neo-neocon � Blog Archive � No higher duty: “You’re a reporter!”

A very interesting post over at neo-neocon about journalistic amorality.

No higher duty: “You’re a reporter!”

Poll finds rift between minorities

"The nation's three largest minority groups — African Americans, Hispanics and Asians — view one another with deep suspicion..."

So. Who should I start calling racist?

Being Chinese myself, I can safely say, from the experience I had with those of my race, the Chinese are the most racist people I've interacted with. The thing is, they're just very good at hiding it--knowing when to speak about it and when to pretend to be courteous and polite.

I actually distrust Chinese people (older generations) the most because I know how two-faced they can be. It's all about "mianzi," literally "face," which is the concept of saving face. The depth to which they would go for it is the thing I hate most about the culture in general. Many times I've seen my elders talk nicely about a person to their face only to say bad things afterwards. Lying, back-stabbing, gossiping, it's all fine as long as it doesn't effect your reputation. This isn't, by far, an exclusive fault to the Chinese. It's just that this is the culture where I've witness it happen with regularity (well, no duh).

Race I trust the most? Same as is mentioned in the article: whites. This actually might be some kind of side-effect of all that one-sided racism as whites become hyper cautious in dealing with minorities. It's kind of sad and definitely unfair. A jerk is a jerk no matter what race, and being a minority does not make one entitled to a all purpose race-card.

Ah, for calling my own race a bunch of hypocrites, am I a racist? But wait, all my friends are Chinese!

A Dad's Christmas Gift

Over at Hot Air, video of a Christmas gift that made both my eyes and nose run. So touching, a very Merry Christmas indeed for those girls.

Hot Air Video: The best Christmas gift ever

Boys, 11 and 14, Charged With Sex Assault on Woman, 60

From FOXNews.

The whole thing is baffling in itself without this tidbit:

A 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy were standing outside the victim's house serving as lookouts, Stanfield said, but they have not been charged because they did not break into the house.

Something tells me this was a horrible, horrible dare. Or even some sick revenge thing. But really, this deserves a "WTF" label--so much so, I'm creating one.

IMAO: lolterizt! Part 27

More lolterizt! fun.

IMAO: lolterizt! Part 27

The List of Things That Offend Muslims

The Amboy Times: The List of Things That Offend Muslims

An ongoing list, I assure you.

We Christians also get offended at many stupid things, as is true for any group in general, but at least, to my knowledge, not to the depth that Muslims do.

Firsthand account of the Von Maur shooting

Exactly as the title says.

The authenticity is, of course, unproven yet, but who am I to second guess personal accounts at this moment. I am one of those supportive of the Second Amendment and would be right in line training to get a license if only I could afford it (or feel up to tackling California's strict gun laws).

Even if I won't be allow to carry it anywhere that mattered, having one in the house sounds good considering the attempted break-ins we had and the reports of theft in our neighborhood. We don't have a man in the house (sadly, the manliest one is probably me), except temporarily when my uncle is around, so there are security concerns.

I would definitely want to even the odds in the event that a home invader comes armed.

The Teddy Bear that Embarrassed Sudan

We need to hear more of this.

If rational, moral, moderate Muslims speak up more, things would be better. I've always believed that only Muslims who aren't truly serious about their faith are the good ones. My teachers were Muslim, my neighbors, and some of my friends. But they were mostly cultural Muslims on the same level as cultural Christians in the U.S. that go to church only twice a year (Christmas and Easter, mostly). These people are very nice, wonderful people who are okay with befriending and associating with kafirs on a daily basis. They don't have strong opinions about their faith nor the faith of others and don't listen to most fatwas.

If they were Christian, I would wonder about their salvation.

Thinking about it, it's probably what most people feel about other people with strong opinions or beliefs that differ from their own. Only, it seems, when regarding Islam, there's always a touch of self-preservation at hand.

Girl Shot 6 Times While Protecting Mother

Wow, truly an angel. Speaking of angels, one must have been looking over the daughter and mother that day.

Girl, 7, Shot 6 Times While Protecting Mother

Tillie, who was armed with a handgun, shot Parker in the side of the head and in the arm after Ford stopped for gas, but before he could fire a third shot, Goggins jumped over the seat between her mother and Tillie, begging him to stop, the Detroit News reported. Without hesitation, Tillie reportedly pumped six shots into the child.

It's amazing that no one died. God bless that child.

lolterizt! 25 and 26

Heh, missed posting 25 a bit back. Here's lolterizt! 25 and 26.

I don't know why I do this to myself...

After reading through stupid in the last post, I had to go on and see stupid.

Oak Grove Tree-Sit Anniversary Protest (zombietime)

Don't these people don't have jobs? Friends and family? Who are sane? A raison d'etre that don't involve turning into juvenile monkeys? (Rhetorical questions, I know.)

I won't be the slightest bit surprised if they start flinging poo at spectators.

The 2nd Annual Worst Quotes From The Daily Kos (2007)

Over at Right Wing News, The 2nd Annual Worst Quotes From The Daily Kos (2007 Edition).

