Buddha Patriot

What the hell is this?!

2011-05-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

from Glenn Reynolds' Instapundit:

THE FOLKS AT GOOGLE don’t quite seem to understand the Althouse blog. Hey, guys, it’s not a spam blog. It’s been in the New York Times and everything. You should put it back up.

UPDATE: A reader emails with a link to a Save Ann Althouse’s Blog Facebook page.

Update from Ace of Spades: Patterico Locked Out of GMail for Comments in Support of Ann Althouse

BP's (Current) favorite taqueria in Minneapolis, Minnesota

2011-03-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

Great food, great service- highly recommended!

So I've received a threat from a Marxist - say hello to "David Sautner"

2011-03-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

His name is David Sautner. He's apparently a "Dish wash room/Lab attendant" at Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Missouri (Columbia). djs965@missouri.edu
SautnerD@missouri.eduIt's nothing like what Ann Althouse has received, but it's still a bit disconcerting:

"You look like a pig that oughta' be hung up for slaughter and beaten with a hooked whip. Fascist a*hole.Yeah and that IS what is going to happen to you you smug piece of ignorant shit."

So I got that to look forward to . . .

BP's favorite Tibet shop in the Twin Cities

2010-12-12T07:17:00.000-08:00

Pema Dolma runs the Tibet Store at 2835 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota (just north of the Uptown neighborhood).

I shop/browse at a few other places, but this one's my favorite- check it out!

WTSP: Controversial play catches Scientology's attention

2010-12-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

Video!

Pictures!

What is it with the American Left and jokes about sexual violence? (part II)

2010-12-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

The "Reclusive Leftist" brings us: Today's dose of casual sexism

Last year's Part I

Scam of the day: "State Record Retrieval Board"

2010-10-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Trying to get me to pay $87.00 for deed info.

in Minnesota, they list their address as:

1043 Grand Avenue #361
Saint Paul, MN 55105

more info here and here.

Baby News

2010-10-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you that still check up on this blog from time to time, I thought I'd let you know that I have yet another reason not to update this thing on a regular basis.

Baby daughter/bundle of joy was born to my wife and me on Thursday afternoon, October 7th in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Suggestions on parenting, education, and/or whatever tickles your fancy are welcome.

Now excuse me while I go all goo-goo . . .

Hmm... . . .

2010-10-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

So- what happened between here:

Overstating Jewish Power: Mearsheimer and Walt give too much credit to the Israeli lobby.

. . . and here:

Not So Hidden Influences: Is it so offensive to note the effectiveness of the Jewish lobby?

Mr. Hitchens?

2010-09-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Gateway Pundit: Florida College Shuts Down Conservative Event After Seeing Anti-Obama Literature

Not that I'm a huge fan of the Young America Foundation, mind you- I think it was the John Birch-connections I've heard about in the past.

But this is, quite simply, intolerable.

To Die With Dignity in Your Own Land: Tibet, China, and the Politics of Disaster

2010-04-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

by Josh Shrei at the Huffington Post.

Pass it on.

serious fraudster coming to Minnesota next week

2010-04-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

She ain't Ward Churchill, but she's a serious piece of work:

An Evening with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum: Healing Communities Torn by Racism and Violence

OK, this is just disgusting. I'm all for an open border policy with Latin America, but this woman's visa needs to be denied.

NY Times: Breaking With Scientology

2010-03-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

They are nothing if not consistent:

Fifty-six years after its founding by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, the church is fighting off calls by former members for a Reformation. The defectors say Sea Org members were repeatedly beaten by the church’s chairman, David Miscavige, often during planning meetings; pressured to have abortions; forced to work without sleep on little pay; and held incommunicado if they wanted to leave.

And from 1967, a quite thoroughly informative Scientology: The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard

Dan Collins: HillBuzz Bloggers Outed, Threatened by Nutrootz Thugz

2010-01-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

As you can see here and here, I just have no tolerance for cyber- or any other variety of bullying. So Sorosphere, eat my shorts.

2010-01-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

From Instapundit:

HIDE THE DECLINE: British Met Office head defends blown forecast of mild winter.

I was never good at math or science myself, but I just can't help but be über-skeptical of the current state of climate science and this Anthropogenic Global Warming/Climate Change^tm that "leading scientists" are pushing.

I'm not in any way a creationist or postmodern deconstructionist- I do "trust" in what I believe to be empiricism and the scientific method. But AGW smacks too much of the anti-genetics Lysenkoism of the old Soviet Union, and the Lyellism that supposedly prevented American scientists from accepting plate tectonic theory some 50 years ago.

"Too episodic, predictable, and repetitive to recommend"

2010-01-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

A pretty insightful review of Letters to Penthouse XVIII :

I realize that in a book series you should start with the first one and work your way through in order. However, I found this on the floor of a public restroom and figured, "Hey, free book!" so I took it home and gave it a glance. Overall, this is a pretty mediocre novel, especially since the title might lead one to think it's some post-modern construction. First of all, the title is misleading. This book does not comprise letters, but a series of first-person narratives where the narrators end up having some kind of sex by the end of each chapter. After the first two chapters, I realized there was a pattern and then easily predicted what would happen at the end of each subsequent chapter. It wasn't a terrible novel, meaning it wasn't boring, but I can't really recommend it, because the characters aren't fully developed and it's way too predictable. The entire book is just about people having sex and describing it graphically. I'm not a prude, mind you, but unlike Henry Miller or John Updike, there seemed to be no political / cultural subtext. It seems like the only real point to the book was to sexually arouse the person reading it.

*sigh* . . .

A cauctionary tale on national healthcare in Japan

2010-01-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

I'd already seen two or three stories of ambulances being turned away by Japanese hospitals (with the result of the patients dying) in the last few years, but this really gives me pause considering my tentative plans to live long-term and possibly retire in Japan...

2010-01-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hey, I think I may have found another Republican Buddhist!
According to Instapundit, anyways...

Police shoot armed man at home of Muhammad cartoonist

2010-01-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

2009-12-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the link to Michelle Malkin's site, but this illustrates perfectly why Paulbots are such swine:

Ron Paul on the airline plot: “They’re terrorists because we’re occupiers [of Nigeria and Yemen?]!”

via Gabriel Malor at Ace of Spades HQ

Addendum: About a year ago, some Paulnut said he was going to "see me on the battlefield"- I hope, for his sake, he was referring to World of Warcraft...

2009-11-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

Good riddance.

2009-10-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Church of Scientology hits rough patch.

One can only hope.

Viva la France!

I knew lefties were behind the curve, but this is getting ridiculous:

2009-10-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

A darker side of Columbus emerges in US classrooms

@#%& emerges??!! WTF?!

You remember the "Unprecedented" flick about the 2000 presidential election? As if we've never had contested presidential elections with controversial outcomes, like then, then, and here?

Been told by a university instructor that Americans are "in the dark" about the 1940s Japanese-American Internment Camps, though we've had some rather public, official acknowledgments (see: here, for example), and more than a few of us have read books and maybe seen a few films (like this one, that one, and oh, how about... this one) on the subject?

