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g-left: 40px”>American academic Norman Finkelstein has responded to Facebook and Twitter’s ban on Holocaust denial by saying he believes “that Holocaust denial should be taught in university and preferably by a Holocaust denier.” 

In an article released on his website responding to the move – which he claims had been rejected by “multiple ‘progressive’ publications” – Prof Finkelstein argues that if “Holocaust denial does constitute an actual or potential contagion”, then it should be taught in academic institutions “to inoculate students”. 

He continues: “To profess both that Holocaust denial shouldn’t be taught and that it poses a clear and present danger defies logic.  

“The claim by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that an alleged global rise in antisemitism and ignorance of the Nazi Holocaust justify suppression of Holocaust denial no less lacks in logic.”

By that logic, why not have members of QAnon in, to explain to the students how a cabal of Satan-worshiping paedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against Donald Trump? You know – to inoculate them. Or have a flat-earther come in; or people claiming the moon landing was faked? It's absurd. Come to that, why not employ professors who teach that sex is a social construct and people can choose what gender they are?

Oh, hold on…

More on the bizarre case of the South Korean fisheries official who either fell or jumped into the sea last month. The man, it was claimed by the South Korean authorities, was trying to defect to North Korea because of a failed marriage and heavy gambling debts. His family dispute this, and believe he fell overboard. Either way, the poor man was kept in the cold water by the North Koreans for six hours before they shot him, then poured fuel over the body and set it alight, while the South Koreans did nothing to intervene. Kim Jong-un offered an unprecedented apology for "the disgraceful affair", though it's fairly clear that the individuals responsible were obeying orders and indeed have been commended for their actions. 

The affair rumbles on. From today's Chosun Ilbo:

The Korea Coast Guard on Thursday insisted that a South Korean fisheries official who was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers "panicked" over gambling debts and wanted to defect to the North.

The KCG, which has come under heavy criticism for doing nothing to save the official, at a press conference at its headquarters in Incheon on Thursday said the official "had been deeply involved in online gambling and had wired gambling money 591 times over the last 15 months."

The KCG also claimed it "confirmed that he took money from co-workers to buy them crab but instead wired it to a gambling account before he started his final shift." It said the official, identified as Lee, had borrowed W123 million since June last year to gamble with (US$1=W1,135)….

But the victim's older brother, Lee Rae-jin (55), told the Chosun Ilbo, "The KCG's briefing is based on fiction. How could investigators make such things up? They found nothing new so they're trying to put the focus of attention on the gambling debt."

Despite an extensive search, the body has not been recovered.

Wrecking Crew", many of whom were featured on the recording. The musicians on the recording included Campbell, Al Casey and James Burton (guitar), Carol Kaye (guitar/bass), Don Bagley (bass), Jim Gordon (drums) and Al De Lory (piano). The orchestral arrangements were by De Lory with the descending six-note intro added by bassist Carol Kaye.

Webb was surprised to hear that Campbell had recorded the song: "A couple of weeks later I ran into [Campbell] somewhere, and I said, 'I guess you guys didn't like the song.' 'Oh, we cut that' he said. 'It wasn't done! I was just humming the last bit!'. 'Well it's done now!'"

It's not just the English – Bob Dylan apparently claimed it as the greatest song ever written and he knows a thing or two about songwriting – but it does seem a very English passion. From the sort of people who dream of road trips across the USA, with special tapes compiled for each stretch of road. It's the English love affair with Americana boiled down to one song, which has all the romance of those wide open spaces and endless roads, with a touch of existential loneliness and despair thrown in to add depth and significance. The sort of people who make jokes about how pathetic English versions would sound…"By the Time I Get to Dorking"…"Basingstoke Lineman"…"Get your kicks on the A413 to Aylesbury". The generation for whom America provided all the romance and colour of their childhoods.

Here's an earlier Glen Campbell I featured back in 2014 – My Window Faces the South – showing what an outstanding guitarist the man was.

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The demonstrations had “degenerated into a monster threatening the wellbeing of our society”, said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos, in a statement on Tuesday after a police station was set on fire in the Iganmu area of Lagos on Tuesday morning. The national police chief also ordered the immediate deployment of anti-riot forces following increased attacks on police facilities, a police spokesman said.

“Criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our state,” he said, promising that the government would “not watch and allow anarchy”.

Groups of armed people, often impoverished young men, are widely suspected of being paid by powerful interests in Nigeria. Rights groups and protesters have accused “thugs and sponsored hoodlums” of attacking the peaceful demonstrations and seeking to discredit the movement.

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101738696536747/3151743488202914/”>Remember…keep repeating:

dy should offend their beliefs. The right to blasphemy should exist but only in theory.” He continued: “The line separating these two positions is perilously thin. The Muslim radical argues that the ban on blasphemy is morally right and should be followed; the Western liberal insists it is morally wrong but should be followed. Theoretical distinctions aside, both positions yield an identical outcome.”

