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December, 2004:
- Ending Dissent in America: The downfall of a Major General who opposed torture hints at how the government may promote "harmony" in future.
- Unique Gift Idea: Give the gift of undiscovered territory. It's more unique than a (published) book -- also cheaper.
- Diplomacy School, Printed & Bound -- a highly unique gift: A standard print job for Inside China's Diplomacy School has been arranged with a Toronto printing service, making it easy and cheap to order a printed copy in a convenient bound format vetted by Uriel.
- Wordsmith William Safire Contributes to Times Deception Campaign. Continuation of First Amendment Desecrated by New York Times.
- First Amendment Desecrated by New York Times: the Times gags judges in its promotion of free speech falsehoods. (Re "Reporter Who Shielded Source Will Serve Sentence at Home," by Pam Belluck, December 10, 2004, and others.)
- Further observations on our disconnectedness: continuation of Irreconcilable Differences.
- Ironies of education report reporting: an OECD report on education in various nations receives conflicting coverage in the Canadian press.
- Exposing wrongdoing by abetting it: Is the New York Times losing it?! Editorial writers seem unable to think straight on the issue of the press's First Amendment rights.
- Yearning for Mechanical Rule: U.C.L.A. law school professor and blogger Eugene Volokh, commenting on recent cases of journalists charged with contempt for refusing to identify sources, believes society's legitimate democratic interest in a news item should be irrelevant in determining the First Amendment protection to which the item is entitled.
- Questionable Advocacy of Press Freedom, re "Lawyer Says He Gave Convicted Reporter Videotape in Corruption Inquiry," by Katie Zezima, New York Times, December 2, 2004.
November, 2004:
October, 2004:
- Descending into Barbarism: They ain't gon' stop us - they can't / We're stronger now, more then ever / They tell us "No", we say "Yeah" / They tell us "Stop", we say "Go" / Rebel with a rebel yell / Raise hell - we gon' let em know / Stomp, push, shove, mush... / Fuck Bush....
The future of our political discourse?
- Questions and Answers -- Uriel's Final Exams, Spring, 2002 Semester: Since this webpage continues to be viewed by visitors, I decided to upload most of the original reading materials on which questions are based and make them available via hyperlinks.
- Pre-War News Coverage: Defective Criticism: Not only did the administration use "deceptions and concealments" to bring the nation to war, a New York Review of Books article asserts; but the press also betrayed the nation by failing to report "abundant evidence of the administration's brazen misuse of intelligence."
Unfortunately, the article, by Michael Massing, is a hodgepodge of illogic and irrelevancies. American democracy's dire state demands more competent examination and debate.
- Another China Blogger Grapples with Free Speech Conundrum: Followup to China Bloggers: Truth Above All ... but Community First, featuring brainysmurf.
- The Vice Presidential Debate: I have only one quibble really, concerning the lack of coordination between the campaigns for the Cheney-Edwards debate.
- China Bloggers: Truth Above All ... but Community First: Bloggers in the world's greatest information-censoring regime, while maintaining the correct posture, have a remarkable propensity to practice censorship themselves. A reflection on how low the ideal of truth has sunk.
- Favorite Debate Moment: One viewer's favorite moment in the first Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate.
- Hypocrisy at Berkeley Journalism School's "China Digital News": China Digital News, a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, falsely declares itself to be a "public forum" while disdaining elementary principles of free and open discussion. The journalism school's dean, Orville Schell, is not interested in the issue. My letter to him is, as of now, an open letter. He is invited to respond (see note at bottom of article).
September, 2004:
- Drowning in Deceit: Our democracy is operating without oxygen. Here are excerpts from a sampling of recent news stories reflecting how every major issue in our society -- war; medicine; integrity in government, in journalism, even in elementary vote-counting in elections -- is drenched in confusion.
- Non-Microsoft Text Paste Avoids Freezing, Stealth Uglification: Introducing a "smart-paste" utility for Windows users hampered by Microsoft bugs in Word and Outlook Express. (It removes formatting from text.)
- Uriel's Counter-Response to New York Times Ombudsman (re "New York Times Ombudsman -- A Dunce").
