There are widespread reports in the Chinese press that Facebook may circumvent China's ban on Facebook.com by partnering with the dominant local search engine Baidu to create a "new," jointly owned social network. Ten Yuan to one says this new social network will work in a manner suspiciously similar to Facebook.com. Facebook is slippery like that. [BI, image via Getty]
The U.S. has released its annual report on human rights! And guess who gets called out by name? Yes, duh, it's China, which has been cracking down on dissidents and activists extra-hard lately. Of course, China doesn't take kindly to being told it sucks at human rights, especially by the U.S., so the Chinese government released its own "I Know You Are But What Am I" report telling the U.S. to butt out and maybe stop locking up black kids. "Stop the domineering behavior of exploiting human rights to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," it reads, in part. Guys, guys! You're both massive, cruel prison-industrial complexes with no meaningful avenues for dissent. The U.S. has better TV, though. [Reuters; image via AP]
Multimillionaire musician Bob Dylan performed in China this week and, shockingly, did not sing ancient protest song "Blowin' in the Wind." This, writes New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, "is a whole new kind of sellout."
When Mark Zuckerberg took his "vacation" to China last year, it was largely interpreted as laying the groundwork for a possible introduction of Facebook to China. Now, Facebook is reportedly in talks with partners about a possible move. Bloomberg reports that Facebook has held "exploratory" talks with companies in China. Chinese bloggers have been floating rumors that Facebook is partnering with search giant Baidu for a joint Chinese venture.
Ai Weiwei, the artist behind the 2008 Olympics' famous Bird's Nest stadium (and last year's Tate Modern Turbine Hall show), has been detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing after attempting to board a flight to Hong Kong. Ai—a funny guy whose "Study in Perspective" series has a special place in our eternally-teenaged hearts—has been "keeping an informal tally" on Twitter of the writers and activists detained by China in its latest series of crackdowns; as of this writing it's unclear whether he'd been "formally detained" (bad news) or simply held for questioning (less bad news). Police have also surrounded his Beijing studio and cut off its power, just in case any art escapes. [WSJ; image via MoMA ("Study in Perspective - Beijing") and AP]
Like a videogame before it, the long-delayed remake of the '80s Cold War action flick Red Dawn (in which evil Russians invade the US and a group of American teens begin a guerrilla campaign against them) has decided to change the villains of their film from Chinese to North Korean. Only problem? The movie's already been filmed.
This is Big Splash, a red Tibetan mastiff who was just sold for 10 million yuan—$1.5 million—to a "multi-millionaire coal baron" in China. That may seem like a lot of money to you, but did you know that Big Splash is actually 70 feet tall, made of clay, and will grant you a wish if you answer three riddles?
President Obama's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, was called to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, and stupidly tried to give an honest assessment of difficult foreign policy situations in response to questions asking for that. Now he's in big trouble, or at least Lindsey Graham wants him to resign.
The 76-year-old Dalai Lama today said that he will ask the Tibetan parliament in exile to amend the constitution so that he can leave his post as political leader of Tibet within days. In a speech in India he said: "My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility. It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run." He'll remain the spiritual leader of Tibet. China still hates the Dalai Lama, and today said that he was up to dirty "tricks." [Guardian; image via AP]
Watching this ad for a "Chinese boob clamp" that is actually just a corset (Although maybe corsets should be called woman clamps?) I find myself entranced by the recurring image of breasts mushing together, then falling back apart. Faces lighting up with joy, then hanging with shame. Is this what it's like to be a straight man?
Everyone knows that the only country that loves killing its own citizens more than the U.S. is China. But on Friday, the Chinese decided it loved killing its citizens just a little bit less: The government "ruled out" the death penalty as a punishment for thirteen "economic" and "nonviolent" offenses, including financial fraud, theft, tax fraud and smuggling cultural products out of China. The thing is—according to the AP—people rarely are executed for these crimes right now, so it's unlikely to make a dent in China's massive execution rate. The U.S. has so much to learn, when it comes to capital punishment! [AP]
LinkedIn, the social-networking service for professionals, has been blocked in China after users created a group to discuss bringing Middle East-like protests to China. People barely even use LinkedIn for its designed purpose—have you ever met a dedicated LinkedIn user?—but they're still organizing revolutions on it like crazy. Who's up for a Yelp revolution? We'll give the White House one-star reviews and say we saw a rat in the West Wing. Boom: Collapse.
Here's a clip from China's "Jasmine Revolution" protests on Sunday in Beijing, where a smiling U.S. Ambassador (and possible presidential candidate) Jon Hunstman walks into the middle of the crowd! He tells the cameraman that he's just there "to look around," and he then leaves. The video (with its hilarious soundtrack) was posted on the Chinese nationalist site M4 along with this breathless warning about U.S. meddling:
Do you have splitting headaches? Yes, sure, they may be migraines, or, you might have a four-inch knife, buried in your brain, for four years. Li Fu, a Chinese gentleman who had been complaining of headaches, recently discovered that the source of his pain was, yes, a four-inch knife, "stuck in his brain for more than four years." Apparently, doctors who treated him in the wake of a stabbing during a robbery in 2006 "failed to notice the knife buried deep in" Mr. Li's skull; later, apparently more competent doctors decided to perform an X-ray, and, lo: A knife, "buried in his face," in the Daily Mail's immortal phrase. Li underwent surgery and had the gross little thing removed. He is now in stable condition. [Daily Mail]
It's an exciting day for the conservative movement! Perhaps even the most exciting day of the year, right up there with Guy Fawkes Day. The 10,000-attendee Conservative Political Action Conference kicked off this morning in Washington, and it will run through Saturday. It's the Republican party's most important gathering every year, and it's especially vital in years, like this one, when there's a large crop of potential presidential candidates to size up.
