DULL FLAME OF DESIRE
I love your eyes, my dear
their splendid, sparkling fire
when suddenly you raise them so to cast a swift embracing glance
like lightning flashing in the sky
but there's a charm that is greater still : when my love's eyes are lowered
when all is fired by passion's kiss
and through the downcast lashes I see the dull flame of desire
This is an English translation of a poem by the Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev (1803-1873). This poem also appears at the end of one of the movies that impressed me very much more than 10 years ago - "Stalker" by director Andrei Tarkovsky , 1979 mosfilm studios. This is the text of the song by Bjork. (The video for the song is kind of strange, I suggest you just listen to the song...)
It is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever listened to. It is passionate, beautiful, fragile, tender...just as the feeling it describes.
It is amazing how much this song speaks to me...
These few days I'm listening over and over to it and to the other amazingly good songs from "Volta" - 'Wanderlust', 'Pneumonia', 'I See Who You Are'.
I feel very very sad.
-----
Here are two more absolutely beautiful poems (in English translation) of Tyutchev.
Silentium!
Speak not, lie hidden, and conceal the way you dream, the things you feel.
Deep in your spirit let them rise
akin to stars in crystal skies
that set before the night is blurred:
delight in them and speak no word.
How can a heart expression find?
How should another know your mind?
Will he discern what quickens you?
A thought, once uttered, is untrue.
Dimmed is the fountainhead when stirred:
drink at the source and speak no word.
Live in your inner self alone within your soul a world has grown,
the magic of veiled thoughts that might be blinded by the outer light,
drowned in the noise of day, unheard... take in their song and speak no word.
/trans. by Vladimir Nabokov/
------
Longing, desires still ravage my soul which strives to reach you.
In recollection's twilight I try to catch your image. I can't forget your face.
It is a lovely constellation, timeless, in every place, unreachable, not knowing fluctuation.
Monday, 2 November 2009
China exports its censorship
China protest halts Bangladesh Tibet exhibition (AFP)
Bangladesh: Chinese Pressure Censors Tibet Exhibition In Dhaka
China censors beyond its borders – Drik exhibition on Tibet banned
China's censorship gets transnational more and more frequently.It is a worrying trend that I have been observing very closely and thinking much about. By applying diplomatic pressure in the past months China managed to make the French president Sarkozy to apologize for meeting the Dalai Lama, forced the South African government to deny visa to the Tibetan spiritual leader, to make US President Obama not meet the Tibetan monk (i.e. in other words forcing him into self-censorship) , to ask Nepal government to arrest Tibetan activists, to try to apply pressure on the Melbourne film festival organisers to cancel the screening of Uighur exile activist documentary to which they didn't cave in, to apply pressure on Frankfurt Book Fair organizers to not allow dissidents to participate, and yesterday to shut down a Pro-Tibetan exhibition in Bangladesh.
These are just a few of the occasions that in recent months made it to the news headlines.
The alarming trend of this censorship export is indeed very very worrying.
It is not just the Tibetan issue.The Chinese government obviously thinks that it has jurisdiction over any content that relates to China no matter where in the world it is. An absurd notion that carries serious imperial complex undertones and most of all shows the complete lack of understanding that while China is an authoritarian dictatorship, other
countries do try to have democracy and rights, and have freedom of conscience and freedom of expression. China's pressure seems to be changing this.
And while before they would just issue a verbal protest (about the so-called hurt feelings of the Chinese people), now they are directly interfering into other countries...(Ironically, China often complains about criticism on its very poor rights record calling it meddling in its "internal affairs"...)
In my view, most alarming is not the direct pressure (which per times is really very clumsy), but more worrying is making people trample over their principles and exercise self-censorship.
That is even much more dangerous and worrying.
---
Meanwhile on October 26, 2009, the US Government issued it's International Religious Freedom Report for 2009.
See the report on:
china http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127268.htm
tibet http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127268.htm#tibet
index by regions and countries: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/index.htm
As it has been the custom we should expect any day now China to issue it's own human rights report on the US. It's a very hilarious immature behaviour, which is quite ridiculous actually, but it actually is meant for the nationalistic Chinese to read...