How about the very recent historical revisioning of the Hiroshima bombing (a debate we've been having for at least the past fifteen years)?

Ya think "behind the curve" is being more than a bit charitable? Just maybe?

Because they're icky

2009-09-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

I was thinking again this afternoon, after hearing Hugh Hewitt hawk "Intelligent Design" on his radio show, about how weird it is for me to have become this "right-wing" Republican five years ago.

How can I hang out with conservatives if I'm anti-death penalty, anti-tort reform, anti "Marriage Amendment", against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and for open border immigration?

Well, in case you hadn't read my previous post on the subject, it's because many leftists are just thoroughly icky people.

09/29/09 update: I guess I'm "pleasantly surprised" that a few people "get it":

Reminder: Roman Polanski raped a child

. . .but then again, I'll always have my disappointments . . .

2009-09-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

New York Times: An Iwo Jima Relic Binds Generations

I don't think there are any Japanese letters among the remaining possessions of my late grandfather- he had a rifle for a while with some Sino-Japanese characters on it - but I otherwise have never come across anything I could fathom "returning".

As I've mentioned before, I don't buy into the "futility of war" line, and capturing Iwo Jima gave the American military a needed base of operations to further attack the Japanese home islands.

That said, it does bring back some painful memories of my viewing of Letters From Iwo Jima (I went on to view it an additional 2-3 times) . . .

First Buddhist Army Chaplain

2009-09-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) is boasting this afternoon that the first Buddhist Army Chaplain is from Tennessee.

And wouldn't you know, a "Buddhist Military Sangha" blog I just stumbled into has further info.

I linked to a story about an Asian American Buddhist serving in Afghanistan about three years ago: here.

Of course, joining the military had been a dream of mine earlier on, and though I've been a bit bitter about being rejected, I do like to see stories like this from time to time.

Two things: my Nepali refugee family and Van Jones resigning

2009-09-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

I guess I've never "kinda sorta" broke any news, so I'll just post this (via Ace of Spades HQ - flaming skull!!):

Obama's Truther Czar resigns

More importantly:

Two members of an ethnic Nepali refugee family (from Bhutan) I mentor got beat up/mugged in the Twin Cities this past week and it is not cool. As a matter of fact, I feel just terrible about it.

I'm kinda connected with the local Nepali American community here, but if anyone has any info on low-income housing, etc. please do let me know, OK? This just sucks (especially when I hear they almost wish they'd never left their refugee camp).

Related: though I do get frustrated with the anti-immigrant sentiment of many of my fellow right-wing neocons, it's quite clear that immigrant-bashing is an equal opportunity activity- and at least as prevalent among our "communities of colour" as among any group of "bitter clinger" white guys, and I just fucking hate it.

That is all.

Been busy . . .

2009-07-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

1) teaching myself Tibetan and Chinese, and now Nepali

2) helping out at my Buddhist monastery's brand new location in northeast Minneapolis

3) continuing to mentor an ethnic Nepali refugee family from Bhutan

4) trying to finish work on my Bachelor's in Asian Languages and Literatures

. . .so I won't be posting for a while.

Happy Independence (from the British Empire) Day, folks.

2009-07-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

for me: probably Minneapolis Farmers Market, lunch with relatives, and yeah, fireworks.

Oh, and Canada and Australia? You're both welcome on your later, more "peaceful" transitions to home rule (wouldn't have wanted to repeat those somewhat messy mistakes we made in the American colonies, now, would we!)

Today on June 4th,

2009-06-04T00:20:00.000-07:00

we still remember Tiananmen Square.

20年後，我們仍然記得天安門廣場.

What is it with the American Left and jokes about sexual violence? (part I)

2009-06-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've personally had to put up with the giggles of the Left when I've brought up how rape has been used as an instrument of war in places like Rwanda and Darfur, and yes, this is indeed a trend:

"Women [they'd] like to 'hate-f***'"

When, at a debate about the UN some four years ago, a gentleman from the "Citizens for Global Solutions" told me: "Oh, I'm sure some people feel marginalized..." when I brought up Darfur, I was actually more than a bit shocked at the time. But we all have to learn to accept that this is simply par for the course for these folks. . .

-via Mitch Berg's post at Shot in the Dark

06/09/09 Update: Dave Letterman jokes about baseball player raping Sarah Palin's 14-year old daughter.

scam of the day: "Protection Assurance Corp."

2009-06-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

The note they sent me yesterday (the "return address" said: "Office of Disbursement"- next to a replica of the US Presidential Seal- in Pleasant Hill CA).

This may be them.

Their number on my notice is: 1-888-543-1956

The number on the site is: 888-389-6486

And if you're interested in sending them spam, you can try them here:

info@protectionassurancecorp.com

NY Senator Charles (Chuck) Schumer is at least trying to stop this (car waranty scams) in New York State, but I don't see much progress in this elsewhere . . .

some fun w/ "Warranty Services"

2009-06-01T15:23:00.001-07:00

Have any of you received recorded phone messages or "FINAL WARRANTY NOTICE"s from an outfit calling themselves "Warranty Services"?

I've had some fun this afternoon calling them back at:

866-442-5552

Be creative as you can (and remember to mask your number!). I do love it when they actually give me something to contact them with . . .

btw: here's something that may be useful to y'all:

I viewed a Wiki that listed technologies used with caller ID, and found call tracing and call traps are useful for this type of reporting. My phone carrier supports these features by pressing *57 or #57 immediately after the call, then dialing an ISP provided toll-free number to pursue further action. I believe this may be helpful for anyone who is having this problem. Our household is also receiving mailers with a similar formatted message. I don't want to speculate, but everyone I have spoken with regarding this matter has posted a resume on a Careerhelper website. SPAM may also be attributed to this.

"You Blew it up!

2009-05-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Damn you! Damn you all to hell!" Part II

(see also: Damn you all to hell! Part I)

American foreign service officers are vile shits

2009-04-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Part I

(via Protein Wisdom)

anti-Mormon more than "anti-socialist"

2009-03-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

Not a big fan of Ann Coulter at all, but I have to agree with Ace of Spades that these bozos are a bit "fanatical" (if not simply dumber than a doornail).

It's indicative of much of these evangelical crypto-socialist types that they fear one man who ascribes to Mormon theology more than they fear a socialist system (and why many voted for the statist pig Mike Huckabee over Mitt Romney).

Oh, lord, my AP bullshit runneth over

2009-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

Uh, "Obama breaks from Bush, avoids divisive stands"

"Avoids divisive stands"??

Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush's unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands.

I think a Mr. Rush Limbaugh would refer to this as the "drive-by media" . . . I can only label this as, well, bullshit.

He largely avoided cultural issues; the exception was reversing one abortion-related policy, a predictable move done in a very low-profile way.

My cow died so I don't need your bull.

It certainly reflects the kind of over-the-top, clumsy propaganda I observed at the Yakukuni Shrine Museum last summer in Tokyo- not so much "offensive" as just frickin' annoying.

