SarongPartyGirl IS Xiaxue!

Not really, but some Asian media thinks so! You couldn't make this stuff up! I thought I was done posting about SPG and Xiaxue! It's like way back in the 1960s when people actually thought John Lennon and Bob Dylan were the same person! NOW, Xiaxue is madder than the proverbial wet hen: "...Go on, click it. That's Lianhe Wanbao for you. (click the images below to see full-size scans)

KNN! Siao ah! My photo got mistaken as SPG's! For those who don't understand Chinese, the caption before my photo states that "19-year-old Chloe has been a popular news item recently because of her nude photos on her blog. She seems perturbed as she wrote on her latest blog entry: 'I am tired and tired of this bunch of boh liao things.'"

HELLO!

What an absolutely stupid mistake to make! Cannot see that my photo and her photo obviously is a different person is it?!!?!!?!?!? Maybe that big flower masked my face. It gets so much attention that people go like, "WHERE IS WENDY'S FACE? I ONLY SEE THE FLOWER!!" Kenny (Sia) says that he thinks my hair is so bad that plants start to grow on it. If so, I take pride that my plant is in-your-face big. *smirks*

ENOUGH NONSENSE!

Let me explain why it is so bad to be labelled as SPG in that article.

Because Wanbao sensationalises!!!!!!! Seriously ah, I sympathetise with SPG. It was horrible how they made her up to be some haughty slut. UNETHICAL REPORTING!

The article is a direct translation of the saucy bits from its original counterpart - the already not-very-unsaucy Newpaper. At least Newpaper's article spans across 4 pages, the entire Pacific ocean, and then some. Wanbao's is one page and very, very inaccurate.

First of all, SPG's name is NOT CHLOE, in which they happily called her Ke Luo Ai for the whole article. HELLO, PEOPLE GOT REAL NAME ONE OK! I highly doubt SPG reads Chinese, if not she'd get so furious, she'd ball up her little fists, march to SPH Wanbao (and going in by the wrong entrance like everyone else and thus wasting 15 minutes to turn back) and demand to speak to the resident Angmoh reporter."



And where IS SPG? She's cooling her heels in New Zealand.

Xiaxue blogs on, and you can't help but feel bad for her when you read:
"...Today I went over to my gramps' place to have dinner with them, and this uncle was staring at me.

It suddenly occurred to me that he might have recognised me from yesterday's edition of Wanbao.

And it also suddenly occurred to be that this is no laughing matter.

What would my relatives think if they saw that article?

I didn't take any nude photos, and I don't deserve the repercussions of that kind of action. I just didn't realise the consequences of being accused of something like that. (I had a fleeting glimpse of how horrible SPG must be feeling now, but at least she asked for it.)

Mommy and I had a quarrel just now as I was the one who called Wanbao up, and I let matters rest after they said they will put up an apology, without asking how big the apology will be.

Mommy said I should have let her handle the matter, and that the size of the apology is far too puny for anybody to ... read it. She said she'd demand half a page. I should have let her, as I think she can be a lot fiercer.

The apology was around the height of your middle finger. =(

"This kind of thing is very serious you know, girl!" Momo screamed at me. "You are accused of taking nude photos! You have a reputation and a career to think of ok!"

And it hit me like a tsunami, the issue's seriousness.

But there is nothing to be done now...

Poor, poor me. Very innocent one leh, why suddenly pull me into the picture. I never take naked photos, really. It wasn't me. It was her... We're all bloggers but very different ones..." INDEED, WENDY!

Now howzabout a little insight into SPG? Looks like she bit off a little more PR than she could chew! As I suspected, this was a marketing ploy from the get-go!
SPG's been trying to "sell herself" since 2004! The pic at left is the cover of the book where she "borrowed" a name for her blog. Here's an old excerpt from a Blog: "...First of all, there's the matter of SarongPartyGirl. I threatened to drop her from the roll last month because a) her blog was reading like a Suicide Girls promotion instead of a William Holden movie and b) she hadn't sent me pictures of herself scantily clad the way she sends pictures to my best friend in the whole world Conrad..." "Conrad" authored the Gweilo Diaries Blog.
Check out this book SPG's read and the review she gave it: (HERE)
I think now you know where SPG was coming from, all along!

The young woman who is the original model for both Xiaxue and SRP is Mu Zimei, whose blog is out in book form, albeit in French! Order HERE.