When Chinese are criticised for something they always get defencive, but almost NEVER confront the issue they are criticised for. Instead they use as contra-argument criticism (usually unrelated). Thus of course, nothing gets resolved, the so-called "feelings of the Chinese are hurt once more", and the gap of misunderstanding grows even bigger. Instead of actually addressing the concrete accusation and deal with it objectively, they get self-righteous and defensive...Example, someone criticises Chinese government for the forceful suppression of protest and dissent in Tibet, instead of studying and asking the question why are the Tibetans protesting, the Chinese netizens (for instance) would give the completely unrelated contra-"argument" about how the Americans killed off the Indians two centuries ago and hense say that they suspect Western critisism (another idiotic and paranoid assumption that there is a united western front against China) has "ulterior motives". Amazing logic isn't it?! Actually I'm quoting from real life.
But amazing actually how unanimous and common the mechanism of this illogical reaction is.
---
Also related to the topic of China's poor rights record and its allarming growing influence:
RIGHTS: Rising China Poses Danger to Peace, Say Nobel Laureates http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49087
Bangladesh: Chinese Pressure Censors Tibet Exhibition In Dhaka
China censors beyond its borders – Drik exhibition on Tibet banned
China's censorship gets transnational more and more frequently.It is a worrying trend that I have been observing very closely and thinking much about. By applying diplomatic pressure in the past months China managed to make the French president Sarkozy to apologize for meeting the Dalai Lama, forced the South African government to deny visa to the Tibetan spiritual leader, to make US President Obama not meet the Tibetan monk (i.e. in other words forcing him into self-censorship) , to ask Nepal government to arrest Tibetan activists, to try to apply pressure on the Melbourne film festival organisers to cancel the screening of Uighur exile activist documentary to which they didn't cave in, to apply pressure on Frankfurt Book Fair organizers to not allow dissidents to participate, and yesterday to shut down a Pro-Tibetan exhibition in Bangladesh.
These are just a few of the occasions that in recent months made it to the news headlines.
The alarming trend of this censorship export is indeed very very worrying.
It is not just the Tibetan issue.The Chinese government obviously thinks that it has jurisdiction over any content that relates to China no matter where in the world it is. An absurd notion that carries serious imperial complex undertones and most of all shows the complete lack of understanding that while China is an authoritarian dictatorship, other
countries do try to have democracy and rights, and have freedom of conscience and freedom of expression. China's pressure seems to be changing this.
And while before they would just issue a verbal protest (about the so-called hurt feelings of the Chinese people), now they are directly interfering into other countries...(Ironically, China often complains about criticism on its very poor rights record calling it meddling in its "internal affairs"...)
In my view, most alarming is not the direct pressure (which per times is really very clumsy), but more worrying is making people trample over their principles and exercise self-censorship.
That is even much more dangerous and worrying.
---
Meanwhile on October 26, 2009, the US Government issued it's International Religious Freedom Report for 2009.
See the report on:
china http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127268.htm
tibet http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127268.htm#tibet
index by regions and countries: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/index.htm
As it has been the custom we should expect any day now China to issue it's own human rights report on the US. It's a very hilarious immature behaviour, which is quite ridiculous actually, but it actually is meant for the nationalistic Chinese to read...
When Chinese are criticised for something they always get defencive, but almost NEVER confront the issue they are criticised for. Instead they use as contra-argument criticism (usually unrelated). Thus of course, nothing gets resolved, the so-called "feelings of the Chinese are hurt once more", and the gap of misunderstanding grows even bigger. Instead of actually addressing the concrete accusation and deal with it objectively, they get self-righteous and defensive...Example, someone criticises Chinese government for the forceful suppression of protest and dissent in Tibet, instead of studying and asking the question why are the Tibetans protesting, the Chinese netizens (for instance) would give the completely unrelated contra-"argument" about how the Americans killed off the Indians two centuries ago and hense say that they suspect Western critisism (another idiotic and paranoid assumption that there is a united western front against China) has "ulterior motives". Amazing logic isn't it?! Actually I'm quoting from real life.
But amazing actually how unanimous and common the mechanism of this illogical reaction is.
---
Also related to the topic of China's poor rights record and its allarming growing influence:
RIGHTS: Rising China Poses Danger to Peace, Say Nobel Laureates http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49087
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