Oh, wait- I forgot the double standard:

Obama's biggest agenda items — stabilizing the economy and ending the Iraq war — are complex tasks with results not expected soon.

What's that, Sheryl? You wanted those credit files ordered yesterday for our investors' due diligence? I'm sorry- that's a "complex task with results not expected soon" . . .

Look, people- I don't think it's just factors like more internet usage, classified ads moving online, or a "hyper-partisan, unaccountable blogosphere".

Print media and the "mainstream media" in general are in financial turmoil because they. royally. suck.

Let me phrase that a different way: . . . their sufferin' succotash suckiness is beyond measure.

And now I suddenly want to translate: "utterly pathetic wankers" into Japanese (not that I think Asahi, Yomiuri, or NHK would necessarily qualify for the moniker- I just feel the need to express the current state of the American media to my Japanese friends).

OK, I got it: the Onion moved to New York from the Midwest, and their former editors and writers just took over the AP:

A picture of poise [a frickin' PICTURE OF POISE!!], Obama didn't get rattled when Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the oath of office[*d'oh!*], an exercise repeated a day later to ensure constitutionality [because, you know, Obama didn't really become President until the day after the Inauguration]. He [fucking] breezed through his speech — which repudiated Bush's [fucking] tenure though never personally attacked him — without a [fucking] misstep. Even with the [fucking] weight of the country's troubles now on his [fucking] shoulders, he was relaxed as he twirled his wife, Michelle, at celebratory balls.

"I don't sweat," Obama said on the eve of his inauguration — a comment meant literally, and, perhaps, figuratively [Thank you, Dry Idea!!].

Oh, shit- if the 20th Century was "Our Dumb Century", just what the hell are we living in now??

Update II: Ace of Spades kinda sorta noticed this yesterday, too.

2009-01-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

Non-violence cannot tackle terrorism: Dalai Lama

Something I commented on back in October of 2006 in my "Original Buddha Patriot" post

Here's something that counters some Leftist propaganda:

"They (terrorists) are very brilliant and educated...but a strong ill feeling is bred in them. Their minds are closed," the Dalai Lama said.

"Brilliant" and "educated"?? You mean they're not all leaving some squalid village in Indonesia or Bangladesh to do a Jihad vs. McWorld?

from India Express via Weasel Zippers and Protein Wisdom.

Oh, crap

2008-12-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

I've spent the better part of an hour looking up Chinese language streaming video resources on the internet (I wanna improve my Mandarin), and I keep getting:

"Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Chinese Democracy’ begins streaming on MySpace"

Yeah, it's hard to believe that the current greatest threat to Beijing is frickin' Axel Rose . . .

2008-12-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

Oops:

A respected research institute wanted Chinese classical texts to adorn its
journal, something beautiful and elegant, to illustrate a special report on
China. Instead, it got a racy flyer extolling the lusty details of stripping
housewives in a brothel.

This is so not happening to me:

There are tales of drunken teenagers walking out of tattoo parlours with
characters reading, "This is one ugly foreigner" or "A fool and his money are
easily parted".

via the Marmot

What is Soka Gakkai?

2008-12-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

From the Japan Times:

Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machine humming

Not a bad primer on the super-duper creepy Japanese "Buddhist" cult- especially considering that the Japan Times has run opinion pieces by Mister "Living Buddha" himself, Daisaku Ikeda.

Features SGI's political activities, Soka-run schools, leadership, finances, celebrity members, and this interesting tidbit about its media strategies:

What does the Seikyo Shimbun cover?
More than half of its contents are about activities of the group, including where Ikeda goes, who he meets and what other famous members do. Articles about and photos of Ikeda appear on every front page.
With its circulation of 5.5 million, it is Japan's third-largest daily, after the Yomiuri Shimbun's 10.02 million and the Asahi Shimbun's 8.04 million. It does not own printing equipment and thus pays major newspaper publishers for its press runs.
Critics say Soka Gakkai's aim is to be a customer of major newspapers to dissuade them from generating negative press. Newspaper publishers have many customers as advertisers, but Soka Gakkai is arguably the only one that helps them make effective use of their expensive presses.

When in Cali', Eat at El Coyote

2008-11-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

Mexican Cafe in L.A.!!!

For the record, I myself have no problem with gay marriage. Neither do I have a problem with nation-wide protests of California's recent adoption of a constitutional ban on said marriage.

However, you mess with the Africans & Mexicans, and you'll get some verbal abuse coming your way (that includes the counterproductive xenophobia of Mexicans coming from the center-Right), as well.

Buena suerte, El Coyote!!

h/t: Ace of Spades HQ.

try that with my Somali friends, you pussies!!

2008-11-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

No, really- try heaping this kind of abuse in front of a mosque attended by East African immigrants and see what happens to you, you shits:

GAY ACTIVISTS attack blacks
over gay marriage. "It was like being at a klan rally except the klansmen
were wearing Abercrombie polos and Birkenstocks. YOU NIGGER, one man shouted at
men. If your people want to call me a FAGGOT, I will call you a nigger. Someone
else said same thing to me on the next block near the temple...me and my friend
were walking, he is also gay but Korean, and a young WeHo clone said after last
night the niggers better not come to West Hollywood if they knew what was BEST
for them."
My goodness. All this hope, change and unity is getting kind of
scary.

via Instapundit

the fulfillment of John McCain's dream

2008-11-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

You could kind of tell tonight that he was campaigning in order to give the most uber-gracious concession speech possible instead of to, you know, be elected president.

I originally regretted not being able to volunteer much for McCain's campaign- but that was before I realized that the man himself did not want the job.

Maybe now he can make up with David Letterman or something.

2008-10-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

FAKE . . . BUT . . . ACCURATE!!

2008-08-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

I've often remarked to foreign friends about how weird it is for me to have travelled throughout East Asia but to have not even been to Canada (as a Minnesotan).

I've been thinking lately about why I haven't been to the Great White North and now_I_know_why.

2008-08-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, this annoys the hell outta me, too . . .

Back from Japan since Tuesday

2008-08-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Still really jet lagged (it's only been two days).

in Amakusa, Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan

2008-07-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm currently on Amakusa Island, part of Kumamoto Prefecture, off the coast of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu, and boy, is it hot down here. Also, the hilly, winding roads are making me carsick.

Going to Saga Prefecture tomorrow.

recovering from the flu and computer trouble near Tokyo

2008-07-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

I was out of commission for nearly a week with flu-like symptoms and a lack of internet access but seem to be recovering now.

It must be about a week now since I visited the Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine itself is quite impressive, especially since it was dressed up with lanterns, etc. for an approaching festival.

The Yasukuni museum, on the other hand, was pretty obnoxious. I haven't heard of any similar shrine/museum in Germany and I can see why people get upset over the white-washing.

I'll have to finish this later . . .

Chris in Japan from July 4th through August 12th

2008-07-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

I've been in Japan near Tokyo for nearly a week already, visiting friends and family.

