Biden's Blunder

US Secy of State Antony Blinken has just returned from a trip to China in an attempt to ease tensions between the world's superpowers. He returned alive, so in that sense, the trip was a success. But he was unable to even wrangle an agreement in which the militaries of both nations could establish communications to avoid confrontations. I see no reasonable justification for this refusal by China, and suspected that stance to change. 

Not anymore. 

President Joe Biden has single-handedly sabotaged any diplomatic success by his own Secretary of State by calling Xi JinPeng a dictator. 

Biden, of course, is correct. But the timing of his remarks pretty much destroyed any thaw. 

Visiting Chinese Professors Share Insights

Jack Spirk is the thorn between roses
Ying "Sunny" Shan (left) and Yan "Maggie" Zhang (right)

Professors from China's medical and legal professions are among those who recently wrapped up a semester at Northampton Community College. Yan "Maggie" Zhang, who teaches medicine and Ying "Sunny" Shan, a lawyer who teaches law, are from China's prestigious Jinhua Polytechnic, one of the nation's leading vocational colleges. Maggie and Sunny took some time to offer their perspectives on the differences between the China and the United States.

The Legal System. - Maggie and Sunny spent some time in Northampton County Court, watching the trial of Gregory Graf, a man who was accused of killing his step daughter so he could have sex with her corpse. For Maggie, it was her first time in an American courtroom. Escorted by Northampton Community College's Jack Spirk, who teaches criminal justice, they both had a bird's eye view of what goes on in an American trial.

Sunny noted that in China, there is more frequent use of the death penalty. But she explained that China also has a "death sentence with two-year suspension of execution".If the immediate execution of a criminal punishable by death is not deemed necessary, a two-year suspension of execution may be pronounced simultaneously with the imposition of the death sentence. And if a sentenced defendant shows sufficient rehabilitation over that time, the sentence is reduced.

The American legal system is premised on what is known as the common law, in which prior case law is very relevant. But China has adopted the civil law tradition, although Sunny explained that the courts in China are beginning to follow the precedent on cases published by the Supreme People's Court. She said combining both systems is "more fair to everyone."

Centralization. - One big difference noted by both professors is that in China, a licensed physician or attorney can practice anywhere. But here in the United States, a license is only good in the state in which it is obtained unless there is a reciprocal agreement with a sister jurisdiction.

That carries over to laws as well. In China, something permitted in one province is permitted in all. But in America, some practices that are completely legal in one state could be criminal in another. "If the law is not clearly known by the people, how can i ask them to follow it?" asked Sunny.

Medical System. - Maggie explained that, though all hospitals provide access to Chinese medicine and techniques, they also offer Western medicine as well. For acute problems, she indicated that most rely on the Western medicine. But for more chronic problems, Chinese medicine and practices are considered a better way to be used.

Maggie likes the use of specialized nurses in America, and will be recommending that option in China.

General differences. - "The sky is very blue," Maggie said when asked about the United States. "It's very quiet.China is more crowded." But that's fine with both of them. "In China, people are closer and friendly, we like to help each other. " Maggie explained. Sunny added,f or instance, students in her country think nothing of calling a professor over the weekend to ask for help.

They noted that in China, the income of a doctor or lawyer is much lower than in America, making legal and medical services more affordable.

They believe there is good and bad in both the American and Chinese way of doing things. "We are here to learn from each other," explained Sunny. "Combine the best of both worlds."

Chinese Law and Medical Professors Attend Graf Trial

Although the courtroom was packed, mine was not one of the mugs you'd see in the Gregory Graf murder and abuse of corpse prosecution that got underway yesterday. Northampton County DA John Morganelli and defense Attorney Jack McMahon are two of the best courtroom presences in the state, so this would be a great case to watch. But the facts are too much for me. I get squeamish pretty easily, and don't think Judge Baratta would appreciate seeing me hurl in the middle of his courtroom.

While Morganelli and MacMahon were talking about sex toys and dead bodies upstairs, I visited the courthouse cafeteria, one of the best kept secrets in the Lehigh Valley. Not only is the food delicious, but the room - it used to be Judge McFadden's courtroom - is the most cheerful place in the building.

While waiting for my food, I saw Bethlehem City Council Solicitor Jack Spirk sitting at a table with two of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. I mouthed "Bastard!" at him and he smiled.

In order to really dig it in, he called me over to introduce me to his lovely companions, who were a lot prettier than Phil Lauer and Steve Kreglow at my table. They are visiting professors from China. One is a law professor, while the other is a physician who teaches at medical school in China. Jack himself is a criminal justice professor at Northampton Community College. His colleagues are visiting this country to see how our system works.

Now if I were any good as a reporter, I would have written down their names and tried to do a proper interview. But as most of you know, I'm a bottom-feeding blogger and we just make things like that up as we go along.

Spirk had arranged for them to meet with a fellow Chinese, Dr. Zhongxue Hua. He is the forensic pathologist who testified and probably represents everything that is right about our country.

He probably introduced me as an example of what can go wrong.

I will try to get an interview.

