Tuesday, August 31, 2004
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Ooooh, this is goooooooood. It's an Indian perspective on how the Republicans and Pakistanis manipulate the American public by producing al-Qaeda members. Here's a teaser, the Pakistanis produced Ahmed Khalfhan Ghailani, the man wanted for the Kenyon and Tanzanean embassy bombings only just before the Democratic national convention. Are the Pakis that good? Nah, Ghailani was living in Gujrat for months. I wouldn't call that lucky, either. I'd call it craven, cynical media manipulation.
Why'd they do that? To quote Mr. Raman, the author of the above article:
"Bush and Tricky Mush (President Musharaff) need each other. And they both need bin Laden. Bush for winning re-election. Mush for getting US support for his planned violation of the Pakistani constitution in order to be able to continue as the COAS (Chief of Staff of the Army) after December 31."
I'll spell out Mr. Raman's conclusion (at the risk of being redundant). Pakistan and the USA only arrest al-Qaeda members to score political points. To paraphrase the oft mentioned conspiracy theory, bin Laden will be captured the day before the USA Presidential election.
Why'd they do that? To quote Mr. Raman, the author of the above article:
"Bush and Tricky Mush (President Musharaff) need each other. And they both need bin Laden. Bush for winning re-election. Mush for getting US support for his planned violation of the Pakistani constitution in order to be able to continue as the COAS (Chief of Staff of the Army) after December 31."
I'll spell out Mr. Raman's conclusion (at the risk of being redundant). Pakistan and the USA only arrest al-Qaeda members to score political points. To paraphrase the oft mentioned conspiracy theory, bin Laden will be captured the day before the USA Presidential election.
Friday, August 27, 2004
|
Hello Gentile Readers,
Today’s entry is brief “talking points” style memo on why the USA PATRIOT act is evil. It is evil because:
- It allows random arrest and detention without hearings or trials for anyone or any group designated by the president as enemy combatants.
- It allows retroactive prosecutions
- It allows concealment of presidential records.
- It permits secret military tribunals for presidentially- designated "TERRORISTS (what-ever-the-hell that means)”.
- It legalizes "Sneak-n-Peak" searches and seizures of Home, Property, Vehicle and any personal property. This allows law enforcement to enter, search, and seize any of the above WITHOUT tell you.
- It allows the infiltration and surveillance of private citizens, private business records and other materials without proof or probable cause.
- It allows the infiltration and surveillance of legal, religious, labor, and political organizations (ironically enough, this includes the NRA).
By extension, if the Act is evil, then aren’t its proponents? Don’t answer that. I have a theory (surprise, surprise); I will get to it in a later blog.
For now, consider yourself armed for verbal-judo take downs of the ignorant, misguided, and Republicans who believe the USA PATRIOT act makes us safer – it doesn’t. It may help protect us from Islamic terrorists, but that’s debatable. What isn’t debatable is the USA PATRIOT Act steals our rights and makes us vulnerable to totalitarianism – in short, it makes us less safe from being terrorized by our own government.
Click here for a more etensive list of why the Act is bad.
Today’s entry is brief “talking points” style memo on why the USA PATRIOT act is evil. It is evil because:
- It allows random arrest and detention without hearings or trials for anyone or any group designated by the president as enemy combatants.
- It allows retroactive prosecutions
- It allows concealment of presidential records.
- It permits secret military tribunals for presidentially- designated "TERRORISTS (what-ever-the-hell that means)”.
- It legalizes "Sneak-n-Peak" searches and seizures of Home, Property, Vehicle and any personal property. This allows law enforcement to enter, search, and seize any of the above WITHOUT tell you.
- It allows the infiltration and surveillance of private citizens, private business records and other materials without proof or probable cause.
- It allows the infiltration and surveillance of legal, religious, labor, and political organizations (ironically enough, this includes the NRA).
By extension, if the Act is evil, then aren’t its proponents? Don’t answer that. I have a theory (surprise, surprise); I will get to it in a later blog.
For now, consider yourself armed for verbal-judo take downs of the ignorant, misguided, and Republicans who believe the USA PATRIOT act makes us safer – it doesn’t. It may help protect us from Islamic terrorists, but that’s debatable. What isn’t debatable is the USA PATRIOT Act steals our rights and makes us vulnerable to totalitarianism – in short, it makes us less safe from being terrorized by our own government.