So far, I've visited Japan's public broadcasting NHK studios, a "rakugo" comedy theater, and the Asakusa temple and market.

This afternoon, I plan on visiting Japan's controversial Yasukuni Jinja, the Shinto shrine/memorial to their WWII war dead.

I did get a bit pissed off when the Japanese language immersion camp I worked at last summer only wanted to talk about America's WWII sins (and I thought about bringing up some uncomfortable historical facts with my Japanese colleagues), but in this case I generally know ahead of time what to expect and won't be half as resentful.

Bye for now.

2008-06-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that in the P.R.C., with a population exceeding a billion people, Tibetans aren't the only ones pissed off at Beijing:

BEIJING — Thousands of people have rioted in a county in southwest China,
setting fire to government buildings and overturning cars in angry protests over
the official handling of the death of a local teenage girl, according to a human
rights group, state news media and videotapes of the events.
The protests in
the county of Weng’an in Guizhou Province are another reminder of how quickly
public anger can ignite in China over cases of perceived official corruption and
malfeasance. For the past few years, public discontent has erupted into small
demonstrations and violence across the country.
The protests in Weng’an on
Saturday appear to have been larger, reportedly involving thousands of
residents, including children. News agencies reported that protesters clashed
with paramilitary police officers sent to the county.

via The_New_York_Times

Soka Gakkai cult trouble in Japan

2008-06-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Ex-New Komeito [so-called "Clean Government Party"] chief lashes_out_at_Soka_Gakkai":

According to Yano, Soka Gakkai forced him to abandon his activities as a
political commentator, published libelous statements about him in the group's
Seikyo Shimbun newspaper, and has attempted to force him into selling his house
to make a ¥200 million to ¥300 million donation to the group over the last
several years.

Yano, who had been a member of Soka Gakkai for more than 50 years, also
said he and members of his family have been under surveillance and shadowed by
strangers on a daily basis.

Pretty much standard operating procedure for the "Value-creating_study_group".

I plan on visiting some mainstream Nichiren Buddhist temples while I'm in Japan this July and August to gather critical info on S.G.I. that I haven't been able to find in any Japanese bookstore abroad or in New York (I do own a copy of Japan's_militant_Buddhists, and would like to get a copy of I_Denounce_Soka_Gakkai, but I'm assuming that much more must be available in Japanese).

Dianne Feinstein- the human slug

2008-06-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

This_story in the New York Sun about California Senator Dianne Feinstein pushing to allow Chevron Oil to do business in Burma/Myanmar brings me back to the time in 1997 when she compared the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to the 1960s shootings at Kent State ( here and here ).

And she has the gall to pretend_that_she's_friends of the Dalai Lama and gives a rat's ass about Tibet.

My Republican friends are pretty hard on Nancy Pelosi (often with good reason) but Speaker Pelosi (on these issues) is an absolute angel compared to this fiend . . .

transcend THIS!

2008-06-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

So I heard a TV report of Barack Obama's win on the local Fox_affiliate, and I got to hear yet again (from a straight face) that Barack Obama's campaign so far has "transcended race and politics"- hell, for all I know he very well could be the second coming of Jesus (or maybe Louis Farrakhan's Syrian carpet salesman, Mr. Fard).

Needless to say (I know, but I need to get it out of my system), it may be just a bit hard to avoid "politics" if your career choice is p-o-l-i-t-i-c-i-a-n (I'm too sleepy to look up the original Greek root but you catch my drift).

And if many (and I do mean m-a-n-y) Americans simply refuse to vote for the Obamessiah in the primaries or the general election because of his "race", how exactly is Obama "transcending race", then, exactly?

Look, I knew Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I worked closely with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for many years, and Barack Obama, you are no Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Not that I'm "offended", but . . .

2008-06-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

what a bunch of utterly pathetic wankers.
Kind of reminds me of why I prefer to hang out with East (e.g. Somalis, Ethiopians) and West (e.g. Nigerians, Togoans) African immigrants- they're not yet aware that they're supposed to play the part of the emmasculated, knuckle-headed "victim".

Oh, sure- I went through my own "Black Liberation Theology" phase in the '80s, but I eventually threw away those magazines and videos and got a hobby (or two).

Jesse Ventura - Putz Extraordinaire

2008-05-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Had to endure a Larry King interview with former MN Governor Jesse Ventura tonight while at a Mexican grill in Dinkytown (good food, bad TV). For the second half, "The Body/Mind/Whatever" was flanked by Congressman Charlie Rangel and some Democratic Party operative (perhaps another congressman).

I can't currently find a link to the video (wait- I think this is it), but it was pretty excruciating- Ventura mouthing off about the "two-party dictatorship" blah, blah, blah, the Democrats and Republicans not reflecting the "true" public will- kind of like a pathetic, scaled-down version of Lou Dobbs (who himself has turned into a disgrace).

Of course if Jesse the Putz truly gave a crap about anything he spews out, he could have run for another term as governor or even lifted his itty bitty pinky to build up the (moderate?) Independence Party here in Minnesota.

So when I got home, I tried to look up the as-yet-unposted video on CNN and I got another interview with this putz- this time claiming he was fired from MSNBC for being against the Iraq War- somebody tell Keith Olbermann!! He didn't get the memo, dude!!

Why I don't refer to the Left as "liberal"

2008-05-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

A three year-old article from the Weekly Standard, "Take_Back_the_Word", but I always wanted to post it (and I mistakenly thought it was from National Review).

I would prefer that my friends on the right follow suit.

belated Sichuan earthquake post

2008-05-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

No "schadenfreude" here- my first reaction was to let my Chinese friends from Chengdu know so they could contact their parents.

My second reaction was admittedly cynical- I had just read an article that the PRC was blocking action by the UN Security Council on the catastrophic cyclone in their client state of Burma/Myanmar, so while I didn't enjoy seeing Chinese schoolchildren pulled out of the rubble (I taught English for two weeks to Chinese kids myself 2 years ago just south of Shanghai), I didn't want the earthquake to deflect criticism directed toward China of their helping to keep international aid out of Burma.

The quake has, of course, focused attention in the Chinese media itself on the shoddy construction of area buildings/structures/schools and may yet prove to trigger some mininal accountability on the part of the CCP towards its citizens.

2008-05-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

So last_Saturday, I wrote a post defending Obama on the "57 states" comment, and now I run into this_footage of Bill O'Reilly mouthing off to his studio crew waaayyy back before the "Factor" when he was still hosting that ridiculous show Inside Edition.
So, WTF? This is news?! The guy had a really bad afternoon more then ten years ago and it's some kind of (rather pathetic) gotcha moment?? Sheesh . . .

2008-05-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

China_reluctant_to_prod_Myanmar_over_aid.

BEIJING - China faces mounting appeals to prod cyclone-ravaged Myanmar to allow
access to foreign aid workers but is giving no sign it will use its influence
over its ally, insisting instead that the world respect the military junta's
sovereignty.

. . . and . . .

