Ahem… I’m sure my opinion will count for naught but…

Though I have not met Mr. ‘C’, I have read (ohmygod) a lot of the posts, his and commentators, on two specific subjects.

1.) Chinapol- My opinion. He’s right. He was wrongly excluded.I belive it is backed by gov’t. History (and political NGO newsletters) is written by the victor.No Mainland Chinese equals no local (Note: I did not say informed) opinions about China’s political scene. If you don’t have ANY of that input, what’s point. It just becomes a newsletter full of conjecture, written, subscribed to, and read by a bunch of guys who come here once in a while to buy cheap DVD and score some cheap…ah…massages.

2.) Mr. “C” does seem, as Richard put it, to hold the USA to a higher standard than China, when speaking publicly.
I find, in particular, it could be a little offensive to some Western viewers, for Mr. “C” to slam the US gov’t, while mimicking the 3 monkeys when it comes to China’s internal political situation.

Having said that, Mr. “C” does in fact fulfill his destiny, and duty, as an American, by speaking his mind, AS he chooses, WHEN he chooses, WITH conviction.

You cannot condem him as anti-American, when he behaves as an American SHOULD, and CAN do, and when given half a chance, WILL do.

You may even want to resort to McCarthyism, by complaining that he is too “nice” to China, and the Chinese government’s sensibilities.But, all American’s know that road is the wrong one to get on.Glass houses…rocks…get the picture?

In the end, as gentlemen and gentlewomen, the only civil thing to do is agree or agree to disagree with Mr. “C”. Or we can argue with him. But if you choose the latter, let us do it either in private email, or online with some sense of etiquette (like Richard and others), or even better… Invite the man for dinner or a nice brandy…That my friends, is the civilized way to have an argument…Especially after a a nice meal…