Killing the soul
First, to Moscow, where a statue of The Master is causing an uproar.
The Moscow city government plans to erect a monument to Diary favourite Mikhail Bulgakov, author of one of the 20th centurys greatest novels, The Master and Margarita.
But the public aint so chuffed. An article in the New York Times this week captured some of the unhappiness that the erection is causing.
The monument is set to be unveiled in May, and is located in the pond in the small park where the masterpiece opens: At the sunset hour of one warm spring day two men were to be seen at Patriarchs Ponds.
It is the work of sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov. Last Saturday, three hundred local residents rallied in protest, including film director Nikita Mikhailkov and minister of culture Mikhail Shvydkoi. They charge that the monument will ruin the quiet space, which has remained relatively unchanged since the early 1800s. A granite walkway will be laid on the ponds banks, and the pond will shrink, with one corner heated to give the appearance of one of the statues walking on water. Carp have been killed and the roots of a century-old linden tree hacked into. All in the name of art!
Its as if a dirty man with mud on his boots walked into my house and said, Im going to live here from now on, Tatyana Selikhova told the Times.
Alexander Tanklevsky, of Moscows cultural heritage department, defended the project, Its probably normal that it annoys people, he said. Van Gogh was not accepted at first either, and now hes worth millions.
Bulgakov, of course, was never worth millions. He completed The Master and Margarita in 1938. Stalin didnt approve. The author died in 1940. The book made its first appearance in full in 1973, when Soviet censors finally let it pass.
It is not the author, or his work, that the local residents object to. Bulgakov is one of Russias most adored authors, and around Moscow, many areas referenced in The Master... have become near shrines to his legacy.
But the scale of this monument is upsetting people. It will be Bulgakov-land, worries Selikhova of the park. It was precisely the place in Moscow where the book begins, because of its calmness and its aura. Even the Bolsheviks couldnt ruin it. But [Yuri] Luzhkov [Moscows mayor] is succeeding. He is killing the soul of Moscow right here in this place.
As the Times points out, In Russia, struggles between ordinary citizens and the power as Russians call it rarely end in victories for the people.
This may be an exception, though. Rukavishnikov has already given way on a giant stove, a sculptor which he will not erect. He insists that, as with all modern art, people will hate his creation at first, but, over time, come to love it.
Thats because theyll have nothing to compare it to, says Selikhova. I was told when I was young that Soviet children were the happiest in the world, and Americans were miserable. And I thought it was the God's honest truth.
(Source: They love the book, hate the monument by Sabrina Tavernise in the New York Times. See more on Bulgakov.)
Clocking the votes
More referendums on referendums in Switzerland.
This time, the Swiss have voted to expand their powers of direct democracy in the arena of foreign policy. Now, as well as their ability to vote frequently on major international treaties, citizens can challenge all treaties signed with other countries. Petitions with 10,000 signatories will trigger referendums to put new laws through parliament.
Over 70% of voters supported extending their powers and getting the chance to vote more. However, only 28% turned out to vote. Its a funny thing, democracy.
The government backed the changes on the grounds that domestic law was becoming more and more influenced by international law.
Is this a case of telling us what we already know?
Sympathy for the devil
More signs of change in China, and more examples of Maoist capitalism.
The first not-insignificant change comes in the aviation industry. The Chinese Civil Aviation Authority has approved the purchase of an airport by a private company.
The lucky buyers are the Junyao Business Group, headed by entrepreneur Wang Junyao.
Chinas airports are, of course, state owned. But now, the government is planning to allow more private capital into the industry. In this case, $68 million of capital into the Yichang airport.
Airports in China are cash-starved, despite a growth in airline use, and a flourishing airline industry.
Meanwhile, Chinese music-lovers are set to have their eyes and ears treated for the first time to the Rolling Stones.
Thirty-five years too late, maybe. But at last, the Chinese government has decided to book the Stones. The irrepressible rockers will play in Shanghai on 1 April and Beijing on 4 April.
Some of the profits will go to the Union of Chinas Disabled People.
Its going to be absolutely huge, said the bands spokesman. The tour will also include Bombay, Bangalore and Belgrade. Last week saw the band in Los Angeles, where they held a free concert to raise awareness of global warming. The event was compered by Bill Clinton.