Click here for a more etensive list of why the Act is bad.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
|Friday, August 20, 2004
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I suspect we've all seen the ads. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have been hard hitting and scathingly critical of Kerry. But their claims are bullshit, but don't take my word for it. The Daily Kos wrote a great summary piece of the NYT's expose of the group. Read it. Disseminate it. Don't let the unthinking Republicans erroneously believe that just because Kerry is a Democrat, he's a coward, or a liar, or a traitor.
I know, I am asking too much. Mea culpa. Tough shit though, the future of American social democracy is at stake. The risks are too great to allow the second coming of Bush/Cheney.
I know, I am asking too much. Mea culpa. Tough shit though, the future of American social democracy is at stake. The risks are too great to allow the second coming of Bush/Cheney.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
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CHINA TRAVELOG - PART 2
SUNDAY 7/11/09 – in Changchun
We touched down at a very primitive airport. As we flew over the city, the ground looked vaguely like rural KY. But as we got closer to landing the cornfields, rice patties, old school industrial building, and run down public housing became evident. Our landing included cracked, grass/weed-ridden runway surrounded by agricultural fields. While taxiing to the terminal, saw I five Korean War era MIG fighter jets parked on the tarmac. Later, after seeing anti-aircraft guns, and modern MIG fighters, we were told that Changchun only has one international airport. Actually, it only has one airport…and it’s a military airport.
Passengers got off the plane via stairs to ground level. There were three police/military men on the tarmac between the plane and the bus. All passengers boarded an ancient, white bus with only three seats (including the driver). We got double takes from every one on board the bus since we were the first ones on, and the only Westerners. It took a few minutes to reach the terminal. We were parked quite a ways away, despite the fact that there was nothing between the terminal and the bus but empty tarmac.
We went in to the very small airport (shockingly small for a city of 4 million). The building’s exterior was blue and white, its interior drab, green and gray. It looked like it was built during the Vietnam era and hasn’t been repaired since. The terminal was poorly lit with very high ceilings. We lined up to go through immigration. This was my first experience with Chinese lines. After 30+ hours of traveling, it took real effort not to insist that they respect my Western-style personal space.
There were no problems at immigration – the international terminal was just one room. The baggage conveyer was only steps beyond the immigration desk. It rattled noisily and looked older than me. On the way out, security personnel check your baggage claim ticket against the bags you are carrying (that was a first).
We were met in a small waiting area by Colin Dillard, the plant controller; Colin is a Brit who has been with the company for years and lived all over the world. He was tall, lanky wearing oversized, 80’s era wire glasses and his thin hands shook very limply. He had light brown, unruly hair, which mostly hid protruding ears that spoke of a tormented childhood.
As we are all gathering, a monsoon style rain kicked up. It was raining in sheets. Colin ran to get the driver and mini-van. Chief Wiggum, Krusty, and I loaded the van while the driver never left his seat. I wound up with torn pants, sitting in the van soaked from my brief exposure to the deluge. The 30-minute drive from the airport to downtown Changchun was spent with Colin telling us about his life.
Holy shit! Traffic in China ia a trip: Lanes are merely suggestions, stop lights and signs are ignored, pedestrians cross at any time. Chinese drivers are simultaneously aggressive and defensive. The result of which is a chaotic interplay where traffic continually moves at a moderate pace. Driving in China is not for the faint of heart.
We stayed at the Day Inn hotel in downtown Changchun. It was actually a nice hotel – much to my surprise. I have stay at some real shit hole Days Inns in the US. When we went to check in, the staff had no record of our reservations. This caused Colin to fly into a tizzy. He is quite entertaining that way (imagine a string of "aaws" and "yeah, yeah, yeah" in a thick Liverpool accent accompanied by dramitic, jerky body flourishes).
After check in, we had 3 hours to kill till dinner. We thought dinner would be the six of us, but eight additional people showed up – most of the finance team and one other Brit expat, Gareth. We had a couple rounds of drinks in the hotel bar. I wound up sitting next to Colin, Gareth, and Joe, a Chinese manager and a fluent English speaker. I barely got a word in edge-wise as Gareth and Colin rattled on and on.
From the hotel bar, we went to a Taiwanese restaurant. Colin ordered for everyone (all 14). It wound up being similar to Japanese hibachi-style cooking. The food was good, but greasy. The pepper steak was fantastic…my only complaint was "too much grease". I drank way too much considering I hadn’t really slept for 30+ hours. The Brits kept filling my glass.
