Gleanings & Observations

Ntokozo Qwabe, the student at Oriel College, Oxford, co-founder of Rhodes Must Fall, wants the statue of Cecil Rhodes removed from the campus because Rhodes was a "racist, genocidal maniac … as bad as Hitler." Mr. Qwabe is attending Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship.

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Politicians, or at least some, can't imagine life without the trappings of office. A former Labour MP in the UK, after losing his seat, says "All I could see was darkness," as he could not imagine how he would support his family. And a former Liberal Democrat minister in David Cameron's coalition government had to learn how to send e-mails when he left office and no longer had an "army of people" to do things for him. He might have sought advice from Hillary Clinton, skilled at the art of e-mailing without leaving any annoying traces.

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There is just no getting some people to appreciate that the government, in this case the Chinese government, is here to help them. The New York Times reports that the regime has installed public toilets that have stalls equipped with television screens, wireless internet access and windows lined with aloe vera plants. One user reacted negatively, "What was wrong with the old one? The government has too much money and doesn't know how to spend it." Our government just adopted a budget that increased spending of money we don't have – we'll just sell more IOUs to China.

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The hyperactive Chinese regime has also banned the 88 million members of the Communist Party from playing golf, reports the Economist. Mao had denounced golf as a "sport for millionaires". It seems that the current rulers believe that golf courses provide a perfect venue for corrupt deals. "Officials are not corrupt because they play golf; they can afford to play golf because they are corrupt," comments the magazine of choice of political sophisticates. Membership at the Tomson Shanhai Pudong Golf Club can be yours for a low initiation fee of $170,000 and annual dues of $1,800, a mere snip compared to the $230,000 entry fee at the Seshan International Golf Club. Then there are caddy fees and all those bribes agreed at whatever the equivalent of our 19th hole might be.