"By publishing on Internet the account of her sexual life, this 26 year-old Cantonese was censured by the authorities and became a star. Mu Zimei, who asserts 70 lovers, is regarded today as the spearhead of the sexual revolution in puritan China "- Christophe Ono-dit-Biot, Elle

"the Chinese do not speak any more but about ' that '. Mu Zimei succeeded in causing a gigantic debate of company in China, while describing in detail on the Internet its free loves with a multitude of duly identified lovers [... ] It is it which chooses, consumes and changes partner every fifteen days according to its good pleasure. And it is undoubtedly this male behavior which shocks more in this China in boiling, which did not really know a feminist movement " - Pierre Haski, Libération

Author Mu Zimei
Translation Catherine Charming
Editor Albin Michel
Collection Foreign Novels
Format 14 cm X 23 cm
ISBN 2226159800

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Some Ruin All

CROSSGATES MALL recently enacted a weekend curfew for teenagers. Reason? A few punks from Albany with nothing better to do were taking the street fights to the suburbs. Result: Good kids get punished, too.

BLOGGERS from time to time have to do things they don't want to do in order to maintain control of their blogs. Reason? A few "electronic bad apples" with nothing better to do started posting spam or flaming or otherwise causing trouble. Result: free speech and the exchange of ideas in the spirit of debate suffers.

NATIONS every now and then have to shift policies and procedures. Reason? In a recent example, 19 hijackers with an agenda changed the airline industry and the world economy forever. Result: fear, wars, inconveniences and insults, higher gas prices and an increased awareness of both vulnerability and security.

"In this short, brutal life, you've got to seize any opportunity you can to celebrate." Logan, from "Dark Angel"

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Love. Angel. Product. Baby.

This is a little addendum to the posts about Xiaxue, SarongPartyGirl, Mu Zimei and Bai Ling. It's all marketing, baby. Back in 1999, a research team for Christina Aguilera's record company took a long hard look for a way they could bring their young performer before the public and make her an "instant star." They got on the internet and began posting. Posting to newsgroups. Appearing in chatrooms. But, like the sex maniacs who pose as people they aren't, team members took on other personas to reach and engage their respective targets. It worked. The buzz, the hype, the word about Christina Aguilera was so well-seeded, her "Genie In The Bottle" was an "instant" well-prepared for success. Contrast that to Norah Jones, who caught the music-buying public's attention the lazy old-fashioned it-takes-time way.

Ah, back to Xiaxue and company. It's all marketing, buzz, hype. Intentional or not, pre-planned or accidental, the same formula that launched Aguilera's career has been tweaked and applied by these "blogger babes." The only male counterpart I can think of is Trey Jackson and his "Jackson's Junction" political video blog. And that doesn't really even approach the spin these gals have put on their respective blogs. Some dismiss the blogger girls as infantile and insignificant. Nah-ah! Ladies, I am impressed with what you've done with a computer and an internet connection. You may or may not know this, but you are artists!

Love. Angel. Product. Baby. is the title of an article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. It's all about pop princess, 30-something Gwen Stefani of No-Doubt fame who, like the blogger girls, has carved out a place for herself where no artist has gone before. She's borrowed a little HipHop flava to spice up her singles and she's now borrowing from Harajuku girls (young hip Japanese Teens, like those in the photo above) in designing and marketing a digital camera. The article is authored by Rob Walker, who almost gets, in the last paragraph, to see over the top of the hill Stefani built. He acknowledges that Japanese characters have caught on with kids in the USA, but fails to follow through--- he doesn't make the connection, and even if he did ask her, I'll bet Stefani wouldn't share whatever "marketing secret" led her to embrace the Harajuku. This I think is another case of a savvy person realizing a marketing opportunity and latching on to it, way out ahead of everybody else. Gwen saw it coming, you and I didn't. The blogger girls saw "it" coming too, and they jumped on it!

Harajuku Lovers Digital Camera website is HERE, featuring Gwen's HollaBackGirl Video

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Fatal Event

UPDATE AUGUST 2005
from Michelle Malkin's Blog: SUSAN TORRES, R.I.P.


(Michelle Malkin·August 03, 2005 04:14 PM)


Via AP:


The brain dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support Wednesday and died, her family said.


God rest her soul.





Bloggers had a field day with Terry Schiavo... lots of words were typed about the controversial case. If western culture continues to survive and thrive, we will find ourselves at the doorways to more dilemmas. The computer, the mapping of the human genome and all of the other amazing technological advances will pale in comparison to the moral and ethical choices that await us and our children. Life is fragile. You could die later today or maybe tomorrow. Have you met your goals or lived to see your dreams come true yet?