After we finished eating the plant general manager joined us. Dave, the general manager, and Colin are fellow travelers - Brit expats from Liverpool. He had a small meal, a few beers, and contributed to the conversation by dominating it. He didn’t look like a powerful man, though he was. His fine, light brown hair parted to the side was greasy and stringy from a long day. He wore the same ‘80’s era oversize glasses atop a long thin nose that looked like it had been crookedly smashed against his face – Born that way or broken during a ruckus youth, I don’t know. But the large right-forearm, Chinese-character tattoo, multiple gold necklaces, and hard drinking suggested a wild past.
After dinner, the group parted ways. Most of the Chinese went home. Most of my colleagues went to the hotel. Dave, Colin, Gareth, Joe, Krusty, and I went to a very nice western-style bar and had a nightcap, one beer and home – to the hotel.
SUNDAY 7/11/09 – in Changchun
We touched down at a very primitive airport. As we flew over the city, the ground looked vaguely like rural KY. But as we got closer to landing the cornfields, rice patties, old school industrial building, and run down public housing became evident. Our landing included cracked, grass/weed-ridden runway surrounded by agricultural fields. While taxiing to the terminal, saw I five Korean War era MIG fighter jets parked on the tarmac. Later, after seeing anti-aircraft guns, and modern MIG fighters, we were told that Changchun only has one international airport. Actually, it only has one airport…and it’s a military airport.
Passengers got off the plane via stairs to ground level. There were three police/military men on the tarmac between the plane and the bus. All passengers boarded an ancient, white bus with only three seats (including the driver). We got double takes from every one on board the bus since we were the first ones on, and the only Westerners. It took a few minutes to reach the terminal. We were parked quite a ways away, despite the fact that there was nothing between the terminal and the bus but empty tarmac.
We went in to the very small airport (shockingly small for a city of 4 million). The building’s exterior was blue and white, its interior drab, green and gray. It looked like it was built during the Vietnam era and hasn’t been repaired since. The terminal was poorly lit with very high ceilings. We lined up to go through immigration. This was my first experience with Chinese lines. After 30+ hours of traveling, it took real effort not to insist that they respect my Western-style personal space.
There were no problems at immigration – the international terminal was just one room. The baggage conveyer was only steps beyond the immigration desk. It rattled noisily and looked older than me. On the way out, security personnel check your baggage claim ticket against the bags you are carrying (that was a first).
We were met in a small waiting area by Colin Dillard, the plant controller; Colin is a Brit who has been with the company for years and lived all over the world. He was tall, lanky wearing oversized, 80’s era wire glasses and his thin hands shook very limply. He had light brown, unruly hair, which mostly hid protruding ears that spoke of a tormented childhood.
As we are all gathering, a monsoon style rain kicked up. It was raining in sheets. Colin ran to get the driver and mini-van. Chief Wiggum, Krusty, and I loaded the van while the driver never left his seat. I wound up with torn pants, sitting in the van soaked from my brief exposure to the deluge. The 30-minute drive from the airport to downtown Changchun was spent with Colin telling us about his life.
Holy shit! Traffic in China ia a trip: Lanes are merely suggestions, stop lights and signs are ignored, pedestrians cross at any time. Chinese drivers are simultaneously aggressive and defensive. The result of which is a chaotic interplay where traffic continually moves at a moderate pace. Driving in China is not for the faint of heart.
We stayed at the Day Inn hotel in downtown Changchun. It was actually a nice hotel – much to my surprise. I have stay at some real shit hole Days Inns in the US. When we went to check in, the staff had no record of our reservations. This caused Colin to fly into a tizzy. He is quite entertaining that way (imagine a string of "aaws" and "yeah, yeah, yeah" in a thick Liverpool accent accompanied by dramitic, jerky body flourishes).
After check in, we had 3 hours to kill till dinner. We thought dinner would be the six of us, but eight additional people showed up – most of the finance team and one other Brit expat, Gareth. We had a couple rounds of drinks in the hotel bar. I wound up sitting next to Colin, Gareth, and Joe, a Chinese manager and a fluent English speaker. I barely got a word in edge-wise as Gareth and Colin rattled on and on.
From the hotel bar, we went to a Taiwanese restaurant. Colin ordered for everyone (all 14). It wound up being similar to Japanese hibachi-style cooking. The food was good, but greasy. The pepper steak was fantastic…my only complaint was "too much grease". I drank way too much considering I hadn’t really slept for 30+ hours. The Brits kept filling my glass.
