Play ball!
Corrie Dosh

ON THE weekend of March 15, two American major league baseball teams met in Beijing for two exhibition games to show Chinese crowds just how exciting America’s favorite pastime can be. The San Diego Padres faced the Los Angeles Dodgers, in front of a near sellout crowd of 12,224 at the new Olympic venue. Vendors plied the crowd with hot dogs, peanuts and—in a nod to local tastes—tea, and spectators gamely tried to sing along to Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Nobody seemed to mind that the game ended in an inconclusive tie.
Americans think of baseball as a cultural tradition, a pastime that is ingrained into the history of the country. Walt Whitman, American poet, wrote that baseball is, “America’s game; it has the snap, go, fling of the American atmosphere; it belongs as much to our institutions; fits into them as significantly as our Constitution’s laws; is just as important in the sum total of our historic life.”
But try telling that to fans of Bangqiu, Mandarin for baseball, who see the American pastime as an Asian sport, and who are eagerly looking forward to watching the national team play with a home field advantage in the Olympic Games.
“To be considered a global sport, we need to be significant in the world’s most populous country, and more importantly, I think we have an opportunity to be successful in doing that,” said Jim Small, Vice President, Asia, of Major League Baseball (MLB), the organization that operates professional baseball’s two major North American leagues, the National League and the American League.
“The Chinese mainlanders look at baseball as an Asian sport, not necessarily an American sport,” Small said. “They see that it is played at a very high level in countries and regions such as Japan and Taiwan and they think ‘why not us?’”
The personality traits of a good baseball player—selflessness, a lack of individualism, and a love of strategy—are all a fit with the Chinese culture, he added. And the MLB hasn’t overlooked the fact that developing a bigger fan base in the country could have major payoffs down the road.
“We’re just like everybody else in that we see the potential of 1.3 billion people and the emerging economy,” Small said, adding that there is no deadline MLB is working under in their development in China. The efforts to create a fan base are ongoing, and the organization has a 10-year development plan underway.
Bringing back baseball
To build up a base, MLB doesn’t have to start from scratch, Small said. The Shanghai Baseball Club was established in 1863, and the first league was established in 1914 for six Huadong (east China) area universities. Baseball fell out of favor as a Western sport in New China and was banned during the “cultural revolution” (1966-76). Since the 1980s, however, the sport has been making a comeback. In 2003, Dynasty Sports Marketing signed a special agreement with the Chinese Baseball League (CBL) and MLB to bring two American Major League All-Stars, the Dodgers’ Jim Lefevbre and the Red Sox Bruce Hurst to be the head coach and pitching coach of the Chinese national baseball team.
The recent exhibition games were also part of the MLB’s effort to build support for baseball in China. Small said the games were well attended, and well covered by local and international media.
“The games were part of our long-term strategy there. If we’re going to have baseball take root there the way I think we can, we have to have the right strategy in place,” Small said.
That strategy is “like a railroad track,” Small added, with two lines of development running parallel to each other. One rail is making the game more popular and giving more visibility to the sport in China.
“That’s putting balls in kids’ hands, and grassroots programs in schools like the Play Ball! program. It’s opening up retail shops throughout the country. It’s television coverage and it’s things like these games that created all that hoopla and hype,” Small said.
“Play Ball!” was launched last year in five cities across China that incorporated baseball into the physical education curriculum for more than 100,000 students aged 8-12 in 120 elementary schools.
The other rail of the development “track” is working with the national team and the relationship with the CBL. The national team is currently in training in the United States as part of building that relationship, Small said.
“It doesn’t stop there,” he added. “We plan to open a series of academies throughout China over the next five years that would take the best athletes at 12 or 13 years old and give them a great education, which is essential. Once they graduate high school, they are going to speak English, they will be very well educated and they’ll be the best baseball players they can be.”
Graduates of these baseball academies would also be primed for entry into U.S. minor league baseball teams, with an eventual eye on the majors.
“The goal is to create a major league player from China within the next 10 years,” Small said. Finding the next “Yao Ming” of baseball would be a watershed moment for the sport. Just as millions of Chinese fans devoutly followed Yao’s basketball rise from Shanghai to the San Antonio Spurs, a baseball hero would energize the young fan base, spread knowledge of the games, and, of course, sell t-shirts.
“That will accelerate everything on that first track. All of that is a lot easier if there is a superstar player from China,” Small said. “And he’s there. Statistically there are 1.3 billion people, so some kid out there is 13 years old and throws 80 miles per hour with movement and maybe he’s never picked up a baseball before. We’re going to find him, and train him.”
MLB is currently negotiating with the CBL on an agreement for the proposed nationally recognized academies, which will also help make the sport more accessible to Chinese fans and potential players. Equipment can be expensive, regulation fields can be hard to find, and players don’t get a chance to polish their skills due to quick games and a shorter playing season.
“The players within the current system in China get plenty of practice. Some would say too much. What they don’t get enough is game experience,” Small said. “In these academies, playing games is going to be really important.”
Spreading the word
In an effort to build up a knowledgeable fan base, the MLB on March 31 announced a partnership with BroadWebAsia Inc. to develop a Chinese-language website promoting the sport, broadcasting major league games and teaching new fans the rules and strategy of the game.
“There are no similar sports in China,” Small said. “We have a show called ‘This Week in Baseball’ that airs on the Shanghai Media Group system. In our weekly segments there is something explained about the game: What’s a double play, a home run, a pick-off? Things like that. Any time we have a chance to speak to our potential consumers we talk about those things.”
Fans are quick to pick up the game, he said. The strategic nature of the game appeals to the Chinese culture, and many older fans remember the early days of baseball in the country.
“Baseball has been played longer in China than it has in Japan,” Small said.
It’s not just a grassroots effort. Premier Wen Jiabao is reportedly a fan of the sport and played baseball as a youth. He also played baseball with Japanese students during an official visit to the country one year ago to improve bilateral relations.
“Things like that are very important, to have that top-down endorsement of your game,” Small said, adding that President Hu Jintao has called for more physical education in Chinese schools to combat rising obesity in Chinese youth.
“He has made it very easy for us to do things like Play Ball! and the education administration has welcomed us,” he said.
Olympic chances
Millions of new baseball fans in China will be watching the national team play in the Olympic Games, hoping for a good showing. For such a young team, playing well is just as important as winning, Small said.
“Realistically, it would be tremendous if they could win a game or two,” he said. “That would be a huge victory because the teams coming are the best in the world. It’s going to be a challenge, but I can guarantee you that they will not be embarrassed. If they do lose games they are not going to be total shutouts. The team will be competitive.”
The quality of the Chinese team “may surprise” some Olympic watchers, he predicted, and with MLB’s development plans, the quality of Chinese players will only get better.
“I’ve been in international baseball for 10 years,” Small said, “and I think this is the most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken and it’s coming with the full backing of ownership. Our owners think this is a good place to invest and the right thing to do. It’s a very exciting time for us”.


(The Daily Mail-Beijing Review  Articles Exchange Item)

 

Mock attack on fake Mosque in Illinois sends wrong message
Abdus Sattar

SIX YEARS and eight months after the 9/11 tragic attacks, Muslims in America remain at the receiving end with the reconfiguration of American laws, policies and priorities to target them. The latest assault on the Muslim community comes in the form of a simulated attack on a fake “mosque” by the law enforcement authorities in Illinois. On May 1, over 120 officials from almost 30 government agencies participated in the drill in Irving, Illinois, targeting a community facility that had been re-named the “Irving Mosque” for the purposes of the exercise. There were participants from local law enforcement, fire departments and ambulances. In the exercise, officers from the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) stormed the “mosque” using an armored car. One “hostage” was hooked up to an explosive device and the “suspects” in the “mosque” released nerve gas.
For the purpose of the emergency exercise drill, the Continuing Recovery Center in Irving, Ill., had become Irving Mosque, the home base for a radical, heavily armed group with suspected terrorist ties. There were explosions outside and inside the building. Not surprisingly, a preview of the May 1 training was highlighted by the media with such sensational headlines as: “Pennsylvania’s police prepare for radical Islam,” and “Radical Islam: A Law Enforcement Primer.”
What message that exercise conveys to the American masses who are already conditioned by the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric by some radio hosts, electronic and print media as well as some political and Christian right leaders in the post-9/11 America? Surely, it reinforces the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim image among the masses. According to a March 2008 Gallup survey, a substantial number of Americans have a negative perception of Muslims. The poll shows that only 17 percent have positive perception while 23 have negative. 48 percents were found neutral which are surely not positive. Two polls by CAIR and Washington Post in March 2006 indicated that almost half of Americans have a negative perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have extreme anti-Muslim views. The troubling results of these polls are not surprising in an atmosphere of fear and hatred against the Muslim community created in the name of national security.
There cannot be two opinions that the “Irving Mosque” exercise creates a negative image of mosques and Islamic centers. It is disrespect to the Muslim places of worship and sends a “wrong message” that all Islamic houses of worship may be potential security threats. To borrow, Khalid Saeed, president of the American Muslim Voice, (AMV), this outrage should be offensive to the sensibilities of all civilized Americans and it should be condemned in strongest possible way as it sends wrong message about a large peaceful segment of American society and great religion of Islam. “There are about eight million American Muslims who are proud and patriotic citizens of this great nation of ours, and are making a positive contribution to this great and diverse nation.”
“The use of a fake ‘mosque’ in this type of drill sends the wrong message to law enforcement officials who may now view mainstream institutions, such as Islamic houses of worship, as potential security threats,” according to Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations-Chicago. “Officials must be trained in dealing with hostage-taking and responding to chemical, biological or bomb attacks. We are only questioning the wisdom of linking the American Muslim community and its institutions to such incidents.” Taking a leaf from New York Police Department’s controversial study “Radicalization in the West and the Homegrown Threat,” Municipal Police Officers Education & Training Commission (MPOETC) has prepared a Mandatory In-Service Training (MIST) Program and Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) officials are required to undergo a three-hour class called “Radical Islam: A Law Enforcement Primer.”
The fake mosque attack was part of that training course and aims at “providing an overview of the factors and issues related to a radical view of Islam.” The MPOETC has its own sweeping definition of “radical Islam’: Radical Islam assumes the authority to “nullify, abolish, or do away with” previously established religions and systems of government, establishing Islamic rule based on the Qur’an and the “example of Muhammad.” Muslim civil rights groups have expressed concern over this program. In a letter to the MPOETC Training Director Rudy M. Grubesky, CAIR-PA Civil Rights Director Justin Peyton wrote:
“We are concerned that this course may provide inaccurate, incomplete or stereotypical information about Islam to state law enforcement officers and could serve to reinforce negative stereotypes of Muslims and Islam. The promotion of such stereotypes could negatively impact the daily interactions of law enforcement officers with members of the Pennsylvania Muslim community.” “While CAIR applauds MPOETC’s effort to educate police officers about the potential threats posed to American society by extremist individuals and groups, we would like to emphasize that the violent ideologies those individuals falsely attribute to Islam are not characteristic of the American Muslim experience.” In short, such drills as a mock attack on the fake mosque in the name of national security will only alienate and marginalize the American Muslims who remain a victim of guilt by association in the post-9/11 era. Mosque is a symbol of worship just like church, synagogue or temple and not a symbol of radicalism as portrayed by this simulated attack on the fake mosque.

—Arab News





Who is really running Russia?
Eric S Margolis

LAST February, as millions of fascinated viewers watched on TV, Russia’s new leaders, 55-year old Vladimir Putin and 42-year old Dimitri Medvedev, showcased their new duumvirate by confidently strolling from the Kremlin across Red Square to attend a concert of the rock band, Deep Purple. Forget ‘Swan Lake.’ Decked out in hip black leather jackets and tailored jeans, they symbolised the new, youthful, self-assured Russia of 2008. The grey homburg hats and dumpy, ill-fitting suits of the Communist era were a thing of the past. This week, Dimitri Medvedev, Putin’s long-time protégé and hand-picked successor, was inaugurated president of Russia. Putin, who heads the United Russia Party, the nation’s largest, became prime minister. Just to remind everyone that in spite of the rock concerts and cool haircuts, Russia remains a warrior nation with a glorious military tradition, the Kremlin also staged the biggest military parade since 1990.
Impressive, certainly, but the whole world was asking, ‘who’s the boss of Russia?’ Good question. My view: Putin, who laments the Soviet Union’s collapse as the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,’ may be replicating the old USSR’s power structure. The Soviet Union had two parallel governments. A civilian one, with a president, legislature, and ministers; and a mirror structure run by the Communist Party. Real power was held by the Party’s General Secretary and Politburo who made all important policy decisions, and the security organs. The civilian government was charged with implementing them. We can envisage a similar dual arrangement in Moscow wherein Putin fills the role of the old Soviet General Secretary and Medvedev that of Soviet presidents.
The business-minded Medvedev is former head of Gazprom, Russia’s giant energy firm. He will likely become the nation’s energy czar and focus on economic development and raising living standards. Putin, formerly of KGB’s elite First Directorate, will focus on foreign policy and rebuilding Russia’s military and diplomatic power. Theoretically, their roles should be reversed, with the president handling security policy and the prime minister domestic issues. But it’s hard to imagine former spy chief Putin digging through farm reports and industrial statistics. Vladi and Dimi, as they are known, are sitting on a bonanza. Russia has 20 per cent of the world’s natural gas reserves, and at least 7 per cent of proven oil reserves, some 75 billion barrels. However, Russia’s huge reserves are in remote regions and will require vast investment to further exploit. Even so, as energy prices soar, Russia grows wealthier and more powerful by the day, a sort of Saudi Arabia with snow. Interestingly, Russia today commands far more influence over Western Europe than it did when 100 Red Army divisions threatened the continent to the point where France actually began re-arming the Maginot forts. Russia’s Gazprom now account for nearly 40 per cent of Germany and Ukraine’s gas consumption, 33 per cent of Italy’s, 26 per cent of France’s heating needs, 70 per cent of Austria’s, and almost all of Eastern Europe’s gas.

—Khaleej Times