- New York Times Ombudsman Responds to "New York Times Ombudsman -- A Dunce".
- Followup to The Peril and Agony of Free Speech: An Instructive Look at Distortionists' Methods
- An extremely short version (1.6% of original size) of Inside China's Diplomacy School has been created for unbelievably busy people for whom it is IMPOSSIBLE to read the full version.
- The Peril and Agony of Free Speech --or Hysteria Redux: Flashbacks to China Diplomacy School.
The Chinese Communist Party authorities are displeased with a Western teacher's embarrassing inside story about their diplomacy school. They are getting help from conflicted Americans in China, who are waging a dirty and aggressive campaign to discredit the revelations. But the Americans' efforts to intimidate the teacher have failed abysmally, and they are exhibiting rising hysteria as their vulnerability to embarrassment blowback reaches alarming levels. (Unlike their Communist friends, they profess devotion to free speech.)
- Followup to "New York Times Ombudsman -- A Dunce": My promise to post any response Okrent or Bovino care to offer, unedited.
- August, 2004:
New York Times Ombudsman -- A Dunce: The news organ at the peak of America's fourth estate chooses as ombudsman a witless bumbler who doesn't understand his office's freedom to criticize.
Still more (!) on Joe Bosco, Blogger: Bosco and Peking Duck each blame the other for deleting debate about the diplomacy school story.
Followup to Joe Bosco, Blogger: a new development.
Our new blogosphere: A new mass phenomenon which may supplant journalism.
Joe Bosco, Blogger: A preacher, a poet, a Professor ... and a fighter for freedom of expression who appreciates that free speech can be taken too far.
ACLU compounds flagrant folly: Followup to "ACLU signs trick promise to keep government money."
Parts 7 and 8 (conclusion) of Mistaken War, an essay about the America's 2003 war against Iraq.
Parts 2 to 6 of Mistaken War, an essay about the America's 2003 war against Iraq.
ACLU signs trick promise to keep government money: the American Civil Liberties Union shows how to uphold your principles, yet still get the money.
- July, 2004:
Part 1 of Mistaken War, an essay about the America's 2003 war against Iraq.
- June, 2004:
Times public editor neglects issues, focusses on trivialities: A series of letters I have sent to New York Times Public Editor Daniel Okrent pointing out serious journalistic flaws have elicited virtually no response. But a letter I sent comparing him to the Saudi Arabian Consultative Council did -- very briefly -- produce signs of life.
"Unfettered" Times ombudsman barred from addressing editorial errors: Responding to a reader's concern about a plainly wrong New York Times editorial that contradicts "legal experts" cited in a Times news article, Times Ombudsman Daniel Okrent states that editorials are not within his "purview." Yet, the new ombudsman position, created in the wake of the Times's Jayson Blair scandal, was to have "unfettered opportunity to address readers' comments." How high in Times management does knowledge of the restrictions on the ombudsman's purview reach?
- May, 2004:
Journalistic violations contribute to national disaster: An editors' note and a public editor column leave unexplored the journalistic violations that led the Times to promote the premise upon which the U.S. decision to launch war against Iraq was based.
Added Uriel's Return to China, a series of letters written by Uriel while teaching at Tsinghua University during the 2001-2002 school year.
U.S. officials to be prosecuted for war crimes? Story omits crucial info: Supplemented Unfit News with item about a news story that invites, yet ignores, obvious and crucial questions regarding the possible prosecution of top U.S. officials for war crimes.
After an interlude of over two years, Uriel finally brings his "Corporate America" series to a close by disclosing The Deadly Memo -- a reminder of the occasional potency of simple truth.
Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal: Article ignores crucial questions: Supplemented Unfit News: a news story reports that the Red Cross (1) knew for months about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Americans, and (2) has a policy of publicizing such information when it feels the government is ignoring its reports. The article fails to ask whether the Red Cross acted on this policy. One important, unexplored issue is: Did the news media also fail America?
Times website quietly corrects print edition's front page headline: Supplemented Unfit News with observation about how "rowbacks," previously criticized by the Times public editor, persist.