After we finished eating the plant general manager joined us. Dave, the general manager, and Colin are fellow travelers - Brit expats from Liverpool. He had a small meal, a few beers, and contributed to the conversation by dominating it. He didn’t look like a powerful man, though he was. His fine, light brown hair parted to the side was greasy and stringy from a long day. He wore the same ‘80’s era oversize glasses atop a long thin nose that looked like it had been crookedly smashed against his face – Born that way or broken during a ruckus youth, I don’t know. But the large right-forearm, Chinese-character tattoo, multiple gold necklaces, and hard drinking suggested a wild past.
After dinner, the group parted ways. Most of the Chinese went home. Most of my colleagues went to the hotel. Dave, Colin, Gareth, Joe, Krusty, and I went to a very nice western-style bar and had a nightcap, one beer and home – to the hotel.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
|
CHINA TRAVELOG - PART 1
Today’s entry flows from my leaving on Friday July 9 to arriving in Changchun, China on Sunday July 11.
Enjoy – the witting style is really rather rough. Trying to find a better way of presenting this is responsible for my delay. In the end I gave up. I hope you enjoy it none-the-less.
Here is a little background: I went to Changchun, China for three weeks (July 9 – 30, 2004) for work. I traveled with five other people. They were all colleagues. Their names have been changed to protect the innocent. My psuedonimed-traveling companions were:
Chief Wiggum
Krusty
Abu
Patty
Selma
Friday July 9, 2004
PASSPORT STRUGGLE – I received my passport w/ Chinese visa at 11:00 am. I was supposed to get it on Tuesday. My flight was at 6:00pm that day. UPS gave me the run-around and sleepless nights. They said I used the wrong zip code, never mind that Abu used the same zip and got his visa without any problems.
FLIGHT – Left MKE at 6:00 PM flying NWA first class to LAX. Was very nice to fly first class – even if I wore Chief Wiggum’s ginger ale for most of the flight.
LAYOVER – We got to LAX at 8:00 PM local time, spent 4 hours in the airport due to a layover meeting our midnight connection on Asian Airlines to Seoul, South Korea. Spent the layover in a bar/grill called the Daily Grind(?) – Krusty met 2 friends from grad school. I had my last western meal (a cheese (cheddar) burger and fries topped off with 3 frosty Sierra Nevada Pale Ales) – it was far from delicious, but despite the meal’s ennui I found a certain pleasure I could not deny…thanks to anticipating 3 weeks of meals I could not pronounce (or perhaps even digest).
FLIGHT – LAX to Seoul : In a nutshell - 12 hours, shity seat, annoying neighbors. When I boarded the plane, I sat down next to an elderly Asian couple. In very broken English, he said, "Don’t fit?" while laughing. The little shit was right. I don’t fit in economy seats. It was a very long 12 hours.
LAYOVER – Seoul, 4:10 am on Sunday. Airport terminal was empty. The damn International Dateline stole my Saturday. My bitterness and I slept for ½ hour. Finding I couldn’t sleep in an empty airport terminal, I watched a really bad direct to video action movie on the Korean "Super Action" channel. The movie was in English, starred Martin Sheen and Angie Everheart as secret government agents posing as models to take down a fiendish criminal using a Russian scientist to create a biological agent that would wipe out humanity.
Around 7:30 AM people began filtering into our wing of the airport – they where the shopkeepers opening for Sunday morning business. I felt vaguely offended, as though they were invading our territory. After all, Chief Wiggum, Krusty, Abu and I had made ourselves at home for the last three hours.
FLIGHT – Seoul to Changchun. Every one on the plane looked at us with mild surprise. Me and my 3 companions were the only westerners on the flight. It was a 2 hour flight and served a meal – including packaged kimchi (terrible), Korean Red Pepper Paste (strange – sweet and mildly spicy). Noodles that tasted vaguely like pesto. Raw Salmon fillet with raw potato, raw onion, and lemon (I didn’t try it), Orange juice, coffee, and a Strawberry pie (there was no strawberry, and it wasn’t a pie, it was a tasteless cookie with a vague strawberry flavored cream).
The end for now. Next time I will provide more details on my merry adventures in the Middle Kingdom.
Ta ta for now.
Today’s entry flows from my leaving on Friday July 9 to arriving in Changchun, China on Sunday July 11.
Enjoy – the witting style is really rather rough. Trying to find a better way of presenting this is responsible for my delay. In the end I gave up. I hope you enjoy it none-the-less.