It has been said often before, but in the aftermath of the two Parisian attacks, it bears repeating—both Islamists and their ostensibly secular defenders must be resisted. They must understand that the defense of universal human rights is not a provocation, much less a “phobia,” but a moral obligation…

Well yes, it's just as well to get this message across loud and clear, and as often as possible.

My sense is though that this time there's been not much in the way of push back against the general horror of Paty's killing. After the Charlie Hebdo killings, many a progressive voice was raised, not so much against the killers, but against the ghastly Islamophobia of the satirical magazine who, basically, had it coming. This time, though we've seen the predictable reactions of some Muslim commentators in the Middle East – and indeed closer to home – there hasn't been much if anything that I've seen comparable to the Charlie Hebdo left hand-wringing. Maybe I've missed it, but I've seen nothing yet from the usual progressive quarters suggesting that, though of course they condemn the killing, nevertheless Paty was asking for it by showing those cartoons.

We know in fact that Paty was very careful, and suggested that anyone likely to be offended should leave the classroom. There's nothing to get hold of here, however much people might want to show how much their sympathies lie with the oppressed underdogs of a racist French society. This was an act of pure unprovoked evil that defies anyone to respond except with horror and total condemnation.

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ees, and one-third of those are engineers. The Chinese buy 400 million smartphones a year and 25 million automobiles. Chinese commute to work in Shanghai on high-speed trains that reduce the distance from Wilmington to New York City to a 45-minute interval. 

Gordon Chang, author of the 2001 book The Coming Collapse of China, is one of the experts ridiculed by Goldman. Chang reviews Goldman, also in Tablet today, and largely sticks to his guns. Yes, Goldman gets a lot right, but he ignores China's weaknesses:

He terrifies too much, however. China does not have infinite resources, and we could already be witnessing “Peak China.” The official Xinhua News Agency in January ran a piece titled, “Xi Stresses Racing Against Time to Reach Chinese Dream,” a clear indication Communist Party leaders are worried that time is running out for their regime. It’s not hard to see why they are worried. China’s demography is in the first stages of accelerated decline, China’s environment is exhausted—think scarcity of water despite the recent flooding—China’s people are increasingly restive, China’s leaders are losing support around the world, China’s economy is still having difficulty recovering from COVID-19.

And the United States, which for five decades supported Communist Party rule, has now ditched generous “engagement” policies and begun to challenge Beijing. Goldman, unfortunately, did not notice this momentous change. Moreover, he exaggerates Chinese capabilities. For instance, Goldman is in awe of Huawei Technologies, China’s “national champion” maker of telecom-networking equipment and smartphones, currently leading the world in both lines of business. “Huawei achieved self-sufficiency in chip production and continues to expand with Chinese and other Asian components,” the author warns. “Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich deplored this outcome as ‘the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history.’” 

Perhaps. But as fearsome as Huawei appears, the company is not yet self-sufficient in semiconductors. Huawei’s Habo Investments subsidiary has gone into the business of making semiconductors, but it will take years for it to be able to manufacture the sophisticated chipsets needed to make its products competitive. […]

The legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party depends on the continual delivery of prosperity and the aura of China’s success around the world, but Xi Jinping’s bold ambitions have pushed the regime to the limits—and perhaps beyond those limits—of what it can accomplish. Huawei’s predicament shows that Xi’s plan to take on the world is not guaranteed to be successful.

So let us heed Goldman’s warnings, but let us also recognize the areas of China’s fragility and its many weaknesses. The Chinese may want to assimilate, Sino-form, or dominate us, but we can make sure they do not have the means to accomplish any of that.

An interesting exchange.

a positive development now that democratic nations are beginning to pay closer attention to China’s actions and realise that the CCP’s anti-democratic approach is increasingly encroaching on free and democratic nations worldwide.

In August, my counterpart in the Czech Senate, Milos Vystrcil, led a 90-strong delegation to Taiwan, undeterred by strong opposition and threats from China. Seventy legislators from a number of democratic countries, including France, Germany and the US, as well as members of the European Parliament, issued a joint statement staunchly supporting the visit.

Although the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned that the Czech Republic would “pay a heavy price” during Senate President Vystrcil’s visit, political leaders from the European Union, France, Germany and Slovakia voiced support and openly challenged China. All of this demonstrates that European attitudes toward China are changing and shows that collaboration among democratic nations to stand up to China’s bullying and intimidation is gaining momentum.

Responding to the Soviet invasion in the wake of the Prague Spring pro-democracy movement, Alexander Dubcek famously said “You can crush the flowers, but you can’t stop the spring”. As Communist China’s expansionism encroaches on democratic systems and values, global collaboration against the CCP today marks the dawn of a new democratic spring.

You Si-kun's optimism and faith in the EU is touching, and I hope he's right. The dawn of a new democratic spring, though? I wish I could see it.