news items

Bits of news --

-- In France, President Francois Hollande suggested today that U.S. spying and eavesdropping on European Union diplomats could "derail free trade negotiations worth billions."

Europe's outage was triggered by a Sunday report by German news weekly Der Spiegel that the U.S. National Security Agency bugged diplomats from friendly nations - such as the EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels. The report was partly based on an ongoing series of revelations of U.S. eavesdropping leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Interesting that complaints leveled against Snowden -- whom the U.S. would like to nail to the wall for "treason" because the 29-year-old released classified documents -- have yet to receive any factual description of the military or quasi-military operations he is alleged to have betrayed. They're secret, dontcha know... you have to trust us that he has been a naughty, naughty boy ... and unpatriotic into the bargain. Instead of adducing hard evidence of treasonous behavior, Snowden's betrayal or treason take shape because he has messed with the economic pipeline. Build a case for bad behavior, but neglect to mention why that behavior was actually bad. God bless America.

-- China's weibo -- their version of Twitter -- is awash in derision of a new Chinese law that states grown children must visit their aging parents. The "Elderly Rights Law" addresses the loneliness and fragility of the aging, whose numbers of those above 60 stood at something over 178 million in 2010 and are expected to double by 2030. Internet commentary included:

We all know to cherish our elderly parents, but sometimes we are just too busy trying to make a living and the pressure is too much.

and

It's fine that no-one is paying for us to visit our parents, but is there someone who can give us time off to do it?

Everyone wants to make money but the question is how to put a good and moral face on it.