PeterKa

Latest revision as of 06:42, November 7, 2023

This user is part of the CP Civility Association.

Here are my American Thinker articles: https://www.americanthinker.com/author/peterkauffner/

Back from Hong Kong

I'm back from Hong Kong and it was certainly quite a week to be there (Oct. 1-7). Hong Kong was once a British colony, but it has been ruled by China since 1997. The city has a unique "one country, two systems" form of government that allows a British-style legal system to flourish despite the fact that the local government now works for the Chinese Communist Party. There have been pro-democracy protests in the city since an extradition bill was proposed four months ago. The protests mushroomed after Carrie Lam, the city's hapless chief executive, issued a decree banning masks on Oct. 5. Vandalism was so intense that the entire subway system had to closed for the first time in its history. Not only that, but the city's High Court is likely to overturn the decree.
As if protests and tear gas weren't enough, Hong Kong faces another serious problem: The city is experiencing one of the largest housing bubbles in economic history. Rising land values make the rich richer and leaves young couples unable to afford homes of their own. Everyone wants a piece of the action, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi has a villa in Hong Kong at Repulse Bay. When I talked to the protesters, I suggested that they take a look at that.

Dim sum is what Hong Kongers eat for breakfast.
Jenny Bakery in Mirador Mansion makes the city's favorite cookies.
You get a magnificent view of the harbor aboard the white and green Hong Kong ferry.
I stand in front of a pro-democracy march in Wanchai District, site of some of the most serious rioting. Masks provide protection against tear gas.
This barricade was built in Mongkok District on Oct. 5. Although defended by a catapult, the police had little trouble removing it.
This bilingual poster looks at the fraught relationship between the protesters and Mass Transit Railway, the city's subway provider. The Hong Kong language, which you can see on the left, is not intelligible to mainland Chinese.
The subway system has been overwhelmed by vandalism. This pane is at Mei Foo Station.
The "local government" headed by Carrie Lam is a front. This tower in Sai Ying Pun is the city's real center of power. It is the "secret" headquarters of the Communist Party.

