News of the Day 1.26.10

• 5 Hong Kong legislators resigned this morning in order to press for greater democratic freedoms. They hope the resulting by-elections will send a signal to Beijing that the territory is serious about full direct elections of members to the Legislative Council. Good luck and godspeed, but very unfortunately, this seems a losing battle. I fear the economic implications of rebuffing Beijing take precedence over democratic ideals for many in Hong Kong, but I hope I'm wrong. (Also Wall Street Journal.)
• Cold weather kills Mongolia livestock. No joke. I'm not sure how often this happens, but my vacation plans were canceled one year for this very reason.
• To be gay in China. On the heels of the recently canceled gay pageant in Shanghai, the BBC takes a deeper look at the challenges facing China's gay community.
• Melamine scandal, part deux. Really, China, do you learn? Despite evidence to the contrary, I'm not a China hater, but news like this makes it hard to rationalize support for the government and sometimes the culture, specifically a top down social and political structure that breeds corruption - though I say this with full awareness that unscrupulous behavior penetrates every culture.
• But.....credit where credit is due. China stages a star-studded gala to celebrate and promote wildlife conservation. Three cheers!
• A push to increase essay writing in Korean cram schools because (gasp) writing actively engages the brain in ways that memorization do not. Take note, Asia.
  
• The New York Times dissects the preponderance of Asian figure skaters. Frank Carroll, Michelle Kwan's coach, sees it this way. "It's like Chinese divers. If you look at those bodies, there's nothing there. They're just like nymphs." Sure, Frank. I'm a nymph and Donnie Yen's a sack of bones.
• Since I'm on my Donnie Yen kick and not giving it up anytime soon, news from Pakistan that the country is seeing a surge of interest in kung fu, possibly to ward off the Taliban? Whatever works.
• America's inexplicable love affair with the RV.
• Real spooks and the real intelligence agencies that make them paranoid...or not.
• Scarlett Johansson, or Ryan Reynolds's other half in my book, is commanding some very complimentary reviews of her Broadway performance of A View From the Bridge with Liev Schreiber.