#mertha

[ssseriema]

it's bertha's school for witches! we have bertha's lover (?), bertha's complicated (?), bertha's favorite, and bertha's enemy/star student

[actualori]

this trend was so fun to do i miss it

date drawn: june 4th 2023

[the-fandom-queenxox]

Witchcraft smp spoilers below

Mertha before she was cursed to be a goat.

Another fact we learn is that Mertha is a witch of dreams and she used the last of her magical abilities to talk to Bertha

[cornellcas]

Government incompetence is the real threat to China

Cornell government professors commented today on the market volatility in China and the Chinese government’s response.

Jeremy Wallace, associate professor of government and faculty member of Cornell’s China and Asia Pacific Studies Program, is the author of “Cities and Stability: Urbanization, Redistribution, and Regime Survival in China.”

Wallace says:

“Don’t worry about the Chinese stock market collapse, worry about government incompetence.

“The failure of the Chinese government’s stock market intervention strongly undermines the regime’s rhetoric of legitimacy via competence. The government’s current efforts to centralize authority to reduce corruption can create the opportunity for new kinds of problems, as decisions made on a whim are implemented immediately.”

Andrew Mertha, professor of government and director of Cornell’s China and Asia Pacific Studies Program (CAPS), is the author of “Unifying China, Integrating with the World: The Chinese Approach to Sovereignty During the Reform Era.”

Mertha says:

“China’s volatile stock market, and the government’s attempts to prop it up, have preoccupied a number of China watchers over the past few weeks.  As is often the case in China, what we are focusing on is, in fact, a symptom of something larger, with potentially farther-reaching consequences.

“Markets require trust in order to function properly.  So do politics, even in authoritarian regimes.  The oft-invoked necessity of social stability (often as an argument against democratization or other forms of greater political participation) and authoritarian rule is premised on the perception that Beijing knows what it is doing.  This perception is key to Xi Jinping’s ability to push forward the larger structural market reforms (unrelated to the stock market) that China needs but that his predecessors have been unable to deliver. 

“Insofar as China’s stock market is detached from much of China’s economy, what is happening is simply an unwanted diversion; but insofar as it is an indication of the leadership’s perceived competence at handling (let alone pre-empting) crises, it is potentially a much bigger deal, something that truly does keep the leadership awake at night.”    

[cornellcas]

“China has spent the better part of the past 50 years educating its citizens about how China’s former greatness was snatched away by the imperialist powers of the West and Japan in the 19th century, and that the Chinese Communist Party’s mission is to re-establish China’s former greatness. “Today, Beijing has largely reclaimed the position of a great power, and its leaders are now finding just how complex the challenges – and the responsibilities – that come with the title actually are. “Whether he likes it or not, Xi Jinping has multiple audiences that are watching his every move – he no longer has the luxury of caring only about how his actions play domestically in China, as reactions to Beijing’s ham-fisted handling of Hong Kong demonstrates. China’s newly re-established great power status is now Beijing’s, and Beijing’s alone, to lose.”

Andrew Mertha, a specialist in Chinese politics, political institutions and its exercise of power and a professor of government, commenting on China’s reaction to demands for election reform in Hong Kong. Mertha says China's reaction will have a huge impact on its newly found international status as a great power because unlike the past, multiple international audiences are watching its every move.

[cornellcas]

“There are several reasons why the Chinese state is taking even greater measures this year to ensure that this year’s anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown comes and goes without incident. “First, the relatively new Xi Jinping administration, which has defined itself thus far by an increased preoccupation with security, wants to ensure that its first term is not marred by any ‘embarrassing’ events which might undermine its authority. “Second, the fact that this is the 25th anniversary will certainly bring about more attention than, say, the 13th anniversary, although the standard operating procedures of arresting and detaining activists is by now well-established. “Third, I have sensed among my students an intense hunger for knowledge about the events of 1989; the extent to which Chinese authorities deny their existence only feeds this yearning to learn more among these young people. “Perhaps most important, in my view, the Tiananmen crackdown was, among many things, a brutal reminder by Chinese authorities of the social contract that the reformist leaders made with Chinese citizens in 1978: We will allow you to get rich as we develop economically, as long as you do not meddle in politics by seeking political liberalization. Brutally reminded of this contract in 1989, many Chinese subsumed these political aspirations under the goal of becoming better off economically. However, over the past several years it has become increasingly clear that all this economic development has not led to happiness or satisfaction among large swaths of Chinese people. “Indeed, many of them share the sentiment of ‘is this all there is?’ Recall that the significance of 1989 was twofold: citizens joined the students in protesting against the government, and these protests occurred in every major city in China. My sense is that many, many Chinese who were willing to ignore 1989 as they amassed greater wealth perhaps now realize that there are certain quality-of-life aspects to their lives that simple economic development cannot manage or provide, only greater political participation, and that this frustration is palpable. If I were among China’s leadership, this is what would keep me awake at night.”

Andrew Mertha, director of the China and Asia Pacific Studies Program and author of “China’s Water Warriors: Citizen Action and Policy Change,” warning that increasing dissatisfaction with the government’s economic promises has the Chinese people ready once again to call for more political power.

[cornellcas]

Government prof’s class on China named best in U.S.

Associate Professor Andrew Mertha’s class, “China Under Revolution and Reform and the World,” was named tops on this Huffington Post list of university courses related to China.

"Professor Mertha's enthusiasm and passion for this area of study is infectious,” one student says. 

[whynotzoidbergdotorg]

I was trying to figure out how Equius and Mertha would be able to do it to have a kid, and I realized Mertha would have to...

...wait for it...

...ride him.