Am really enjoying these posts from China...thanks so much!

And Andy, I just clicked on The DC Note and even though I can't read Chinese, my friends here do and will pass this link onto them. Great stuff!

SC: "I had no idea that he was doing this."

Steve, too much travel, your memory's going. Come home.
from the archives:
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A Shout Out to Chinese Readers
Saturday, Oct 18 2008, 2:41PM

This is very cool. Thanks to the blogger who did it.
http://blog.sina.com.cn/dcnote

-- Steve Clemons
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For Obama to “co-opt” the N. Koreans into a “new dance” in which America’s skirts will be flying up in the air, like Marilyn Monroe’s, one would need modicum imagination to see what the short build but sharply sighted North Koreans would d o to the long legged Americans.

More seriously, the U.S. of course cannot invade or take any military action against N. Korea. But it can take hard economic sanctions presently and in the near future even place a naval embargo on N. Korea and prevent the latter from exporting its nuclear technology to other rogue states. And thus by “harshly” punishing N. Korea President Obama will avoid the punishment of “a credibility collapse at home.”

While Clemons by implication accepts that a credibility collapse will damage the standing of the president, especially when it will also have international dimensions, he nevertheless weirdly suggests “patience” toward the recalcitrant N. Koreans, that have already repudiated the previous agreements they had compacted with the previous administration, as a “wise” measure, and indeed, as a “tough strategy”. The question that Clemons has to answer is what kind of “patience” ever prevented a “credibility collapse?” But apparently for Clemons doing nothing or doing something that lacks strategic substance is a “tough strategy.”

The great danger is however that the N. Korean defiance has opened the bottle releasing the ‘meme’ that other rogue states such as Iran will adopt and replicate against the U.S. And one can only second- guess what the Mullahs will do to Obama’s diplomatic skirts.

Thank you so much, Steve and other TWN readers. I will absolutely continue my work and hope not only people who can read English has the opportunity to read this wonderful blog.

Kotz -- great to hear from you my friend. ;-)

Andy -- thanks for everything you are doing on the blog.

Don -- thanks for the memory jiggering. I vaguely remembered that Andy translated one article and didn't know it was an ongoing thing. But you are right, too much stuff going on.

All best,

steve

Thank you, Andy! Nicely done.

Andy, you chose well. Steve Clemons is one of the best thinkers and articulaters that the US has, on a wide variety of subjects. There isn't a better blog to translate. He never hesitates to take a wise position on any one of a wide variety of subjects. Not that I always agree with him, you understand, but he soars in so many areas it's hard to stay aloft with him.

Oh -- congratulations on figuring out how to post with Captcha, dreamed up by some crazy Americans probably. (By the way, Steve's "very cool" means very good -- dinghao.)

I will go to Shanghai before I die.

Steve,

Just wonder if you check your email everyday?As I sent one to you a couple of weeks ago, but no reply.

Looking forward to your reply.