The Year of the Rat, that is. From Neha Sahay in India’s Telegraph, there’s an interesting angle on the recent freezing weather disaster in China:

You have to give it to them: Chinese heads of State haven’t forgotten the basic premise of dictatorship — the buck stops with the dictator. Thrice during the ongoing natural calamity engulfing China — unprecedented snowfall and blizzards all over the country — the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, has apologized. First, to the families of three electricity workers who died while trying to restore power, to whom he said: “Standing before you, I cannot offer any words of comfort. All I can do is bow in apology.” Then, to the lakhs of migrant workers stranded at two of the main railway stations as trains broke down across the country. Over a mike, he told them, “I am sorry you are stuck here. We are fighting against time to restore the power grids.” Newspapers here are full of images of the premier in the worst affected areas, comforting passengers inside trains, shaking hands with them, seeing them off, inspecting ticket counters, all without any apparent security.

Indeed, phrases more common during Mao’s days are being used now: courage, discipline, unity, cooperation, selfless sacrifice for the country and so on. Were these phrases all hollow? Maybe the electricity workers sent from the unaffected north to help out in the south, instead of going home for the New Year, had no choice. So too the PLA soldiers who are everywhere, removing layers of snow from expressways with shovels, keeping order in railway stations, delivering relief. Maybe the power workers who died had no choice either.

At least the country honoured them. They were given a State funeral, which was telecast live. Miners, truly the wretched of the earth in this country, were visited by the president, Hu Jintao, and asked to produce more as many areas went without power in freezing temperatures.

In the global campaign to make the world colder, spearheaded by Nobel prize-winning Al Gore, China’s cooperation is considered absolutely crucial, given its population and pace of development. I have to wonder what ramifications, if any, the experiences of this winter will have on China’s willingness to cooperate.

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Senator John F. Kerry yesterday made an association between the tragic tornadoes that killed at least 55 people across five southern states in the U.S., and global warming. Scientists seem to disagree. But science, in the end, has little relevance when it comes to matters of faith.

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And now for something completely different: If you are in the area of Shepherdstown, WV, this Saturday night, Feb. 9th, my occasional correspondent, and Spinout Recording Artist, Ray Wallace, would love for you to take in his show, with full electric band, at the Mecklenburg Inn, at 128 E. German St. He further says that “the place does not feel like your average bar. It has a rustic and civil atmosphere. It’s been around since the 1700’s and feels like it. Ray Wallace is going to help make it feel even more like the Spirit of ‘76 this Saturday.” I’ve never heard Ray Wallace play live, but based on his recorded output, I think that a unique experience is guaranteed.

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