Times editor's criticism of Times's official critic falls short: Supplemented Unfit News with a criticism of both official Times critic Daniel Okrent and a Times editor who objected to one of his criticisms.
- April, 2004:
Changing Course: A New Approach In Iraq: We may be entering an era of unstoppable, uncontrollable global terrorism. President Bush's calls to "stay the course" are a cause for concern, since the success of the present course seems far from assured. Yet, strangely, few proposals are heard for a significant change of course. This is a proposal for radical measures.
Teachers Discuss "Inside China's Diplomacy School":
Uriel's account of his experiences teaching at China's Diplomacy School provoked some heated discussion on TESLJB-L in April, 2004. TESLJB-L is an electronic discussion forum on topics of concern to TESL (Teachers of English as a Second Language). The discussion is not exactly at urielw.com, but simple instructions are given here for obtaining the text.
Supplemented Unfit News with a criticism of a NYT editorial which ridicules Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for failing to understand the First Amendment, even though legal experts cited in a NYT news report 4 days earlier uniformly support Scalia's position.
Supplemented Unfit News with a comment on how some stupid letters from readers that we see published call into question the NYT's adherence to its stated criteria for selecting letters.
Supplemented Unfit News with a critique of a NYT news article that states, without explanation, that there is an "apparent contradiction" between newly disclosed facts and White House statements. No "apparent contradiction" is evident.
- May, 2003:
Inside China's Diplomacy School: Death threats, contract breaches, petty larceny, at the unique university operating under the auspices of China's Foreign Ministry -- a university established to train China's diplomats.
- June, 2002:
Wrongdoing by American Mormons in China: Utah's Brigham Young University has been on the censure list of the American Association of University Professors since 1998 for academic freedom violations. BYU is owned by the Mormon Church, which is rich and growing fast, both in the U.S. and abroad.
BYU is active in China's top universities, including the one where President Bush delivered a speech during his China visit in February, 2002. Behind the scenes, while Bush was urging American-style liberties upon the Chinese, BYU's power and influence were battling academic freedom.
- May, 2002:
Michael Jordan: A Role Model for Students?: Uriel responds to a lecture given at Tsinghua University by colleague Tom Kellie.
The Horror: WS_FTP Pro for Windows: Criticism of the widely used software application for transferring files between computers.
Supplemented Unfit News with a critique of a thoroughly uninformative NYT article about new legislation limiting lawsuits against airlines by victims of Sept. 11.
- April, 2002:
Supplemented Unfit News with a critique of a NYT article that makes no sense concerning Medicare abuse by drug companies and doctors.
Supplemented Unfit News with a critique of a NYT article that sheds no light concerning a malign bill to modify pension law.
- February, 2002:
Reflections on Corporate America: Series of letters from Uriel Wittenberg reflecting on Corporate America and some of his observations there.
- December, 2001:
American Culture -- A Warning for China: Text of a lecture delivered at several leading Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University and Beijing University.
- October, 2001:
Responding to September 11 (Part 2)
- September, 2001:
Responding to September 11 (Part 1)
- August, 2001:
Controlling Dissent in a Shakespeare Course: In the summer of 2001, Uriel attended a course on Shakespeare at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This series of letters relates some of his experiences and observations.
- July, 2001:
Oxford Publishes Wrong Text, Declines Comment: Oxford University Press editions of Washington Square published in 1982 and 1998 do not reflect about thirty significant alterations made by Henry James shortly after the novel's initial publication, apparently because the editor was unaware of the alterations. Oxford University Press has not responded to repeated inquiries.
- June, 2001:
The Immortal Villain of Washington Square: An essay on the Henry James novel, written for a University of Toronto course on American literature.
- May, 2001:
Mission Unrealized: The Globe and Mail is perhaps Canada's foremost newspaper. George Brown selected its motto, which appears every day at the top of the editorial page, when he founded the newspaper in 1844: “The subject who is truly loyal to the Chief Magistrate will neither advise nor submit to arbitrary measures.” The Globe website explains: “the quotation is from Junius, the pseudonym of an English writer of the 18th century. The Globe and Mail believes, as Brown did when he founded the newspaper, that only an informed public can defend itself against power seekers who threaten its freedoms.”