How Communist China Deals With the Disabled

When House Speaker John Boehner addressed the nation Monday night, he said reforms to our entitlement programs are needed to make sure they are still there for our grandchildren.Suspicious left-leaning Democrats accuse him of wanting to end them completely.

How do Communist countries deal with the disabled? They have a quasi police force called chengguan, which beats the shit out of disabled street vendors.  On Tuesday, they beat a one-legged man to death for selling fruit.

The "Bitter" Truth About Obama's "Bitter" Remarks

Barack Obama's spin machine was really buzzing on Sunday. I received twelve emails from advisers Matt Ehlrich and Sean Smith to tell me how much Pennsylvania sportsmen really hate Hillary Clinton. Oh yeah, twenty-one small town officials think she's horrible, too, and they've even sent a letter.

Exactly where that letter has been sent is unclear, but it sounds pretty damn official. When the President of the Pa. Forestry Association speaks, I listen.

Obama's campaign has gone into overdrive because of this.

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

That's something Obama recently said. It's by no means the end of the world for him, although he's pretty much ruined any hope he had of pulling an upset in Pa. No presidential candidate should speak of religion as though it is some dark superstition. Nazareth is one of those religious small towns, and its residents will certainly resent being called xenophobic gun nuts.

"I said something that everybody knows is true. ... I didn't say it as well as I should have," is how Obama explains. Well, what the hell did he intend to say? How is this anything other than a slam against those with religious principles or who have more conservative views? It's difficult to avoid the conclusion that Barack looks down his nose at us.

Of course, many Pennsylvanians are upset. In towns both big and small, jobs have been exported to China at the rate of 15,640 per year. In addition, China has blocked all efforts to stop the genocide in Darfur - where over 400,000 people have been senselessly slaughtered - because it might interfere with oil production. China's 1951 invasion of Tibet resulted in the ethnic cleansing of over 1 million countrymen. It continues today, a Han "manifest destiny," in which both Tibetans and their cultural identity are slowly being erased. At home, Chinese routinely execute at least 1,000 people every year. Bullets in the back of the head do the trick, while transplant surgeons stand by to harvest still pulsating organs.

Very efficient.

So how does Barack feel about this brutal regime - one of the chief causes of the bitterness he notices here in Pennsylvania? In a written statement, he claims to be concerned about China's failure to respect human rights. But when actually speaking to voters in Chester County, the message is much different.

"It's very hard to tell your banker he is wrong," is what Obama says, according to The Morning Call's Scott Kraus. Not much hopeful in that statement, is there?

Neville Chamberlain would be proud.

Update: As William Kristol notes, there's little difference between Obama's condescending observation that we "cling" to religion and that of another thinker. "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of a soulless condition. It is the opium of the people.” That thinker was Karl Marx.

China Cheats, Pa. Workers Lose 15,640 Jobs as Result

The following is a disturbing news release from The Alliance for American Manufacturing. NAFTA's failings are one thing, but illegal trade practices by China (dumping, subsidies, and currency manipulation) have had a deleterious impact on Pennsylvania manufacturers three times worse than anything caused by NAFTA.

WASHINGTON, DC, MARCH 25, 2008—A new analysis by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) found that the U.S. trade deficit with China has taken a surprising toll on Pennsylvania workers. Annual job losses in Pennsylvania due to trade with China average three times higher than losses discussed by some of the presidential candidates and attributed to NAFTA.

“In just a few short years, tens of thousands of Pennsylvania jobs have been shipped to China,” said AAM Director Scott Paul. “The presidential candidates are rightly concerned about the potentially damaging effects of unfair trade and they need to focus more attention on our record trade deficits with China, which have cost us more than 1.8 million jobs since 2001. Vigorous enforcement of our trade laws will ensure American workers and companies have the chance to compete in a fair global market. We call on the presidential candidates to make this commitment to the voters of Pennsylvania.”

AAM’s analysis of Economic Policy Institute data found that Pennsylvania lost 78,200 jobs from 2001-2006 (all sectors) as a result of the U.S. trade deficit with China [source: EPI, ‘Costly Trade with China’]. That works out to an average of 15,640 lost jobs per year. Using an identical analysis, AAM found that Pennsylvania lost 44,173 jobs from 1993-2004 (all sectors) as a result of NAFTA, for an average of 4,016 jobs lost per year [source: EPI, ‘Revisiting NAFTA’].

PENNSYLVANIA JOB LOSS

Due to CHINA 78,200 2001-2006

Due to NAFTA 44,173 1993-2004

“China cheats and Pennsylvania loses,” said Paul, noting that the U.S. racked up record annual trade deficits in 2007 with both China ($256 billion) and its NAFTA partners ($138 billion). “If the presidential candidates want to save Pennsylvania jobs, they should commit to fighting China’s illegal trade practices such as dumping, subsidies, and currency manipulation.”

AAM advocates strong enforcement of existing U.S. trade law in order to address predatory foreign practices like China’s dumping, subsidies, and illegal currency manipulation. An AAM study in 2007 found that when U.S. trade laws are actually enforced, the net contribution to the U.S. economy is 50 times greater than any consumer benefits derived from dumped or subsidized imports [source: ‘Enforcing the Rules,’ www.americanmanufacturing.org].