Dont expect the same from Chinas new leader, Hu Jintao.
Bureaucratic boobs
And on to Thailand, where the authorities have launched an unusual new campaign aimed the Diary assumes at women.
The Health Ministry wants to encourage women to enlarge their breasts the natural way (through exercise) instead of the cosmetic way (through plastic surgery).
To get people interested in their mission, dozens of women appeared outside the health ministry in Bangkok, and began demonstrating breast exercises for the TV cameras.
So says the BBC: Cosmetic surgery is an extremely popular and lucrative business in Thailand, especially among women who feel their breasts do not measure up to the images they see in Hollywood films.
Indeed, the BBC Bangkok correspondent seemed to be getting a bit hot under the collar: In an almost surreal scene, rows of women in shorts and T-shirts massaged and squeezed their breasts in front of the crowd of officials, media and onlookers on a busy Bangkok street.
Happens every day outside openDemocracys London offices.
Women will have their excellent bodies without any need for chemical injections or plastic surgery, promised Pennapa Sabcharoen of the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, there have been some voices of criticism. Sceptics argue that Thai women should be encouraged to get over their obsession with their breast size, and feel comfortable with who they are.
But the government dont care for such utopian hogwash. They are planning to hold another public exercise on 14 February, Valentines day.
Now thats smart economics.
No apocalypse, yet
And finally, the battle of man vs. machine reached its climax this week.
However, this was not a Hollywood-style apocalyptic shoot-out. Far from it. In fact, it all ended rather limply, in a stalemate.
Try making a blockbuster out of that!
The final battle took the form of a chess match, featuring world number one Gary Kasparov pitting his wits against IBM supercomputer Deep Junior. It was the first such match-up officially recognised by the International Chess Federation.
Kasparov lost to Deep Blue (Juniors old man) in 1997, sparking riots amongst human communities and talk of the end of civilisation as we know it, unless Arnie Schwarzenegger comes and saves the day.
Kasparov was back for vengeance. This time, it was personal.
Of course I wanted to win, but the top priority on my agenda was not to lose, he said, in tough fighting speak. And he started well, winning the first game, and outwitting the dumb computer.
But Deep Junior had some tricks up its motherboard, as it were. The machine won a game back, then the next four were tied.
Kasparov chose to draw the final game of the contest, not wanting to risk being beaten again by some circuitry, drawing boos from the crowd, who wanted a fight to the death.
Still, Kasparov insists that this was a fair contest between man and machine, he being the man. In 1997, he complained that IBM had reprogrammed Deep Blue before each game. Each time they faced off, it was like meeting a new opponent. No such techie-tricks this time. Its a first match that was a purely scientific match, Kasparov said, jointly holding up the trophy with Deep Blue.
(Source: New Scientist)
Quotes of the week
It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicting the duration of the proposed war on Iraq.
We will answer a pre-emptive attack with a powerful counter-attack and a total war with a total war.
An editorial in the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Koreas ruling workers party.
They are frequently recalcitrant about a lot of things. Any given day of the week ... they seem to be the country that disagrees with a lot of other countries.
Donald Rumsfeld on France.
Ive seen friends die in war. Nobody wants war. But sometimes its necessary if you want to maintain international order.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
We stress the importance of martyrdom attacks against the enemy; these attacks inflicted on America and Israel are a disaster they have never experienced before.
A recorded voice thought to be that of Osama bin Laden.
Muslims should threaten Western interests and strike them everywhere.
Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Hamas leader.
If something goes wrong, it will not only be Afghans that suffer.
Hamid Karzai, Afghan President, stressing the importance of the international community staying in Afghanistan and helping rebuild the country.
We politicians love to give out rights and benefits, but they very often have a cost.
David Heathcoat-Amory, British delegate to the European Constitutional Convention.
I did not want my husband shoving a spoon down my throat to be photographed. It looks like all I did was eat.
Catherine Zeta-Jones, explaining in court why she needs to sue Hello! magazine for £1 million.
I thank you for your support, and now I can go home and feel at peace with the game of basketball.
The great Michael Jordan, taking his last bow as an NBA All-Star.