I would laugh for a while before despair overcomes me. My favorite would be #5 by slw0606 in which I wonder if he'll realize how stupidly paranoid he sounds by the time his BDS recedes (if ever... gah, the despair). Excerpted from the list:

5) "I have never in my 50 years of life been more frightened then I am now. I have seen the arrogance of this White House and the massive damage done to our country. But the Katrina-size storm clouds are gathering folks. If we do not wake up now and flood Congress to impeach the President and Vice President, one year from now, Daily Kos may be banned and Markos himself may be disappeared, in a federal prison somewhere.

....This is deadly serious folks. This is not just another diary. We ignore this threat at our own peril. I would suggest even I in writing articles like this and the many writers at Daily Kos are personally at risk of being arrested in a future dictatorial United States. The government will use these writings as an excuse to put us away.

....I say WAKE UP Daily Kos!! If the people at Daily Kos cannot take this seriously and try and do something about it, then the United States, as a free country IS doomed. Enjoy your freedom to read and write at such sites as Daily Kos, because that freedom will be taken away WHEN Bush declares martial law."

When in Sudan...

Do as the Sudanese do, or get... jailed over a teddy bear?

Thousands of Islamic fanatics wielding knives demand jailed teddy bear teacher is executed

Not all cultures are created equal, especially ones without this little something better cultures like to call "common sense."

I am pretty surprised they didn't go threaten the kid who named the bear in the first place.

Update: Great news, the teacher is pardoned. I still find it awful that she had gotten jailed at all, as well as being practically kicked out of the country. However, it is most likely better for her to be back in UK where she would be (somewhat) safer.

Even after all she went through, she had the grace to be thankful and positive about her time in Sudan. While this says more about her character than it does Sudan, sometimes I wonder if it's really how she felt. I know that I wouldn't be so gracious, even if I would still be outwardly positive to avoid dragging the matter further. Although... is this a matter that shouldn't be so easily forgotten or ignored?

IMAO: lolterizt! Part 24

More lolterizt! fun at IMAO.

lolterizt! Part 24

Ya, think?

Artists too frightened to tackle radical Islam

The article speaks for itself--and the comments too.

Public Calender Ownage

Snapped Shot has a screen cap of Ace of Spades HQ's perfect win over the sickening Olympia Peace & Justice Society.

It's beautiful.

Someone please think of the children--less stupidly

AdelaideNow: Santa ho,ho,ho gets heave-ho

Facepalm.

Man in India Marries Dog

Couldn't he just, like, raise a puppy and keep it happy?

Man in India Marries Dog to Atone for Stoning to Death Mating Canines

My first thought: I hope, with all my being, he didn't consummate the union.

Hair camera trigger finger needed

Every time I see the one with the football player just about to crash into the photographer, I smile. The look on the photographer's face is the perfect expression of "o shi--"

25 Photographs Taken at the Exact Right Time

Is she bald under there?

This has little to do with religion as I believe the girl is just using it as a convenient excuse. The comments are great, and therefore with hope that not all is lost in London.

Hairdresser sued in row about headscarf

She already failed 24 interviews and, "I decided to sue this hairdresser because she upset me the most. I felt so down and got so depressed, I thought if I am not going to defend myself, who is?" Why would she want to be a hairdresser if she wouldn't even show her own hair?

It reminded me of a conversation I had with my house-mate yesterday when we caught a bit of America's Next Top Model. There was this Christian girl, apparently a very pious one, that said in those small interview things that she wanted to save her body for her future husband. Immediately we wondered then why the heck was she aspiring to be a model, via a reality show no less. Did she never watch ANTM and what would go on there? Did she not know that being a serious model would clash against many of her convictions?

But at least she went ahead with it and didn't sue anyone if she had been turned down because she refused to disrobe.

Mafia '10 Commandments'

Rather than getting a religious vibe, I found it much more clubhouse-ish.

FOXNews.com - Mafia '10 Commandments' Found in Italy After Arrests

The list bars mobsters from hanging out in bars, from befriending police and being late for appointments. It also bars them from "taking possession of money that belong to others or other families."

How to treat women also features in the decalogue.

"You shall not look at wives of our friends," says one entry. "You shall respect your wife," says another. However, the Mafia comes first, as the fifth "commandment" orders a mobster to "be available for Cosa Nostra at any moment, even if your wife is about to give birth."

I almost expected the list to go on and state: "You shall never bring your wife to the Cosa Nostra main house, for they have cooties."

Video: Sarkozy’s Speech Before Congress - Say Anything

Over at Say Anything Blog, a video of Sarkozy’s Speech Before Congress.

Rob also made an interesting observation:

What’s particularly interesting is that, years ago when the Bush presidency was new and Iraq was a fresh issue, the left told us constantly that George Bush was making America less popular in the world. Yet during the President’s term in office three of our traditional allies (Canada, Germany and now France) elected leaders that displaced virulently anti-Bush and anti-American leaders with people more of Sarkozy’s temperament (Stephen Harper in Canada and Angela Merkel in Germany).