Imagine being 26 years old, and your life is over in a flash. Susan Torres lived her last day on May 7th, about a month after she complained of headaches and nausea her doctors attributed to pregnancy. Susan was pregnant with her second child. Doctors told her husband that May 7th was a "fatal event" for Susan. In a nutshell,
Susan is being kept alive a la Terry Schiavo so that the baby she is carrying can develop enough so that it can live on its own (25 weeks or mid-July). Then the plug gets pulled. Oh did I tell you the baby is in grave and immediate danger of being attacked by the aggressive cancer that's killing Susan? And did I tell you that she already has a happy healthy 2-year old son? Details are HERE.

Sad story. Sick story. Why can't Jason Torres be satisfied with the child he already has? Why keep Susan alive any longer? Why foot a 400-thousand dollar medical bill for all of this? If the couple didn't already have a child, I would understand. But they do. The risks here are astronomical. Shouldn't someone pull the plug, let mother and child rest in peace? A lot of Bloggers & Blogders disagree: Myopic Zeal,Truth and Action, Frank J, Michelle Malkin and others are encouraging people to donate to help with the costs of keeping Susan's body functioning to save the baby. What would YOU do?
Perendipity sums it up in a post entitled "Just a husk, a carrying case" ---
"Is it just me, or is this just gruesome? I am glad I am not a woman. Where are the 'let Terry Schiavo die in peace now' people in this situation? Apparently, a woman doesn't really count if her uterus is in use." VoicePotential blogs: "She (Susan Torres) isn’t alive either - by those same definitions so rigorously applied to Terri Schiavo."
If the baby makes it, and is born okay, I guess we can all sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. If.
...........
A few hours after I had originally posted this, I thought to myself "I should have titled it FETAL EVENT."
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Israel, Palestine, Condi

Condoleeza Rice is in Israel, showing her stuff as a "diplo-might," as in showing she is a force to be reckoned with. Women are gaining a foothold in world politics. Would you be surprised if Condi squared off against Hilary Clinton for the US Presidency in the coming election? Here's a Condoleeza "update" as it appears in the China Daily. Scroll to the bottom of the story to comment and look farther down at "Today's Top News" to get a little better perspective. Keep in mind the Israelis have a vested interest in China.

AP reports Condi is upbeat at the end of her 2-day junket to Israel... just think... if peace comes, Condi is in a position to "sign her name" to her it, and use it as a plank should she decide to run for President. Condi and Hilary aren't the only women blazing new political trails.

Abeer Qibti: Birth of a new Palestinian leader... "This pretty young lady is Abeer Qibti, a Palestinian young woman from Al-Nasserah (Nazareth), participated in a TV show called “Looking for a leader,” in Channel 2 of the Israeli TV. Abeer Qibti was the strongest among the four finalists in the show, which is a form of Donald Trump’s show, “The Assistant.” The team of the show judges disqualified Abeer when she refused to stand up in respect to the Israeli national anthem. She explained her position saying that she would not show respect to the symbols of Zionist racism even if this means the loss of $1.1 million, the value of the award she was expected to win..."

I can't end this post without directing you toward this woman's first-hand account of Terrorism:
"Six months passed before Zeruya Shalev managed to return to her writing. She had already begun to feel that she would not want to write any more. The terror attack that occurred a year and a half ago close to her home in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem forced the writer to abandon her work. The bus blew up a few meters away from her and Shalev received an injury to her knee, was hospitalized and underwent surgery. Ten days later she returned home on a stretcher and had to undergo four months of rehabilitation. During that whole period it seemed to her that dealing with matters of love, guilt, remorse and fear was superfluous compared to the power of life and death..." (MORE) from Haaretz

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SarongPartyGirl VS. Xiaxue

It took just a little bit of digging to find out more about the now infamous "SarongPartyGirl" who shook up the Blogosphere last week. Turns out, the gal behind the scandalous sensation is a professional portrait photographer. This is her.
It seems this young woman decided she wanted a bit of Xiaxue-scale fame. So she's got her 15 minutes of Fame, after shaking everything and everybody up!


NEW June 21 - SarongPartyGirl IS Xiaxue!(HERE)







Also, here's a photo of Asia's #1 Blogger, Xiaxue at Channel News Asia Studios. (I still think she might be number one, although, as one of my readers commented, "SarongPartyGirl has out-Xiaxued Xiaxue!") Well guys, here's your chance to "rate the babes"... leave your vote in the comments section and beware I'll immediately delete any x-rated comments. Keep 'em clean!