This week, Beijing blocked a proposal to have the U.N. humanitarian chief brief
the Security Council on Myanmar, saying governments should not politicize the
issue.

classy, just classy

I think Obama was just joking

2008-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

when he said he'd been through 57_states. instapundit and others have tried to paint it as a Dan Qwayle moment, but I think it's clear from the video that he was trying to be humorous. (not that I'm voting for him in November, but...)

So many bicycles . . .

2008-04-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

so little time . . .
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S428329.shtml?cat=1

WikiLeaks footage on Tibet

2008-04-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Censored_Tibet_March_2008_protest_videos_-_FLV_format

File
tibet-protests-flash-video.zip (click to view full file)
tibet-protests-flash-video.zip (alternative address)

"They're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years"[update w/ correction]

2008-04-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Visiting Maoist goons and thugs, er, Chinese "students" kill_a_protester in Seoul, South Korea. (From Japan's FNN)
[UPDATE: the video linked above appears to be 2 Chinese men fatally beating up a Korean man in a Seoul subway entrance- apparently unrelated to the Olympic Torch Relay]

Here's the version in_Japanese. (because I speak Japanese)

Kind of reminds me of when the great South Gate in Korea burned down in February and Korean websites were bombarded_with_insults from Chinese commenters including the epithet:
"高麗棒子Gaoli Bangzi (Gaow-lee Bahng-dzuh)" I believe it means something like "Koryo (Korean) bumpkin".
Here's the expanation in Korean hangul:
고구려놈들 개×× 정도의 육두문자로 번역된다). 중국 동북삼성(길림성, 요녕성, 흑룡강성)에 우리교포가 사는 곳에는 조선족

The_New_York_Times has more. And the video . . . is here!

Another reason to check in with the Korean blog, "The Marmot's Hole", more often:

The Olympic Rock Throwing Competition Winner: China

Red Guards in Seoul Oh, Those Wacky Chinese Demonstrators

The Face of “Loving One’s Country”

联合抵制对中国! / BOYCOTT CHINA ! ! !

2008-04-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

Since the Maoist goons and thugs (Jack Cafferty was so right) seem to be venting_anti-Western_fury_online, I figured I'd throw them a nice, meaty, "BOYCOTT CHINA!!!" just too see if they'll take the bait.

I just love this shit where if you voice concerns about genocide and rape in Darfur, butchery in Burma or Tibet or the ever popular organ harvesting of live prisoners in China, you are committing a VICIOUS SLANDER against the CHINESE PEOPLE!!!!!

I mean, am I bigotted, or what?!

some creepy genocide denial from Matt Leighton and Patrick Grumley of the U of M's MN Daily

2008-04-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Apparently, they write a regular column called "St. James Street" at the University of Minnesota's student newspaper, the Minnesota_Daily.

It starts out innocent enough:

April 17, 2008
St. James' street
By Matt Leighton and Patrick Grumley
If you insult a Dragon ...
The United States needs to think about what is hanging in the balance while
criticizing China. If relations would go bad, the U.S. economy would be in even
more trouble.

They go on to defend China's monetary policy and belittle concerns about China's mounting trade deficit with the U.S.- all well and good.

However, these two paragraphs stuck out and I found them particularly galling:

Darfur has recently become a hot topic for Chinese critics. Oil dealings
with the Sudanese government have led many to accuse China of funding genocide.
But that is a false claim, as the crisis in Darfur is not genocide. The bulk of
the deaths have been from starvation, which, while nevertheless tragic, does not
fit the definition. If Darfur's crisis is genocide, then there are many other
genocides happening throughout Africa right now. The genocide label takes too
much attention away from other crises that are just as serious. Calling it so
belittles the significance of the atrocities that already own the label (such as
Rwanda and the Holocaust).

Most of the world does not believe the genocide claim. And while blame
is laid on China, America is guilty of similar sins. American oil companies have
substantial investment in Nigeria - a nation rife with violence and corrupt
government. Indeed, the humanitarian situation in Darfur is deeply troubling. So
is the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been called one of the worst
humanitarian disasters of recent history. As long as America turns a blind eye
to Israel's behavior towards the Palestinians, it cannot credibly criticize
China over Darfur.

So there you have it. Unless America cracks down on the Jews, it "cannot credibly criticize China" for promoting mass slaughter of black Africans and the continued gang-raping of their women in the Darfur region of Sudan (directly conducted by Khartoum's Chinese-supplied proxy army, the Janjaweed Militia, working in tandem with the Sudanese airforce).

Would you like some fries to go with your rape and genocide, Mssrs. Leighton and Grumley?

Monday 4/21 Update: Matt Leighton responds in the comments! What an utterly creepy mo'fo'.

Nor do I in any way condemn the shit that goes on in Sudan.

Yes, thank you for that clarification.

Yeah, I'm the "coward" for observing that Khartoum seeking to rape, enslave or otherwise wipe out nearly every black African in Darfur pretty much counts as g-e-n-o-c-i-d-e, or that criticism of the "Zionists (read: Jews)" is way out of proportion to what's going down there (today's new word is "proportionality"- can you say "proportionality", Matt? Good! (I knew you could!)

Matt Leighton- he dares to speak out against the Israel Lobby (my God, the sheer audacity of the man!)!! (I hope you remembered to check under your floorboards and in your cupboards for the Joooos when you got home tonight, Matty!)

This all reminds me of when I brought up how Khartoum is using rape as an instrument of war in Darfur some three years at a UN debate at the U of M and the "Citizens for Global Solutions" people replied: "Oh, I'm sure some people feel marginalized..."

Bring on the euphemisms for rape and slaughter, Matt Leighton, you utterly sick fuck . . .

More Chinese harassment and threats

2008-04-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

CBSNews:

After Prof. Kathryn March, anthropology, began publicizing the event
several weeks ago, it immediately provoked a wave of impassioned e-mail
responses, most of which criticized the event. A handful of the responses on the
listservs were personally directed at March.

"I ... was told to 'go die' on the Chinese Students and Scholars
Association listserv," March said at the opening of her event last Thursday,
"[I] received personal emails saying things like 'I spit on you' or telling me
that I needed 'a brain spa' where I could get 'botox [for my] brain and age,'
advice that another e-mailer applauded by writing 'well said! support!'"

. . . . . . . .

Duke's student newspaper, The Chronicle, reported_Monday that a student who
expressed herself at a pro-Tibet protest was the victim of harassing phone calls
and e-mails and had her personal information posted on the Duke Chinese Scholars
and Students Association website.

Come and get me, Chi-Com motherfuckers ! ! !

“We did not have that many role models growing up”

2008-04-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

via the Berkeley_Daily_Planet:

Will Lee, a native San Franciscan of Chinese descent, looked forward to the
torch relay on Wednesday at the Ferry Plaza. “We did not have that many role
models growing up,” he said. “I’m here to show my pride. I've wanted for 30 or
40 years for China to stand up.”

Reading these and other similar comments by Chinese-Americans and Chinese-Canadians, I have to ask:
To what extent do ethnic Han Chinese around the world hold these sentiments?