Sort of almost seems like...that whole “less popular America” thing just isn’t true.

A Thousand Words

And a little something to balance the negativity of the last post.

Michael Yon : Thanks and Praise

It's things like this that give me hope in humanity. There are bad people no matter their beliefs, culture, location, etc, but in same there are good people as well.

God bless our soldiers and the people of Iraq.

Insecure, much?

This is actually slightly surprising given the number of people sentenced (and that it's on Jawa rather than a more obscure/smaller island). Usually Indonesia's Muslim community would at least make an effort to appear tolerant on public level.

Via Dhimmi Watch: Indonesia sentences 41 Christians to five years in prison for proselytizing

But I guess it's true that things have been sliding more into sharia law these days. I won't say that it's more radicalized--churches have been burned and Christians either killed or jailed from way back, but it had all been done "quietly." Now, the radical Muslims just come out and say/do it outright.

There have been tons of Crusades done in Indonesia (attended a few of them myself), many pretty high profile, but it seems that once you mention anything unpleasant about Islam the radical Muslims throw a hissy-fit.

Bibles Banned From Beijing Olympic Village

Why am I'm not surprised? Roundup at Pajamas Media.

During my recent 2 month long stay in Beijing this summer, I got pretty sick about all the hype for the 2008 Beijing Olympics--they even have it in their Chinese learning textbooks.

This would just make me feel even better for boycotting it.

IMAO: lolterizt! Part 22

As if you couldn't guess from the title, part 22 of IMAO's lolterizt!

I don' think that word means what you think it means...

Boy: Friendship with teacher led to sex

When you end up having sex, that teacher doesn't want to be just your friend. An interesting part:

The Mexican official who captured the pair with the aid of a GPS-enabled cell phone said the boy shed no tears while Peterson wept as the two parted Friday night at the police station.

"She said to the youngster that she loved him and would always love him in her heart," said Alfredo Arenas Moreno of the Baja California state police.

Arenas said the woman admitted having a sexual relationship with the boy but felt it was unfair that she would be branded a predator and separated from her 8-year-old daughter.

"She said her life was basically over, but if she had a chance to do things differently she wouldn't," he told the AP.

"Unfair she would be branded a predator..." In what way is that unfair? Because she "loved" the boy? Because she's a mother? Can you imagine the outrage if it was a male teacher with a female student?

And maybe I'm disillusioned by anything from AP (and on Yahoo! News, no less), but the report sounds oddly sympathetic to the teacher for some reason.... And to the illegal immigrant angle of the story.

MM's Reader Photo of the Day

Superb in its simplicity.

International Giant vs. Local Laws

Yahoo! executives defended their company's role in China's usual antics of jailing people with vocal "dissenting" opinions. I'm pretty much against China's regime (communism in general, really), but I find that things become a bit complicated on the smaller scale:

He reiterated that regret Tuesday and contended that Yahoo employees in China had little choice but to comply with the government's demands.

"I cannot ask our local employees to resist lawful demands and put their own freedom at risk, even if, in my personal view, the local laws are overbroad," Callahan said.

Lantos rejected that argument.

"I do not believe that America's best and brightest companies should be playing integral roles in China's notorious and brutal political repression apparatus," he said.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., compared Yahoo's cooperation with the Chinese governnment to companies that cooperated with Nazi Germany during World War II.

Comparing China to Nazi Germany is a bit overboard I would say, and I have a pet peeve against having atrocities committed at that time leveled down to suit whatever with lesser degrees of genocide ("Bush is Hitler," for instance, makes me want to both laugh and punch the speaker).

Aside from that, I have to say I would agree that companies, particularly international ones, do need to comply with local laws. Think about it, no company should be above laws set by the government it set roots in. This is unfortunate, to say the least, if the government is like that of China, but what if something similar happens in America?

Imagine a foreign company that might prove a real threat to America's security and whose employees have the right to refuse subpoenas to turn over information.

I might be biased on how much power monster companies can wield against certain governments, but the thought of having this power turned against America is unsettling.

As for Yahoo! and Google China rolling over for China, if they really cared about freedom of speech, in its entirety, they should take their business elsewhere. I believe their defense is that more information provided to the masses is better than none at all--but I disagree in a case such as China. Handing out seemingly free roam of the internet to their people is just a placating tactic while the Chinese government asserts control behind the curtains.

Keep your oppressed people content and comfortable enough and they'll less likely rebel.

My Book to Help America

Scans of a 1942 wartime children's book over at Iowahawk.

Some pretty good advice there and not just for children either. Imagine trying to get that book out in today's political climate.

From a purely artistic perspective, I was pleasantly surprised at the nice usage of hierarchy. And for the first parts (up until the lengthy explanation of war bonds) the pacing flowed really well. Better check out Munro Leaf when I get the chance to.

Dump dump dump

Just a separate little blog to dump political and religious links of interest. Mainly to keep my main personal blog more light-hearted and less offensive--heh.