Sunday (3-29) readings from NYT

Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit

Reinventing America’s Cities: The Time Is Now

Coke and Huiyuan

Beijing Thwarts Coke's Takeover Bid (WSJ 3-19)

Coke and China (WSJ 3-18)

[奇文共赏]左克：不处理贺卫方就是北大党委叛党 (2006.5.29)

左克：不处理贺卫方就是北大党委叛党

Doctoral Candidates Anticipate Hard Times (NYT 3-6 Fri)

Doctoral Candidates Anticipate Hard Times

The Pennsylvania juvenile court corruption scandal

The Economist recently published an article "The lowest of the low," exposing a corruption scandal in the Pennsylvania juvenile court. My friend TL blogged about it. Here is my comment:

This case shocks the conscience. I think this level of judicial corruption is extremely rare in this country.

The juvenile court is obviously governed by a separate body of law that I know little about, so can't say much.

I'd recommend reading the AP news release "Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash," just for a plain account of what happened.

The Economist article seems to highlight the fact that the judges were elected ("Another blow against elected judges," "Both judges were elected, not appointed"). Are judges normally appointed or elected in this country? In the federal judiciary, judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. But when it comes to the states, it's complicated and I don't have a good answer.

Currently in New York, the seven judges of the state's highest court (called the "Court of Appeals") are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. So it parallels the federal judiciary. Most recently, in January Gov. David A. Paterson nominated Justice Jonathan Lippman to be the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. However, up until 1974 (wiki) some judges in the NY Court of Appeals were elected.

Pennsylvania is different: "The Pennsylvania Supreme court consists of seven justices each elected to ten year terms. Supreme court judicial candidates may run on party tickets. The justice with the longest continuous service on the supreme court automatically becomes Chief Justice." (wiki).

Each state has its own Constitution, which among other things creates the state's judicial system. Without further research, all I can say is--it is complicated.

礼 · 诗

“十年前有一位外国的神父来和我研究中国宗教思想问题，他说中国人没有宗教信仰。我说中国绝对有宗教信仰。第一个是礼，第二个是诗。不像西方人将宗教错解成为“信我得救，不信我不得救”的狭义观念。我说这一点的误解，使我绝对不能信服，因为他非常自私嘛！对他好才救，对他不好便不救。成吗？一个教主，应该是信我的要救，不信我的更要救；这才是宗教的精神，也就是中国文化的精神。其次，谈到中国“诗的精神”，所谓诗的文学境界，就是宗教的境界。所以懂了诗的人，纵使有一肚子的难过，有时候哼呀哈呀的念一首诗，或者作一首诗，便可自我安慰，心灵得到平安，那真是像给上帝来个见证。……”

──南怀瑾《论语别裁》，老古文化 · 一九七六年