deserter, we shouldn’t negotiate with the Taliban, and we gave up too much to get him back…Take your pick:
Speaking of Fox News, HuffPo reports that they have their worst ratings in 13 years, and that wasn’t their biggest problem:
Then, the Bergdahl affair triggered this tweet from Fox’s psychiatrist contributor:
http://t.co/PalsQV4C2H pic.twitter.com/Yim6r4kmmr
— Media Matters (@mmfa) June 4, 2014
Bergdahl brought out the worst in the GOP:
