It’s hard to start describing the history of China without noting how very old and organized it is. Indeed “older than the Pyramids” which sit in an incredibly run down piece of Cairo barely large enough for you to frame your disgusting camel (they are terrible brutes who spit on you with much more regularity and vehemence than horses) against the sand and stone for your de regueur tourist photo to prove you’ve actually been there.

Not that I’ve traveled to either China or Egypt.

I’ll assume for the sake of argument (and we could argue it) that you’re not intrinsically interested in the trivia of the Xia and Shang dynasties (2070 to 1046 before the Common Era) and advance straight through them (and the Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States Periods) to the Qin (pronounced ‘Chin’, hence ‘China’) dynasty in 221 B.C.E. and the development of the doctrine of “The Mandate of Heaven”.

In summary it holds that The Emperor holds a special dispensation from the cosmos and nature to bring peace and prosperity to his people.

Which is all very well until things start going wrong which they inevitably do. In that case the problem is insufficient devotion and obedience until it isn’t and it’s rot at the top and a New Emperor takes over.

Sound familiar? Humans don’t change.

Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice.
He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.

Karl Marx- The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

What Marx forgot to mention is- “It’s Cold Outside.” and play I Got You Babe. because Groundhog Day was not in theaters until 100 years after he died.

“Sun going down.” Not for me, I’m a Winter Soldier anyway. “You want to know my secret? I’m always angry.”

Which brings me back to Permanent Interests. In 4000 years China has never forgotten.

I’ve seen Ming pottery, both intact and… umm… deconstructed. It’s not much of a much. It’s thick, not translucent and diaphanous, and no different from Stoke-on-Trent except for original design and coloring. More under painting because it’s done by hand. Corningware (from Corning, New York and basically glass) beats it in a cocked hat.

Tang painting, music, opera, and poetry…

They’re a thing.

Egypt is not provably older than China or Ur. Historians suppose it so since it’s closer to Africa where our monkey uncles came from. Also it’s mentioned in the Bible.

Manafort checks into VIP section at Virginia jail where Chris Brown, Michael Vick also did time
by Tom Jackman, Washington Post
June 16,2018

The Northern Neck jail roster indicates more than 600 inmates are currently in custody. Inmates are permitted one personal visit per week. Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Trump, was assigned Fridays from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. as his visitation window. Visitors may only speak to inmates through a glass partition, called “noncontact” visits, for a maximum of 30 minutes.

Inmates at Northern Neck, as at most jails, cannot receive calls, but they can make collect or prepaid calls between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., according to jail rules. Unless the calls are to an attorney, they are recorded. Attorneys may visit with clients remotely by video visitation on their computers or smartphones, the jail’s website says.

Northern Neck Regional Jail

Inmate Mail

Family and friends are encouraged to communicate with their loved ones incarcerated at the jail, and mail is just one resource to keep in touch. While there is no restriction on the amount of mail an inmate may send or receive, there is a restriction on the size of certain mail coming into the Jail (restriction does not apply to legal/privileged mail).

For reasons of Jail Security, Any non-legal mail sent to an inmate and received by the jail will be photocopied for delivery to the intended inmate. Original material will be placed into the inmate’s stored property. Please remember to use paper no larger than 8 ½ by 11 inches and allow margin space around the edges of your letter. This will ensure that any writing is not left out of the photocopied material.

Magazine, newspaper, or printed material included with a letter will NOT be delivered to an inmate.

The following restrictions should be considered when sending mail to the jail. Correspondence that does not conform to these restrictions will be returned to sender.

• Social occasion cards, (i.e. birthday, Christmas) cannot exceed 6″ x 8″ in size. Cards that contain mechanical devices, such as musical cards, are not allowed.
• Photographs cannot exceed 4″ x 6″ in size. (No Polaroids & no more than 10 photos)
• Do not send cash in the mail. Only money orders or certified checks will be processed into an inmate’s account. Other types of currency will be returned to sender.

Mail will be delivered to the recipient within 24 hours after it is received from the Post Office with the exception of Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays. Mail, if any, received on these days will be delivered on the next normal business day.

Contraband items discovered in an inmate’s mail will be seized. Both the inmate and the sender will be notified of any item which has been seized and the reason for the seizure.

Inmate Telephone Services

Each inmate in general housing is afforded access to telephone services and access hours are usually between 8:30am and 10:30pm. During this time frame calls may be made to family, friends, attorneys, parole officers, bondsmen, etc. There are several options for an inmate to make calls to family, friends, or an attorney. First, the inmate may call his party collect. The receiving party is advised of the calling party, their location, and gives them the option to accept the call and charges. Another option is for a friend or family member to create a pre-paid account with the vendor whereby the inmate can make calls and the costs are paid from the account. Further, an inmate may transfer money from his or her commissary account to pay for any calls that are made.

Inmate Property and Money

For reasons of security and limited space,The Jail will not accept any personal property belonging to an inmate brought in by friends or family. The jail will provide needed articles if the inmate is without funds. Otherwise, an inmate can purchase authorized items from the commissary.

Local inmates who must attend circuit court trials may have clothing brought to the jail by family members. Due to storage limitations extra clothing for an inmate court appearance is restricted to Circuit Court cases only.

To receive clothing for a Circuit Court appearance the inmate must first make the request to the Chief of Inmate Services on request forms provided to the inmate. Once approved, the inmate’s family or attorney may arrange to bring in the clothing.

Books & Magazines

A variety of newspapers and magazines are provided to the inmates through the jail library. However, should an inmate want a subscription to a particular newspaper or magazine, the following guidelines must be followed.

Newspapers and Magazines may be mailed to an inmate only after prior approval of the administration has been obtained. Each inmate is informed of how to obtain this approval. Newspapers and/or magazines that do not have prior approval will be returned to the sender. Further, Newspapers and Magazines must be mailed directly to the inmate from the publisher.

The jail may disapprove, in whole or in part, any issue if the contents are of a nature to compromise jail security, order, or rehabilitative efforts. Further, publications cannot violate U.S. Postal Regulations.

In the event that the jail library does not have a particular book an inmate desires, he or she may obtain the book from the publisher. As with newspapers and magazines, Books must be mailed directly to the inmate from the publisher, not a bookstore, and only paperback editions will be allowed

To receive a book, the inmate must first request approval of the administration. Each inmate is informed of how to obtain this approval. Books received without prior approval or from someone other than publisher will be returned to the sender.

Books must be paperback and cannot be larger than 11” x 7” in size.

Note: Northern Neck Regional Jail is generally considered a rather “cushy” kind with no more than the usual level of overcrowding (600 inmates in a space designed for 198 though to be fair there have been two expansions). Inmate violence and suicide are unremarkable (4 since 2012) with the most notorious case being the death of Jaimee Kirkwood Reese who was denied medication for her open heart and leg artery surgery and suffered a stroke which led to her death in March of 2016.

Other infamous inmates have included notorious dog killer and middling NFL Quarterback Michael Vick and Chris Brown, a musician I have no opinion of, as well as Taliban linked Irek Hamidullin and Hernan Giraldo Serna, reputed drug kingpin who got the full Capone of respect and deference according to reports.