Have any of you experienced harassment from North Americans of Chinese descent when you voice concerns about Burma, Darfur, or Tibet?

Holy shit- and many of my fellow Republicans are worried about the Mexicans . . .

China to Foreign Media: "One of these days I'm going to kill you"

2008-04-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

Associated_Press story via Minnesota's Pioneer_Press:

BEIJING—Western reporters in China have received harassing phone calls, e-mails
and text messages, some with death threats, supposedly from ordinary Chinese
complaining about alleged bias in coverage of recent anti-Chinese protests in
Tibet.
The harassment began two weeks ago and was largely targeted at
foreign television broadcasters, CNN in particular. But the campaign broadened
in recent days after the mobile phone numbers and other contact information for
reporters from The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today were
posted on several Web sites, including a military affairs chat site.
"The
Chinese people don't welcome you American running dog [走狗].
Your reports twist the facts and will suffer the curse of heaven," said one
e-mail received by the AP.

I'm going to start publicizing more of these and other threats (including ones I've received) from Chinese when we speak out about the plight of the Tibetan people.

China was, is and will ALWAYS BE part of Mongolia!!!!

2008-04-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

Latest news:

The Ulaan Bataar Olympics this year may be in trouble after a heavy-handed crackdown on so-called "peaceful protests" organized by the splittist Hu Jintao Clique in the Mongolian city of Khanbaliq ("Free China" splittists continue to misname the city "Beijing").

More later as wire reports come in . . .

Vlog (Xeni): Tibet report - monks forced to participate in staged videos.

2008-04-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

via: boingboing_tv

h/t: instapundit

Chinese police kill eight after opening fire on monks and Tibet protesters

2008-04-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

from Britain's TIMES_ONLINE.
Thanks to Glenn Reynolds who's "not_feeling_that_Olympic_spirit "

"Dalai Lama die there!" "Leave Canada!"

2008-03-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

Toronto_Chinese_Rally_Turns_Ugly

2008-03-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

Cyber attacks against Tibetan communities
h/t: Instapundit

Frickin' bastards . . .

2008-03-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

I think I get your point, Mr. "Alex Ding in Alberta, Canada":

坚决维护祖国统一!!!!!打倒分裂主义的败类!!!
01西藏过去，现在，将来，永远都是中国的领土!!
02西藏過去，現在，將來，永遠都是中國的領土！！
03Tibet WAS, IS, and ALWAYS WILL BE a part of China!!
04チベットは過去、現在、これからの将来、永遠に中国の領土であり!
05티베트는 과거,현재,아프로 영원히 중국의 땅이다!!!
06Tibet war, ist und wird immer ein Teil von China!!
07Tibet était, est, et sera toujours une partie inséparable de la Chine!
08N'importe d'avant,aujourd'hui ou future,Tibet est toujour une partie de
chine.

Yeah, just like Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam and Okinawa, you friggin' sons-of-bitches!!!

Some pictures from Tuesday's Tibet protest in Chicago

2008-03-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Show support for Tibetans protesting inside Tibet!!

2008-03-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

from the Students_for_a_Free_Tibet website:

"Contact your local government officials; call for UN intervention in Tibet and demand the International Olympic Committee withdraw Tibet from China's Torch relay.

While the international public and media have been appropriately horrified by China's clampdown, it is imperative that our national governments speak out in support for Tibet and condemn China's actions. Please call and write to your Elected Representatives and urge them to push their governments to strongly condemn China's crackdown in Tibet.
For a sample letter, click here.
Click here to send a message to your U.S. Congressional Representative.
Click here for contact information for Canadian Members of Parliament.
Click here for contact information for British Members of Parliament.
Click here to urge the International Olympic Committee to remove Tibet from China's official Torch relay route now and to speak up publicly about the situation in Tibet.

For updates on the situation inside Tibet, please visit the SFT blog: http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org
To see the latest photos from Lhasa protests,click here.
For a media roundup of the global protests, click here."

pictures from my participation in the Chicago protest yesterday to follow. . . .

Bjork under fire after shouting "Tibet! Tibet!" after performing "Declare Independence" in Shanghai

2008-03-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Talk about actually speaking "truth_to_power" . . .

The Man who made me what I am today

2008-03-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

(besides that Byelorussian choir director who sent me to Soviet Union Language Village in the 1980s)

Dungeons_&_Dragons_co-creator_Gary_Gygax_dies_at_69

Sometime after I received my first Ninja "shuriken" throwing star in Catholic junior high through some East Coast martial arts catalog, I went out and purchased Advanced Dungeons and Dragons' Oriental_Adventures.

I was a bit disappointed that they never really fully developed any other player-characters besides Japanese ones (a yakuza gangster in Tang Dynasty China??), but the book (along with the badly-dubbed Saturday morning kung fu flicks) did get me into East Asian culture- albeit a culture dominated by samurai, bushi, "wu-jen" magicians, shugenja priests, sohei warrior monks, and of course ninja.

Eventually (like more than 10 years ago, OK?), I outgrew the gaming part of it and just began to read up on Japan/Korea/China history and culture.

I learned a bit of Korean in high school while taking Tae Kwon Do, went to Chinese language camp, went to Japan for 3 weeks, and became somewhat of a normal individual.

A brief cut-and-paste from Ace_of_Spades_HQ:

He will be remembered by many geeks of a certain age for helping making
long-lasting painful celibacy seem almost hip and cool (almost) . .
.

Hey, at least we didn't become fathers at age 16, alright?! So I got that going for me . . .

Cimbing down from that Obama ledge

2008-02-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

And so I decided to leave the Barack Obama ledge and climb back through the window into that warm Republican building I call my home.

While I may actually be voting for John McCain in the general election, I do wish his partisans would shut up about "McCain-Derangement Syndrome"- it's not like anyone, anywhere is claiming that John McCain is "worse than Hitler!"(tm) or exclaiming, "Damn that Senator John McCain to Hell!" followed by ". . .and God bless North Korea's Kim Jong Il".

So while I acknowledge the fool-hardiness of voting for Barack Obama over John McCain in a presidential election, let's keep some perspective on this, shall we?

Caucusing for Romney . . . voting for Obama?

2008-02-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

Tuesday (tomorrow) night is caucus night in Minnesota, and it's the first time I'll be convening one.
I had been volunteering for the Rudy Guiliani campaign for much of last year, but with Rudy's implosion after Florida, I'm now back with Mitt Romney.
If Romney drops out after a poor finish on Super Tuesday, however, it does look like I may end up voting for Barack Obama over John McCain in the general election for a couple of reasons:

1)The Republicans in Congress may be more likely to resist a lefty Obama administration than a McCain one, and:

2)Whatever we may suffer from an Obama administration, we can blame on the Democrats. If we roll over and let John McCain strengthen McCain-Feingold, sign off on Global Warming legislation, and clamp down on the blogosphere, we'll have only ourselves to blame.

That said, I will work like hell for the re-election of Norm Coleman and our various state-wide candidates.

