Mr Yushchenko had said recently that he would soon reveal proof that

Mr Yushchenko had said recently that he would soon reveal proof that his opponents had tried to

assassinate him, but a spokeswoman said he had no plans to travel to Vienna.

Frankly, I have about as much interest in the poisoning itself as the average Ukrainian has in the

McKinley assassination. I just find the events of the last year and a half to be an interesting

challenge to the monolithic Orange Revolution narrative we Westerners were fed.

From the Washington Post:

Three United States senators came to one of China’s most prestigious universities on Wednesday,

ostensibly to talk about trade. What they delivered was an expansive, almost evangelical campaign for

American values – one that received pushback from their audience of students and faculty.

American values apparently run the gamut from whimpering sanctimony to belligerent hypocrisy:

The senators talked about an unfair advantage they say Chinese exporters enjoy over American firms

because of the low-value currency. They implored China to adopt the norms of global trade. In

strikingly moral tones, they pledged Washington’s resolve to pressure China to liberalize not only its

currency regime but also its political culture, using trade as a wedge for broader reform.

Idiot number one:

Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told the Tsinghua University audience that his model of leadership is “a man by

the name of Jesus.” He later quoted Martin Luther King Jr. as he urged China to do “the right thing”

on trade policy.