Assets

Iraq has sentenced shoe-throwing journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi to three years in prison, and Afghanistan’s supreme court has upheld (in a ruling issued secretly) the sentence of 20 years given to journalism student Pervez Kambaksh after a 4-minute trial for the crime of downloading material about the role of women in Muslim societies from the Internet. Like the original court, the supreme court didn’t bother hearing from the defense. Freedom, ain’t it grand?

Chinese premier Wen demands reassurance that China’s investment in US bonds will be safe. “Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets.” Our assets. Oh good.

Speaking of Chinese “assets,” Wen also spoke about Tibet, on the 50th anniversary of the, oh what do they call it, “the abolition of slavery after a failed uprising by its feudalistic upper class.” Anyway, he said of the captive nation, currently locked off from the outside world as troops go house to house and monks are being re-educated, “Tibet’s peace and stability and Tibet’s continuous progress have proven the policies we have adopted are right.” Quod erat demonstrandum.