Cars of Waltz With Bashir

The realism of this animated movie is supported by a huge cast of accurately rendered cars.

VW Microbus

Volga and Mercedes

Peugeot 404

Mercedes

Mercedes

Chevy Blazer

Cadillac Eldorado

BMW E21

Alfa Romeo 166

Incidentally, I wonder if Ariel Sharon still weighs the same.

All Urumqi Mosques Closed Friday

The Chinese government shut down all mosques in Urumqi for Friday prayers. When they will reopen remains unclear. Signs on mosque doors politely state:
"People coming to worship must all go home to do it. Thank you for your cooperation."


Yeah, that will smooth things over with the Uyghurs. Good thinking.


Source here.

Uyghur Protest Los Angeles July 9

Tomorrow, Thursday, July 9, at 2 p.m., there will be a peaceful protest for Uyghur rights in Los Angeles. It will be outside the Federal Building at 11000 Wilshire Blvd. at Veteran Ave. Please pass this info to anyone who may be interested. Just showing up to lend moral support will mean a lot. See you there.

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I Am A Uyghur Policeman

I am a Uyghur. I grew up on the outskirts of Kashgar in a small and simple village. Because of the lack of job opportunities after high school, I joined the Urumqi police force.

For the most part, my job is simple. I respond to traffic accidents and take reports of petty crime. Sometimes, my job is tough. I'm also on the riot squad. By volunteering for the squad, I earn a few extra hundred RMB a month, which helps as I have to take care of my widower father, who is disabled. This week, I've been assigned to use a police van with a loudspeaker to encourage Uyghur protesters to disperse in our native tongue. I've also had to go to Uyghur enclaves and round up suspected instigators of the riots. They are mostly young men. Some are students. Others are unemployed.

I get a lot of grief about my job from my family, friends, and Uyghurs that don't even know me. They think that I am a sell-out and that I am a tool of the Han Chinese and their government. A student I arrested told me that I was no better than a black policeman during South Africa's apartheid period.

I get grief from the Han as well. I know I will never get a promotion, even to sergeant. My fellow Han officers, though superficially polite to me, all think that deep down inside, my allegiance is to the Uyghurs. At protests, I feel alone.

So why do I do it? It is hard for an undereducated Uyghur man to find a decent, stable job in Xinjiang. I have a family to support. I enjoy serving the community, whether it's investigating car accidents or helping crime victims obtain justice. Also, deep down inside, and I don't tell many people this, I believe that we need social order, especially when it comes to Han-Uyghur relations. The lives of Uyghurs could be worse economically. Just look at my brothers in Central Asia and Russia. Relatively speaking, I justify to myself, life in Xinjiang is not that bad for a Uyghur. I think. Maybe.

That is why I am a Uyghur policeman.

Control 2.0 Beta: China's New Tao of Media Manipulation In Xinjiang

Why can't we have succinct, informative, and intelligent analysis like this on CNN in America? Instead, there's coverage from Don Lemon, et al. about Michael Jackson's image on a tree branch stump in Stockton.

Twitter In Xinjiang Amidst Uyghur-Han Riots

Melissa Chan of Al Jazeera is in Urumqi and sending out constant updates of what she is seeing. It seems like the situation is getting worse. Here is a peek:

