Mutant Palm

The New York Times says:

Mr. Zeng reached the formal retirement age of 68 this year, and party officials say he has stated repeatedly that he intends to step down.

Willy Lam says:

Considering that the age of 68 was set as the retirement age for Politburo members at both the 15th and the 16th Party Congresses

The Hoover Institute’s Lyman Miller says:

Most of these leaders will still be well short of 70, the age at which by apparent internal party norm leaders are expected to retire at the next party congress.

Covering the last Party Congress, the BBC says:

Politburo’s informal retirement age of 70

OK, I give up. Is it formal? Informal? 68? 70? Was it set during the 14th, 15th or 16th Party Congress? And if we can’t get this basic rule clear, what’s the point of placing bets on who’s in and out based on age?

On a more interesting note, someone has actually noted what might happen to Wang Lequan, who leads the Party, the Production and Construction Corps, and pretty much everything else in Xinjiang:

A political leader who has stayed in one position for ten years can no longer stay in the same position. Thus, three provincial Party Secretaries will have to leave their current posts. Wang Lequan, Party Secretary of Xinjiang and a member of the Politburo, has been in his position for more than a decade. Wang is usually considered a member of the Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL) Group because he once worked as Deputy Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Communist Youth League Committee between March 1982 and September 1986. He became Acting Party Secretary of Xinjiang in September 1994 and Party Secretary of Xinjiang in December 1995. He reached his ten-year limit in December 2005.

… Nie Weiguo, an alternate member of the 16th Central Committee of the CCP and Deputy Secretary of Xinjiang, is a good candidate for the post of Xinjiang’s Party Secretary. A native of Chongqing, Nie turned 54 in 2006 He has spent most of his working life in Sichuan, starting as an educated youth (zhishi qingnian) in Nanchuan, Sichuan in January 1969. He worked in the Peilin Prefecture (later Peilin Municipality and then Peilin District) for 17 years (1983–2000) and served as Deputy Secretary of Chongqing for three years (2002–5). He was transferred to Xinjiang in March 2005 as Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Construction Corps, Board Chairman of China New Construction Corporation and Deputy Secretary of Xinjiang. Notably, his predecessor, Chen Demin, was only a standing member of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Party Committee, but Nie was made a Deputy Secretary of Xinjiang. It is also possible that the Party Centre will transfer another individual from elsewhere to replace Wang Lequan. But whoever is the new Party Secretary of Xinjiang is unlikely to obtain a seat in the 17th Politburo. Wang Lequan’s career path is probably unique to him.

So it seems Wang is heading out the door. But wait! Wang Lequan is a Youth League man, and so Hu’s homeboy. Plus, he’s a lively 63. Aggh! I know this is a pointless game, but it’s so addictive!

According to the New York Times, yesterday was the 50th anniversary of a San Francisco court ruling that Allen Ginsburg’s Howl was not obscene.

Yet Ginsberg, who died in 1997, was heard online and not on the New York radio station WBAI-FM, affiliated with the Pacifica network, because the station, according to an article on Wednesday, feared that by broadcasting “Howl” it could run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission’s interpretation of indecency and incur bankrupting fines.

Janet Coleman, WBAI’s arts director, said that when the idea of airing the poem to test the law was proposed, “I said, ‘Yes, let’s try it.’” The radio station has a history of championing the First Amendment, having broadcast the comedian George Carlin’s “seven dirty words” routine that resulted in a 1978 Supreme Court ruling on indecency. But after several harsh F.C.C. rulings in 2004 — against CBS for a glimpse of Janet Jackson’s breast during the Super Bowl halftime show and against Fox for curse words used during the Billboard Music Awards — “our lawyer felt it was too risky,” Ms. Coleman said. The commission can impose “draconian fines,” she said, that could put WBAI out of business.

Listen to the Pacifica broadcast “Howl Against Censorship” online, where, for now, the FCC can’t touch it.

I picked this up at my local DVD store a while ago thinking it would be one of those “so awful its funny” movies. And man, did it deliver. The Agony Booth has an eleven page tour-de-force breakdown of what is listed on IMDB as #80 in its 100 bottom ranked films, but really George Harrison captured the essence of the entire production in the title song for the movie, which he executive produced. Some sort of karmic balance for producing Monty Python’s Life of Brian, I guess. Sing along kids, my favorite bit is “I’d like to know you but you’re acting so coolie.” Wow, dude. Wow.