Hacker Group Declares War On Scientology

2008-01-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

via Instapundit and NBC(SanFrancisco):

"We_are_anonymous._We_are_legion._We_do_not_forgive._We_do_not_forget._Expect_us."

OK, so maybe it is just a filter glitch at Dunn Bros.

2008-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Mitch Berg had trouble accessing the "Koolaid Report" last year, I couldn't view Instapundit.com, and now this:

Access has been Denied!
-
YOUR ORG NAME
Access to the page: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/424296 ... has been denied
for the following reason: Banned phrase found. You are seeing this error because
what you attempted to access appears to contain, or is labeled as containing,
material that has been deemed inappropriate. If you have any queries contact
your ICT Co-ordinator or Network Manager. Powered by DansGuardian

So now I can't view one of my primary English sources on all things Japanese, "JapanToday", from my local Dunn Bros. Coffee. As Japan Today doesn't fall into a strict, politically conservative (or liberal) category, the problem is probably just "DansGuardian's" overactive filter.

Apparently, the people to contact regarding this ongoing problem are:

Dunn_Bros. and Daniel Barron at author@dansguardian.org.

Friend's report from Iowa on the caucuses

2008-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

I received this e-mail this morning from a friend who taught English with me in China in 2006:

Most of us in Iowa can't wait for tonight to be over with. There has
been so much hype over the caucuses this year -- phone calls, commercials,
polls, commercials, people at the door, commercials, candidates visiting,
commercials. And did I mention commercials? Our phone is ringing off
the hook -- usually a recorded message, but often a befuddled volunteer who
can't read her script. Obama, Romney -- it doesn't matter which party
we're registered with, they all call. Our mailbox runneth over.
Tomorrow we'll send the whole circus on to NewHampshire! We really *DO* take it
seriously: I've seen Bill & Hill, Obama(twice), Edwards and Richardson.
Romney and McClain were both on our campus recently, but came while I was in
class. There are big crowds at all the events -- even when you subtract
all the news media. Three voters in this household all plan to caucus for
three different candidates tonight. It's the biggest show in town.
Hope you're all watching -- it's the only time Iowa makes the news.

Censorship and Coffee. . .I see a pattern here. . .

2007-12-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

They told us that if George Bush was reelected, political speech on the internet would be censored- and they were right!!

Mitch_Berg had a similar incident happen to him about a month ago (also at Dunn Bros. Coffee).

Does this look familiar to you?:

Access to the page: http://www.instapundit.com ... has been denied for the
following reason: Banned combination phrase found. You are seeing this error
because what you attempted to access appears to contain, or is labeled as
containing, material that has been deemed inappropriate. If you have any queries
contact your ICT Co-ordinator or Network Manager. Powered by DansGuardian

2007-12-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

Japan's Bloggers: Humble_Giants_of_the_Web

TOKYO -- Compared to the English-speaking world, the Japanese have gone blog
wild. They write Web logs at per capita rates that are off the global charts.

I didn't particularly like this part, though:

Blogging in Japan, though, is a far tamer beast than in the United States and
the rest of the English-speaking world. Japan's conformist culture has embraced a technology that Americans often use for abrasive self-promotion and refashioned
it as a soothingly nonconfrontational medium for getting along.

Otherwise a very interesting article.

Rest in peace, my dear Japanese friends

2007-11-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

In this photo-

Left: Kozue Miwa of Fukuoka Prefecture (in Kyushu)

Right: Taka Katayama Milligan of Tateyama-city, Chiba Prefecture

I used to sing in a Japanese ladies choir for two years. Two of our members would bring their mothers to listen to us rehearse.

They both passed away this year- the older one, Kozue, just last week.

I will miss them both dearly. . .

2007-11-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

It's been my position for some time now that we should allow gay men into the military, and kick_the_women_out. I'm sure there must be many women who contribute much on the battlefield, but I feel that they are more important to the Left as a propaganda tool.

Another reason US foreign service officers should be fired

2007-11-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

I've always thought that having a State Department in this country was kind of redundant- because we already have a UN General Assembly in New York to represent the various governments of the world.

And here's another_reason why most of our esteemed "diplomats" should be fired and their "Department" reorganized if not outright abolished . . . .

More here:
Panic_at_Foggy_Bottom & A_"Revolt"_at_the_State_Department?

Another reason I'm not ashamed to be a high school/college dropout

2007-10-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, when I finally get my undergraduate degree (and go on to grad school?), maybe I, too, can spew out stuff_like_this:

American Studies in the 21st Century: A Colloquium Series presents, "White Girls Behaving Badly: Reality T.V. and Gender Politics Post
9/11" with Zine Magubane.

Zine Magubane is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston College. She
recived her PhD from Harvard University.

Oooo . . . please allow me the honor of groveling in your spittle . . .
(I really need to get around to reading that_book on the pseudo-intellectual fluff that is a Harvard "education" . . .)

Postcolonial theory has shown that women function as 'boundary markers' of
empire.

( . . .and that's . . . about . . . it . . . )

This talk will draw a link between the proliferation of images of 'out of
control' young white women on reality TV and the manner in which gender and
gender roles are being discussed in this new age of empire. It will focus on the
reality TV shows /My Super Sweet Sixteen /and /Bridezilla/, showing how
anxieties about gender and power are continually produced and reproduced in
these shows about what we have now come to understand as iconic female rites of
passage. The talk will conclude with a discussion of the ways in which, to quote
Toni Morrison, an 'Africanist presence'

("Africanist presence"?! OK, now my neurons are over-heating . . .)

gets deployed in these discussions of white female rebellion, by contrasting
images of white 'out of control women' with images of African American women who
are engaged in seemingly similar behavior.

Ooohh, but things are not quite as they seem, as I'm sure we'll find out in this lecture!!!

"Sound of Hope" broadcasting to China

2007-10-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

"The SOH_Network is a new media company offering a wide spectrum of original audio content, including news, culture, talk shows, and commentaries. Our programming is underpinned with a search for the objective truth.
We have a refreshing look at modern day programming with a strong commitment from all team members to create interesting, responsible, and entertaining programs that enrich your knowledge, clarify your outlook, and leave you feeling it was well worth your time to listen.
With roots in our large team of Chinese National reporters we strive to bring to light what many other main stream media cannot, or will not report on in China. Our Mandarin and Cantonese speaking team provide original news directly from China, this gives the English SOH News Desk a unique opportunity to bring you an uncensored view of the region. Part of our role is to give a voice to those that have none, and to bring that voice to you.
For the real story on a diverse and growing range of interests, tune in to the SOH Network."