1. Equally bad if you're a journalist who is Han-looking in Uighur neighborhoods. We all feel kind of stuck.about 3 hours ago from web
2. It is dangerous to film around Han Chinese if you have blonde hair and white skin. They get angry.about 3 hours ago from web
3. The city is now under martial law.about 4 hours ago from web
4. A Han Chinese man with a stick just tore open our car door to beat our producer. Averted just in time.about 4 hours ago from web
5. There is no right or wrong anymore. Just vigilantes, Han and Uighur. Mostly men but some women and even children.about 5 hours ago from web
6. I asked a Han Chinese girl if she was scared. Yes. But this is to defend my country she says with stick in hand.about 5 hours ago from web
7. Heading to an ethnic neighborhood.about 5 hours ago from web
8. A few hundred Han Chinese with sticks and knives have come down the road singing the national anthem.about 5 hours ago from web
9. Locals tell up there are riots now in three or four locations in the city.about 6 hours ago from web
10. Looking Han Chinese doesn't make me feel safe I must say.about 7 hours ago from web
11. From the other point of view the police did manage the situation well - it could have escalated far more.about 8 hours ago from web
12. The last we saw it looked as if the protesters were dispersing but armed police had guns not by their side, but in hand.about 8 hours ago from web
13. For those wondering how I am twittering. Have been text messaging a Beijing friend who is posting my messages via proxy.about 8 hours ago from web
14. There are rottweilers with the police. I fear if we leave bad things will happen to these people. #urumqiabout 9 hours ago from web
15. The government have finally reacted and they are now trying to round us up back to our buses.about 9 hours ago from web
16. Some men have started throwing rocks.about 10 hours ago from web
17. Chinese plainclothes with sticks now have shown up.about 10 hours ago from web
18. Shot police are moving in the protesters are shouting, "Let them free."about 10 hours ago from web
19. Uighur women with babies and children; hundreds protesting and asking for release of husbands.about 10 hours ago from web

Thoughts On Uyghur Rioting In Xinjiang

Here are my thoughts:

1. No disrespect to my Persian brothers and sisters, but barely a dozen demonstrators in Tehran were killed and there was wall to wall media coverage for the good part of a week. More than 150 have been killed in Xinjiang and I have yet to see any substantive TV coverage.
2. The fact that the Chinese media is already reporting over 150 dead leads me to think that a large proportion of the dead are ethnic Han Chinese. If the majority of the dead were Uyghurs (read: killed during the crackdown by cops, paramilitary, military), then the numbers would be vague and slow to come to light.
3. Every picture coming out of the official Chinese media shows bloodied Han Chinese victims.
4. Without a powerful and organized diaspora in America (e.g. Armenians, Iranians, Jews), the Uyghurs don't have a chance at gaining our support.
5. Being Muslims doesn't help the Uyghurs either.
6. As Richard Chen astutely noted, we should not be holding our breath for widespread web application support of the Uyghur language.
7. Why are Muslims so keen on helping the Palestinians but you barely hear a peep out of them about helping the Uyghurs?
8. The CCP is pointing the finger at exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer. Here is her memoir, which just came out. I wonder how her publicist feels.
   
9. Urumqi's Uyghurs make up a small percentage of the overall population. If the unrest spreads to cities like Kashgar and Hotan where Uyghurs are still the majority, look out.
10. Every article I've read has described Xinjiang as "restive". Can we be a little more creative please?
    

Rioting In Xinjiang

It looks like the rioting in Urumqi was worse than originally reported. I went to bed last night and the fatality count was four. Now, it's at least 140. The rioting may have spread to Kashgar. The story behind it is still murky and incomplete. What is known is that China will clamp down hard. Will the Uyghurs continue to fight back? Is this the beginning of a true movement for "autonomy"? Or just a sort of small blip in the timeline of Han-Uyghur relations?

As always, France 24 is the leader in covering rioting around the world.

There is some type of law banning American companies from selling to China equipment to help its government suppress its people. Apparently, that ban does not cover Ford Econoline police vans.

Dollar Coins: Fail

As long as we have dollar bills and the dollar coins look and feel like quarters, nobody will accept the dollar coins.

Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979-81, 1999)
This 11-sided freak of a coin was a disaster. It felt and weighed like a quarter.


Sacagawea dollar (2000-present)
Another waste of metal. Without the abolition of dollar bills, these are useless except at post offices and one single self-serve car wash I used eight years ago.


Presidential Dollar (2007-present)
The Presidential Dollar series is like the state quarter series. Every year, starting in 2007, dollar coins showing the likenesses of four presidents are issued. They are meant to increase the popularity of dollar coins and to educate kids about our past presidents. Considering that I just saw my first presidential dollar last week, it's safe to say that this dollar coin has been another failure.

CKY

Le Bon Bonbon Napoleon

I'm not a fan of sour candy, but this caught my eye because of the simple caricature of Napoleon. The Belgian candy is actually initially sweet with subtle sourness down towards the center.

CKY