July 15: Tibet, Iraq, Maureen Dowd, Stem Cells, Finland

The opening this month of the final segment of world’s highest railway, from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet, is a staggering engineering achievement and a testimony to the developing greatness of China. But it is also the most serious threat by the Chinese yet to the survival of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity. In the words of a well-known Tibetan religious teacher who died after many years in a Chinese prison, the railway heralds “a time of emergency and darkness” for Tibet.
Richard Gere in NY Times: Railroad to Perdition
He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while... (Wong Kar-Wai, 2046)

Iraqi Olimpic Team Kidnapped

Maureen Dowd has an op-ed "What's up, slut" I've just read it, it's interesting stuff. I should prepare a new entry in my pocket dictionary of the Kossacks. Not now, maybe soon.

Clash over Stem Cell Research Heats Up (WaPo)

Helsinki's offerings are seen at their radiant best in summer, when the sidewalk cafes and the waterside markets are thronged by handsome, hardy people basking in the glow of plentiful daylight. The ambiance can be hypnotic.


The shimmering Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art at dusk. There is a slide show in today's NYT. Look and enjoy.