Here is a little background: I went to Changchun, China for three weeks (July 9 – 30, 2004) for work. I traveled with five other people. They were all colleagues. Their names have been changed to protect the innocent. My psuedonimed-traveling companions were:
Chief Wiggum
Krusty
Abu
Patty
Selma
Friday July 9, 2004
PASSPORT STRUGGLE – I received my passport w/ Chinese visa at 11:00 am. I was supposed to get it on Tuesday. My flight was at 6:00pm that day. UPS gave me the run-around and sleepless nights. They said I used the wrong zip code, never mind that Abu used the same zip and got his visa without any problems.
FLIGHT – Left MKE at 6:00 PM flying NWA first class to LAX. Was very nice to fly first class – even if I wore Chief Wiggum’s ginger ale for most of the flight.
LAYOVER – We got to LAX at 8:00 PM local time, spent 4 hours in the airport due to a layover meeting our midnight connection on Asian Airlines to Seoul, South Korea. Spent the layover in a bar/grill called the Daily Grind(?) – Krusty met 2 friends from grad school. I had my last western meal (a cheese (cheddar) burger and fries topped off with 3 frosty Sierra Nevada Pale Ales) – it was far from delicious, but despite the meal’s ennui I found a certain pleasure I could not deny…thanks to anticipating 3 weeks of meals I could not pronounce (or perhaps even digest).
FLIGHT – LAX to Seoul : In a nutshell - 12 hours, shity seat, annoying neighbors. When I boarded the plane, I sat down next to an elderly Asian couple. In very broken English, he said, "Don’t fit?" while laughing. The little shit was right. I don’t fit in economy seats. It was a very long 12 hours.
LAYOVER – Seoul, 4:10 am on Sunday. Airport terminal was empty. The damn International Dateline stole my Saturday. My bitterness and I slept for ½ hour. Finding I couldn’t sleep in an empty airport terminal, I watched a really bad direct to video action movie on the Korean "Super Action" channel. The movie was in English, starred Martin Sheen and Angie Everheart as secret government agents posing as models to take down a fiendish criminal using a Russian scientist to create a biological agent that would wipe out humanity.
Around 7:30 AM people began filtering into our wing of the airport – they where the shopkeepers opening for Sunday morning business. I felt vaguely offended, as though they were invading our territory. After all, Chief Wiggum, Krusty, Abu and I had made ourselves at home for the last three hours.
FLIGHT – Seoul to Changchun. Every one on the plane looked at us with mild surprise. Me and my 3 companions were the only westerners on the flight. It was a 2 hour flight and served a meal – including packaged kimchi (terrible), Korean Red Pepper Paste (strange – sweet and mildly spicy). Noodles that tasted vaguely like pesto. Raw Salmon fillet with raw potato, raw onion, and lemon (I didn’t try it), Orange juice, coffee, and a Strawberry pie (there was no strawberry, and it wasn’t a pie, it was a tasteless cookie with a vague strawberry flavored cream).
The end for now. Next time I will provide more details on my merry adventures in the Middle Kingdom.
Ta ta for now.
Friday, August 06, 2004
|
Hi all,
Yup, I'm back from China. I have been home about a week.
Why has it taken my so long to blog? Jet lag and work - Lots of wrap up from the trip. I definitely had more trouble overcoming jet lag when I came home versus when I traveled there.
I am planning on put up a serial blog about my three weeks in China. I couldn't do it while I was there because I couldn't reach my blog. The Chinese government firewall didn't allow me to get to any blogs, period. I didn't matter if the blog was pure drivel (think the Washingtonette) or hard core political (I'd imagine there are pro-Taiwan blogs out there somewhere), you can't see them if you log on to the internet via a Chinese IP address.
Anyway, stay tuned, I will be adding amusing anecdotes over the next week or so.
Yup, I'm back from China. I have been home about a week.
Why has it taken my so long to blog? Jet lag and work - Lots of wrap up from the trip. I definitely had more trouble overcoming jet lag when I came home versus when I traveled there.
I am planning on put up a serial blog about my three weeks in China. I couldn't do it while I was there because I couldn't reach my blog. The Chinese government firewall didn't allow me to get to any blogs, period. I didn't matter if the blog was pure drivel (think the Washingtonette) or hard core political (I'd imagine there are pro-Taiwan blogs out there somewhere), you can't see them if you log on to the internet via a Chinese IP address.
Anyway, stay tuned, I will be adding amusing anecdotes over the next week or so.