I can’t understand how i’ve gone astray,
I should be sailing away on a liner.
I was knocked on my back on a dock at yang-tse,
It’s a hell of a way to see china.

But i’m ready.
You must be crazy…
And you got no money…
And you’re a liar…

My straits are dire from the wok into the fire,
I’d like to trust you but i’ve broken my rickshaw.
Sometimes there’s no hope in, in chasing opium,
I’d like to love you but i’m not sure what’s in your eyes,
Mm, shanghai surprise.

Whatever you’re saying, i want it anyway in
Been hanging ’round like a kid at your back door.
Oh, babe!
You could be kinder, and show me asia minor,
I’ll let you love me, let you see what’s here in my eyes,
Shanghai surprise.

You must be crazy… crazy…
And you got no money… money…
And it seems like madness…

Back streets so crowded that no room to swing a cat,
I’d like to know you but you’re acting so coolie.
I’m finding out pursued by evil looking dudes,
It’s getting hot for me like tofu when it deep fries,
Oh, shanghai surprise.

But, baby, you look like any common crook
That’s hanging ’round in those real shady places.
Oh, baby!
While you assess me, why not try to impress me?
Step over here, let me see what’s there in your eyes,
Oh, shanghai surprise.

I don’t understand how i got delayed,
I should be sailing today on a liner.
Was kicked in the ass on a dock at yang-tse,
It’s no way for a man to see china.

But i’m ready.
You must be crazy… crazy…
And you got no money… money…
But you’re a tryer…

My straits are dire from the wok into the fire,
I’d like to meet you but i’ve broken my chopstick.
Sometimes there’s no hope in, in chasing promises,
I wanna love you though it could prove to be unwise,
Shanghai surprise.

Whatever you’re saying, i want it anyway in
In hanging ’round for a ride on your rickshaw.
Oh, babe!
You may correct me, now that you’ve inspected me,
Come over here, let me feel you cut down to size,
Oh, shanghai surprise.

My straits are dire from the wok into the fire,
I’d like to know you but i’m not really social.
Sometimes it’s no joke, can’t cope with opium,
I’d like to love you but i’m not sure what’s in your eyes,
Shanghai surprise.

Shanghai surprise.

Shanghai surprise.

And you got no money…
But you’re a tryer…

Wow.

I will give Jackie credit for this, which is just hilarious. And Herman’s Hermits covering Billy Idol’s White Wedding is clearly the product of a fevered mind.

After writing about Jackie Chan’s refusal to take responsibility for the Rush Hour franchise, it occurred to me that I hadn’t even mentioned the fact that the Rush Hour movies are full of eye-rolling Asian stereotypical humor. It’s interesting to see that he’s also cast in next years animated “Kung Fu Panda”, where he’ll be playing Master Monkey! Lucy Liu will be Master Viper! Nobody else Asian in the main cast there, the title panda will be Jack Black and “Shifu” will be played by Dustin Hoffman. Meanwhile Lucy Liu is involved in a Charlie Chan remake, and there’s a Kung Fu remake out there as well.

So thank the gods there’s a Bruce Lee mockumentary coming out, Finishing the Game, by Justin Lin, who made Better Luck Tomorrow, in which he tackled the Asian American overachiever bit. And then there’s the documentary Slanted Screen covering the history of Asian American men in film and television. It points out the ghost of Bruce Lee, and chopsuey in general, looms large over Asian portrayals in Hollywood. Lin makes a similar point:

I think it was a few years ago there was this thing that came out called “The Lost Interviews with Bruce Lee.” It’s this black and white Canadian kind of Charlie Rose type show and they were interviewing him, and it was a great interview. The thing that really blew me away was if you watch that interview and you didn’t know when that interview took place, everything that he was saying could apply to today’s Asian-American actors and today’s filmmakers, so I thought if somehow we could pull it off and make it ’70s, it gave it more context. That was kind of the inspiration.

Somebody go buy Jackie some tickets.