Today is a day of great foreboding. For tomorrow the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.  Which means that for one day too many in the year we must pay a moment's attention to Norway. Last year at this time we did a war dance on the head of Norway, its king ("Harald"), its culture, its latitude, even its women (we ran out of subjects) on the occasion of the award of the Peace Prize to President Obama. We called the Nobel Committee something like a group of  "twee, cloistered, clueless, politically correct elites," (we ran out of adjectives) completely out of touch with reality.

Fortunately, no American that we know of (but then nobody knew President Obama was on the Nobel committee's radar last year either) is anywhere near the top of the list for this year's award. A Chinese is. Today a betting man (Here!) would put down his money that tomorrow the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Chinese dissident. In a preemptive strike against this hostile action the government of the People's Republic of China has informed the government of King Harald that awarding the prize to Liu would, and we quote The New York Times here, "pull the wrong strings in relations between Norway and China."

Every time one thinks one has reached the bottom of all that is dark about the soul of China, there's another trap door leading further down. Chinese are a pain-ridden people, but (or and) a people who are afraid of their own shadow. They are at the same time a vain, xenophobic, people. And a cruel (or a tolerant of the cruel) people. And it is this fear, bed-rocked on their pain, that explains this boorish reaction to the Nobel. Think about this: China is afraid of Norway. Only in China, could there be fear of Norway. Only in China could a website written by an idiot blogger in America be blocked from that government's people. Only in China would there be such misplaced, undeserved, vanity as to presume to tell another government that the award of a prize could harm relations between the two governments. "Pull the wrong strings," huh.  

I missed this year's October day anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. In past years I have posted something on the occasion.  If memory serves, last year I wrote, near the beginning of the attempt to "seek the soul of China," that China, as it has for 5,000 years "continues to degrade" the best that is in man's soul. There is much good (I think) in China's soul, certainly in the souls of individual Chinese but as a generalization of the entire history of this one-quarter of mankind, I stand by that judgment.

Liu Xiabao, a Chinese, is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. China does not deserve to have one of its citizens, make that imprisoned subjects, so-honored.