15 Oct 2007
China rules out copying Western democracy

They're screwed. Democracy wouldn't automatically save them, to be sure, but it would provide a temporary relief valve for the frustrations that are welling up in Chinese society. And we all know what happens to a pressure cooker when the relief valve is jammed...

Chinese President Hu Jintao opened a major Communist Party congress Monday by promising modest reforms to make government institutions more responsive while strengthening one-party rule.

(link) [CNN.com]

06:50 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Why Flying Now Can Kill

There's another word for overbooking: it's fraud. Selling something you don't have. Theft. If I tried to do with my eggs and meat what airlines try to get away with selling tickets, I'd rapidly find myself explaining to guys in blue suits and carrying guns why I took somebody's money and then failed to deliver the product they paid for.

The stressful, often incendiary situations created by overbooking infuriate perfectly healthy, well-adjusted passengers.

(link) [Washington Post]

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06:46 /Politics | 1 comment | permanent link