DPRK delegate calls for U.N.-led anti-terror struggle. Axis of evil, my foot. The North Korean government "opposes all forms of terrorism and any support for it". Ya hear that, W? --The New York Times has begun grouping their travel articles by destination, and as a bonus is offering their travel articles since 1996 free of charge. [ Link ] ##Tibet Beauty Pageant After watching a documentary on the Miss America pageant tonight on public television, I thought it was very coincidental to find an article on Brand Recon's newspage about the Miss Tibet contest. Tibet brings to mind images of Buddhist temples, tall mountain peaks and nomadic yurt-people. But like the rest of the world, on Jan 1^st 2001 Tibet entered the 22nd century. According to the site: The MISS TIBET BEAUTY PAGEANT will bring Tibetan culture forward in time; it will provide a contemporary forum for Tibetan girls and women. The issue of preservation of "backwards" cultures is one I've come around to a new opinion on. Just like I believe that the form of a nations government should be in the hands of the people, so should the culture be decided by the people themselves. This poses the possibility of so-called "hermit nations" like Bhutan, which choose to live in self-imposed isolation and antiquity. The king of Bhutan has made a decision (with the approval of his subjects, I believe) that McDonalds, Nike and other signs of advanced civilization do not belong in his state's system of values. So Tibet has chosen for itself a beauty pageant. Note that this is not organized by the Han immigrants; rather, it has a decidedly independent bent. I wish the best of luck for the event, and wish I could be there to support the bright and forward-looking Tibetan women. If anybody asks, I would vote for Lhakpa Dolma, naturally supporting a fellow teacher. [ Link ] ##Congressional Debates on NPR Did anybody else catch the congressional debates on NPR today? Not that they were hard to miss. Since driving to work this morning, to coming home from Borders in the waning dusk they have monopolized the airwaves of 89.3 KPCC. They are debating a resolution that would declare the United State's intention to carry out unilateral action against Iraq if it does not comply with UN weapons-inspection teams. I heard a good speech by John Lewis of Georgia, a fiery speaker of the hellfire-and-brimstone type. It was very humanitarian, very Wilsonian. He quoted the Scriptures several times, reminding his fellow Congressmen of their heavenly mandate for peace. The supporters of the resolution seemed to enjoy drawing parallels between Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler. Both were bloodthirsty dictators, who were initially dismissed as harmless and merely "contained" by their enemies. Congressmen who opposed the resolution tended to ask where the evidence is that Bush hints about regarding Saddam's weapons capability; they also questioned the timing of Bush's aggressive attitude towards Iraq, asking "why now?"; lastly, the Democrats argued that Bush is using Iraq to ply attention away from more depressing domestic issues like health care and the economy. If the Democrats can focus attention on the home-front, they will be likely to win more seats in the upcoming Congressional election. ##Qing Dynasty --Pardon me for being inspired tonight. The Borders nametag hangs around my neck like a backstage concert pass. Inside the clear plastic pocket, I inserted a small picture card of a Chinese lady in traditional Chinese costume. On the backside, I have a Sprite bottle label in Chinese. But the second insert is beside the point. Tonight as I manned a cash register, a Chinese woman buying a single book asked me where the card picture was from: "A friend gave it to me." "Oh really? It's pretty." "Yes, I like it too. I think it looks nice." "Do you know what kind of clothes she is wearing?" At that point I should have busted out some Chinese, "Wo zhidao. Ta zai chuan Zhongguo Qing-dai de yifu." But being slow of wit, I just asked her to tell me. Royal clothing from the Qing dynasty, in case you were wondering.