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-Wikipedia Executive Director Sue Gardner and her favoured bullies couldn't figure out how to get a visual editor to work. But they certainly knew how to drive off conservative users. Although I had eight years experience and 33,000 edits, but I could still be dismissed with a "'Shut up,' he explained" and a form letter from Arbcom. (I'm "Kauffner" on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_Wikipedians_by_number_of_edits this list].) It's not like one day I decided to go on a rule-breaking rampage. I kept doing my thing while old editors who had been my friends moved on, new editors with chips on their shoulders arrived, and Gardner adjusted various policies. Gardner finally left Wikipedia on June 1.
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-In June 2012, Arbcom decided to topic ban a user named GoodDay after he was harassed by pro-diacritic editors. Editors who saw this decision as a vindication of bullying tried to extend it broadly. An editor named In ictu oculi became obsessed with my case, spent the next year going through my editing history looking for people who might have grudges against me, and fashioning them into a team. I was brought before ANI several times. Each time, I argued circles around Team Harassment and escaped sanction. After all, I was implementing a guideline for Vietnamese titles which I had written myself, and this guideline conformed to higher-level Wikipedia policies.
+Here are my ''American Thinker'' articles: https://www.americanthinker.com/author/peterkauffner/
-A few months later, Team Harassment set up a trap for me. One member started blanking articles that I'd written. I reverted the blanking and was blocked for "edit warring" by Ponyo, a high ranking admin and oversighter. The edit warring guideline classifies article blanking as a form of "obvious vandalism," so I don't see how what I did could be considered edit warring. Even if I was edit warring, it is most unusual for an admin to block a user without warning. The message explaining the block refers to my "diacritics crusade." So I don't think it was primarily about edit warring anyway. Perhaps Ponyo was more interested in [[User:PeterKa/Filipacchi | this essay]].
+==Back from Hong Kong==
+I'm back from Hong Kong and it was certainly quite a week to be there (Oct. 1-7). Hong Kong was once a British colony, but it has been ruled by China since 1997. The city has a unique "one country, two systems" form of government that allows a British-style legal system to flourish despite the fact that the local government now works for the Chinese Communist Party. There have been pro-democracy protests in the city since an extradition bill was proposed four months ago. The protests mushroomed after Carrie Lam, the city's hapless chief executive, issued a decree banning masks on Oct. 5. Vandalism was so intense that the entire subway system had to closed for the first time in its history. Not only that, but the city's High Court is likely to overturn the decree.<br/>As if protests and tear gas weren't enough, Hong Kong faces another serious problem: The city is experiencing one of the largest housing bubbles in economic history. Rising land values make the rich richer and leaves young couples unable to afford homes of their own. Everyone wants a piece of the action, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi has a villa in Hong Kong at Repulse Bay. When I talked to the protesters, I suggested that they take a look at that.
-After I was blocked, an ANI discussion could be held without my participation. There is of course a rule against this sleazy tactic. To bring up the same set of complaints repeatedly is called "forum shopping." In fact, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Archive252#Ban_proposal:_Kauffner the discussion which resulted in my being banned] consists almost entirely of references to previous discussions. Proper procedure is to appeal an ANI finding to Arbcom. There is not much in the way of specific accusations against me, much less diffs to support them.
+<gallery>
+File:Dim sum.jpg|Dim sum is what Hong Kongers eat for breakfast.
-One editor in the banning discussion suggests that I used multiple accounts to vote multiple times in Requested Move discussions. Although the post does not give the name of the RM in which this nefarious activity allegedly occurred, this is the closest thing I saw to a specific accusation. It is complete nonsense. In fact, the entire subject of multiple voting had never even come up earlier. The post was made by a drive-by editor who admits that he does not understand the situation. Yet it is now treated as a more or less official explanation o f why I was banned.
+File:Cookies from Jenny Bakery.jpg|Jenny Bakery in Mirador Mansion makes the city's favorite cookies.
+File:Hong Kong Ferry.jpeg|You get a magnificent view of the harbor aboard the white and green Hong Kong ferry.
-In an Orwellian twist, the past is fair game too. Some oversighter has removed a post a made concerning my essay on gender categories, obviously to make me look worse. When I took my story to Wikipediocracy, I was blocked almost immediately with the notation, "If they didn't let you get away with this on Wikipedia, you certainly can't do it here." Going to Wikipediocracy is the logical next step after being banned from Wikipedia, and they were ready for me. There has been plenty of gloating along the way, and my real name has been given out several times. Both of these are normally serious violations of Wikipedia etiquette. So somebody with the authority to override standard procedure had it in for me.
+File:Pro-democracy march in Wanchai, Hong Kong.jpeg|I stand in front of a pro-democracy march in Wanchai District, site of some of the most serious rioting. Masks provide protection against tear gas.
+File:V-Barracade across Nathan Road in Mongkok.jpg|This barricade was built in Mongkok District on Oct. 5. Although defended by a catapult, the police had little trouble removing it.
-Sue Gardner was executive director at that time. Based on what Gardner has said and written, I gather that I represent everything she hates about Wikipedia. I'm certainly "the crusty old desk guy who knows the style guide backwards." [http://m.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/520446/the-decline-of-wikipedia/] I'm also the guy who favors "accuracy" over "kindness."[http://suegardner.org/2013/09/04/how-wikipedia-got-it-wrong-on-chelsea-manning-and-why/] On top of that, I'm the guy who thinks "Ganges" is an excellent name for a river in India.[http://www.fastcompany.com/1739776/wikipedias-librarian-world]
+File:Poster on why attack subway.jpg|This bilingual poster looks at the fraught relationship between the protesters and Mass Transit Railway, the city's subway provider. The Hong Kong language, which you can see on the left, is not intelligible to mainland Chinese.
-==See also==
+File:Glass broken in Hong Kong protests.jpeg|The subway system has been overwhelmed by vandalism. This pane is at Mei Foo Station.
-* Read my [[User:PeterKa/Filipacchi | notorious parody of the gender categories bruhaha]]
+File:China_Liaison_Office,_Hong_Kong.jpeg|The "local government" headed by Carrie Lam is a front. This tower in Sai Ying Pun is the city's real center of power. It is the "secret" headquarters of the Communist Party.
-* [[User:PeterKa/Arbcom | My Arbcom appeal]] has a blow-by-blow account of what happened to me.
+</gallery>
-* [[Diacritic]] — This is a zippy overview of the subject, if I do say so myself.
-* [[User:PeterKa/Diacritics_proposal |Diacritics proposal]] — You can find a detailed set of arguments here.
 ==What I have written==
-*[[Nazarene]]‎, [[J. Frank Norris]], [[Peter Ruckman]], [[Textus Receptus]], [[sensus plenior]], [[divine accommodation]], [[Yule]], [[Johannine Comma]], [[Codex Washingtonianus]], [[Star of Bethlehem]], [[Fundamentalism]], [[Andy McIntosh]]
+*[[Nazarene]]‎, [[J. Frank Norris]], [[Peter Ruckman]], [[Textus Receptus]], [[sensus plenior]], [[divine accommodation]], [[Yule]], [[Johannine Comma]], [[Codex Washingtonianus]], [[Star of Bethlehem]], [[Fundamentalism]], [[Tertiary]], [[Andy McIntosh]], [[Akhenaten]], [[Tutankhamun]], [[Nefertiti]]
-*[[Diacritic]], [[Nuclear option]], [[Star_Trek_franchise#Political_themes]], [[Tang Tuyet Minh]], [[Roman Warm Period]], [[No Gun Ri]], [[Vietcong]], [[Republic of China]], [[rule of law]], [[YAD06]], [[Girls' Generation]], [[Xia dynasty]], [[Shang dynasty]].
+*[[Republicans (Jeffersonian)]],  [[Classical Chinese]], [[Empress Dowager Cixi]], [[diacritic]], [[Mandarin]], [[Nuclear option]], [[Star_Trek_franchise#Political_themes]], [[Tang Tuyet Minh]], [[Roman Warm Period]], [[No Gun Ri]], [[Vietcong]], [[Republic of China]], [[rule of law]], [[YAD06]], [[Girls' Generation]], [[Xia dynasty]], [[Shang dynasty]]