Bikers for a Free Burma event

2007-10-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

As long as they don't block traffic, I'm all for this:

"Important upcoming event! No biking necessary!
On Saturday, Oct. 13th Bikers for a Free Burma will host a rally and
bike ride in recognition of the gross human rights abuses taking place
in Burma and in solidarity with the brave people who have risked their
lives to make a statement against their government.
First, a bike march will leave around 12pm from outside Grandma's
Saloon and Grill at Seven Corners (1810 Washington Ave S,
Minneapolis). Bicyclists are encouraged to decorate their bikes or
carry signs for the seven mile ride along University Avenue to the
State Capitol. At 2pm we will rally on the steps of the Capitol after
the bicyclists arrive. Attendees will be addressed by leaders from
the Karen Community of Minnesota and other concerned leaders from the
Twin Cities.
Those who are not interested in the biking component are strongly
encouraged to still attend the rally at the Capitol. Those who don't
know much about the issue are also encouraged to come and learn.
People who have questions and/or are interested in
participating in the organizing effort should contact Tim
Harlan-Marks: THMfromMN@gmail.com or 763-226-9989 or Stephanie Weir:
stephanieweir@gmail.com or 248-379-2911. For more information, visit
bikersforafreeburma.org and see attached flyer.
In solidarity!
Bikers for a Free Burma"

Democratic Voice of Burma

2007-09-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've been woefully neglecting the peaceful protests by the Theravada Buddhist monks in Burma/Myanmar (now thuggishly put down).
At the very least, I should post the link to Democratic_Voice_of_Burma.
I remember reading an observation in an article/blog post somewhere that Burma's principle backer, the People's Republic of China, is woe to criticize the Burmese military junta's beating of Buddhist monks, since they themselves have been doing much the same thing in Tibet for decades now. . .

2007-09-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

In Florida, the belly_of_the_beast.

The heirs of Joseph Stalin strike again

2007-09-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

from the_AP_via_AOL_News:

The protesters gathered earlier Saturday near the White House in Lafayette
Park with signs saying "End the war now" and calling for President Bush's impeachment. The rally was organized by
the ANSWER Coalition and other groups.

Organizers estimated that nearly 100,000 people attended the rally and
march. That number could not be confirmed; police did not give their own
estimate. A permit for the march obtained in advance by the ANSWER Coalition had
projected 10,000.

Christopher_Hitchens explains (2005 Slate article):

I suppose that it is possible that he has never before come across
"International ANSWER," the group run by the "Worker's World" party [Wikipedia:
"Many of ANSWER's leaders were members of Workers World Party
(WWP) at the time of ANSWER's founding, and are current members of the Party for
Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Marxist-Leninist
organization that formed in 2004."-Chris] and fronted by Ramsey Clark,
which openly supports Kim Jong-il, Fidel Castro, Slobodan Milosevic, and the
"resistance" in Afghanistan and Iraq, with Clark himself finding extra time to
volunteer as attorney for the génocidaires in Rwanda. Quite a "wide range of
progressive political objectives" indeed, if that's the sort of thing you like.
However, a dip into any database could have furnished Janofsky with
well-researched and well-written articles by David Corn and Marc Cooper—to
mention only two radical left journalists—who have exposed "International
ANSWER" as a front for (depending on the day of the week) fascism, Stalinism,
and jihadism.

The group self-lovingly calling itself "United for Peace and Justice" is by
no means "narrow" in its "antiwar focus" but rather represents a very extended
alliance between the Old and the New Left, some of it honorable and some of it
redolent of the World Youth Congresses that used to bring credulous priests and
fellow-traveling hacks together to discuss "peace" in East Berlin or Bucharest.
Just to give you an example, from one who knows the sectarian makeup of the Left
very well, I can tell you that the Worker's World Party—Ramsey Clark's core
outfit—is the product of a split within the Trotskyist movement. These were the
ones who felt that the Trotskyist majority, in 1956, was wrong to denounce the
Russian invasion of Hungary. The WWP is the direct, lineal product of that
depraved rump. If the "United for Peace and Justice" lot want to sink their
differences with such riffraff and mount a joint demonstration, then they invite
some principled political criticism on their own account. And those who just tag
along … well, they just tag along.

Looks like all-out war in 2008 in St. Paul during the Republican National Convention. . .

2007-09-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

So many bicycles, so little time: Part_II

2007-09-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

So many bicycles, so_little_time . . .

Day at the Fair / Why We Fight

2007-08-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I got my own taste of left-wing thuggery yesterday at the Minnesota State_Fair.

As I've recently jumped on the Rudy_Guiliani campaign, I spent most of yesterday at the Fair with my Rudy_t-shirt on, meeting and greeting, working the MN Republican booth and even dropping by the MN Democratic-Farmer_Labor party booth for a friendly chat.

Now, interacting with most of the Fairgoers has been and still is a blast for me. I thoroughly enjoy chatting with people from all walks of life, including even some of the Democrats.

But I had to deal with a young male hipster yesterday who first accosted our balloon guy and then lurched to bear-hug me when I tried to intervene.

It did freak me out a bit, and it really brought home all the brutish behavior I'd been hearing about coming from the Left, like:

"Laborers for Kerry" Hoffa-thugs assaulting some College_Republicans at the Fair in 2004. . .

and Democratic operatives slashing_the_tires of Republican get-out-the-vote vans that year in Wisconsin.

Which brings me back to why I'm in this fight (and why I swung to the right 3 years ago). It wasn't so much the "attractiveness" of the Right or anger at my moderate friends in the MN_Independence_Party. It was the freakish behavior of this modern-day version of the Democratic Party of my youth- the moral(/literal/historical/scientific) relativism, the moral equivalence (e.g. between the Janjaweed militia and their Black African female victims in Sudan), the boorish behavior, and the batshit moonbattery.

No matter how outnumbered we are, no matter how many elections we lose, we cannot afford to give in to these people. Surrender is not an option. Being "intimidated" or otherwise "burned-out" is no excuse for inaction. We must press on.

the downside of biofuels . . .

2007-08-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

It all started with a post by Jeff_Goldstein at protein_wisdom., and today I've been printing out a lot of related articles (and killing trees) on the subject of how bio-fuels are bad for the environment, so I figured I might as well post some of the links:
(UK)Telegraph:_Orang-utans_home_destroyed_for_bio-diesel

oilcrash.com:_THE_DIRTY_TRUTH_ABOUT_BIOFUELS

Christian_Science_Monitor:_Faced_with_soaring_oil_prices,_Indonesia_turns_to_biodiesel

(UK)Timesonline:_The_fututre's_black_for_orangutans

(Irish)Independent:_Green_fuel_drives_out_orangutans

NewScientist:_Forests_paying_the_price_for_biofuels

And of course lefties like Indybay and CommonDreams.org claim that it's all the right-wing capitalists fault:

They’re coming to me because I’m their environmentalist friend and they all
want to know one thing: how they can make a buck off the surge in interest in
combating global warming.
In a way, that’s a sign that the environmental movement has finally arrived.
After decades of struggling to convince the titans of finance that protecting
the planet and making money weren’t mutually exclusive, the tycoons are now
coming to us.
But many of these capitalist converts need watching. While Wall Street’s
eco-splurge has generated a flood of financing for legitimately clean ventures
like wind and solar power, it’s also spawned extremely dangerous projects that
are painted green by their unscrupulous backers, but that at their core are as
black as, well, coal.