Tomorrow I am as usual going to the State of California office in downtown San Fransisco to continue teaching court officials how to use statistics to catch criminals (well, we actually more often discuss how to evaluate court procedures and rehabilitation programs – but that does not sound as cool). It actually is a very cool and interesting group of researchers there.
Despite the coolness I am feeling somewhat nervous, my wife is in Europe on a job interview and I just HAVE to get back to Palo Alto in time, two different babysitters are lined up – one to tend to my daughter and another one to pick my son up from schools. The kids are usually very cool on these occassions. But last time I taught in SF we had to evacuate the building since there was a ‘anniversary anti-War march’ about to surround. What if this happens again?
I am of course talking about the controversies surrounding the Olympic Torch that you might have seen in new coverage across the globe. San Fransisco is the only North American town to host the Torch and the city’s combination of a pro-Tibetan activitism and one of the largest Chinese communities in North America, we are bound to see a lot of people taking to their pens, megaphones, and to the streets.
The Chronicle has been covering this issue for quite some time with a remarkably in-depth (starting with the cultural bases of Tibetan and Han Chinese culture and the historical development between the regions) and balanced coverage of the issue. Did you know that by far the largest Tibetan diaspora on the North American continent lives in Toronto (3,300) while only 1,100 first- or second-generation refugess from Tibet lives in Northern California?
Nevertheless, I just have to get home in time tomorrow not to risk the wrath of the babysitter(s). Despite my pathos for the Tibetan cause, I rather read the kids bed time stories than get bogged down in a demonstration…