And yet, the Globe routinely fails to inform the public ....
- January, 2001:
Western Teacher, Chinese College: In September, 2000, Uriel travelled from Toronto to China and spent a semester teaching at a Beijing college. This series of letters relates some of his experiences and observations.
- November, 2000:
Added Court Jester, an article by Bruce Grierson (reproduced here with permission) about squash (the racquet sport).
- October, 2000:
Supplemented Unfit News by describing a Reuters report, reprinted in the New York Times, about an unambiguous sacrifice by Microsoft of the integrity and truthfulness of its encyclopaedia in order to promote software sales. The article's own misleading presentation of the story is ironic. Presumably reflecting a fear of offending Microsoft, it appears to indicate a similar corruption in news reporting.
- August, 2000:
A sample of my software specifications work: This 1993 software development project was unusual in that careful specifications were developed before programming. The result was low-cost, high-quality software, delivered on time.
Easy Answers to World Priorities: Science, medicine, law, engineering -- these all have their little conundrums. But where human welfare is concerned, their potential payoffs are meagre. When it comes to our most important shared objectives, it is fair to say that all challenges but one are mere distractions from the central priority: the ancient, elementary problem of how to organize ourselves effectively.
What is amazing is how intellectually easy it is to recognize feasible, practical initiatives that could upgrade the social conditions under which we all live. A functioning “marketplace of ideas,” if only we had such a thing, might yield such directions. But as things stand, political debate is oblivious to rudimentary civic insights. Some are listed here.
- July, 2000:
Software: Success through Sophistry: A fresh piece of technical claptrap in a computer magazine, promoting some new database product with misleading claims, prompts an exchange between Uriel Wittenberg and database consultants C. J. Date and Fabian Pascal.
While differences are expressed, what is more noteworthy is the common viewpoint that emerges, implicitly or explicitly, from all three observers: that competition in the software market is more a matter of deception than of technological progress.
Culture: Appealing Our Free-Speech Sentence: Since the influence of the entertainment industry has been deplored for decades, it is now safe to conclude that deploring something does not make it stop. If we persist in passivity, our essential culture -- our values, ideals, and identity as a people -- will be steamrollered by a powerful force we fully recognize as malign.
- June, 2000:
Providian Financial Corporation is urielw.com's latest example of “respectable evil.”
- May, 2000:
Flack Journalist's Defense Confirms Flackhood:
“The Think Tank As Flack,” an article appearing in The Washington Monthly, warns of a “mighty river of private money” which influences American politics by underwriting “a vast network of public policy think tanks and advocacy groups.” Among the think tanks mentioned is The Reason Foundation, which bills itself as “a national research and educational organization that explores and promotes the twin values of rationality and freedom as the basic underpinnings of a good society.” Reason's Jacob Sullum takes umbrage at the Washington Monthly piece -- and leaves no doubt of his own flackhood.
Added hyperlink to the Independent Institute's response to the revelations about it discussed in Respectable Evil, together with my comments.
Amazon: Positive Reviews, Yes! Negative Reviews ... Sometimes: The pioneering online bookstore has long featured customer reviews. The downside of this popular feature for Amazon, of course, is that sometimes a review is negative. And that could occasionally prevent a sale. Clearly they can't openly ban reviews just because they're unfavorable -- they'd be derided as online book burners. What's a company to do?
- April, 2000:
Supplemented Unfit News by criticizing a particularly uninformative New York Times piece about the U.S. labor movement's opposition to trade liberalization.
Supplemented Unfit News with a criticism of The New York Times' account of a recently leaked C.I.A. report on its covert operation to overthrow the government of Iran in 1953.
- March, 2000:
Added the text of Internal Revenue Code Section 333 (as written by Congress) as Appendix A of Mathematical Notation for Law Representation.
Background on the paper, Mathematical Notation for Law Representation
- February, 2000:
Mathematical Notation for Law Representation
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