I'm not biased. I think both of these young ladies have demonstrated that each has the capability to make WaVeS. If one seeks fame or recognition, one has to be different and daring! Xiaxue (Wendy Cheng) has mastered the art of selling herself. I don't think the bigshots on NYC's Madison Avenue could have dreamed up a better website than Wendy's blog!
Plus, she invented the word BLOGDER. That's a word I LIKE!

As for SarongPartyGirl, I see a person here practicing her craft, photography. Through the ages ART has often been criticized and some artists have been persecuted or banned because of their work. Whether SRP is art, or a stab at 15 minutes of stardom, or just a girl expressing herself (only to have everybody else take her bull by the horns and run with it), the girl has an agenda and she is following her chosen path. Can we fault her for that? With X-rated lyrics in songs on the radio and people pushing the envelopes of modesty and decency, how far off the mark is SRP? Is she out of control?

If I were voting, and I can't because I'm taking the poll, I'd have to split my vote. comparing Xiaxue and SRP, after you really give it some thought, is like comparing Oranges and Mangoes. Two fruits, both delicious, but each very different from the other.
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Live8

A lot of folks aren't too happy with the upcoming Live8 concert! Live 8 is a benefit concert series scheduled for July 2 and meant to pressure the Group of Eight (G-8), an eight-nation organization which is scheduled to meet for their annual summit in Scotland July 6-8. G-8 comprises the world’s seven wealthiest industrialized nations and Russia.

"Once again, the hungry, terrorised, children of Africa are pooling their efforts to help others…they will perform on our TV screens to help rescue the sagging reputations of that needy and deprived group of balding, clapped-out rock stars who still long for the crowds that once listened to them." - Sunday Mail

Bob Geldof counters: "This is not Live Aid 2."

from THE POWERS THAT BE:
"Oprah Winfrey had her DNA tested and, as a result of that test, believes she is a member of Africa's Zulu nation. Cancel the Live8 concert, because Africa now has all the money it needs!" (MORE)

The myth of Saint Bob, saviour of Africa (HERE)

Live8 was supposed to be about African poverty, though recent headlines could make you think otherwise. "Electronic pimp!" thundered BishBob at eBay. Pimping, eBay… was this something to do with trafficking and auctions of people, livestock, drugs? And what did it have to do with Africa? It turns out that Bishbob was taking issue with a few of the million punters supposedly trying to cash in on their Live8 tickets by auctioning them on eBay... (MORE)

Live8: Do we need it?

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How to make eBooks for your iPod!

I've been toying with the idea of purchasing an iBook and an iPod. While scouring the Net for information, I came across a guide to making eBooks for your iPod. Just Click HERE! I've also found a site chock full o'hacks for the iPod, HERE! Speaking of Apple products, it is podworthy to mention Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford... to get there, let's take the Michelle Malkin route!

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Hannity Has A Heart

Gotta blog this... Conservative radio talk show host Sean Hannity touched on the Natalee Holloway case for a few minutes during the 3 O'clock hour. Sean expressed genuine concern for the missing teen, and he UNDERSTOOD the reality of what happened, put the entire "event" in it's proper perspective and conveyed it to the listeners. I was in the car, with no way to tape or transcribe Sean's words. But I do hope some of the Conservative Blodgers were tuned in...

Sunday on CRP

Ron "Sugarbear" Williams, program director for JAMZ 96.3, Albany's #1 HipHop/R&B station, is my guest this Father's Day / Sunday on Capital Region People.
Ron is a seasoned pro in the music business. When he first was "drafted" away from Fly92 to start up WAJZ, Ron was a guest on my then-overnight talkshow, "Dave Lucas WorldWide" which aired in the 11pm-4am slot weekends on WROW.

Ron has come a long way from that kid in the City who wanted to be a dee-jay! He built JAMZ from the ground up, he's also a humanitarian and a youth advocate, and as you'll hear in our interview, Ron believes in order to achieve your drams and goals, you gotta focus and you gotta pray. Bear has served as spokesperson for the Times-Union Classroom Enrichment Program, he's hosted the Brighter Choices Father-Son Program and has served as a consultant for the New York State Trooper Recruitment campaign. He's also been honored by Governor Pataki for his Service and Commitment to the African-American Community. Most recently he has been awarded and named the Urban Program Director of the Year by the Street Information Network (SIN) Magazine.

Gretchen Perham on America's Most Wanted

Click HERE for the NEWEST Gretchen Perham post.

Update June 16 - $19,000+ in reward money has been raised to find whoever is responsible for the brutal murder of one Albany teenager and the stabbing and attempted abduction of another. (Text & Video) - WNYT NewsChannel 13


The murder of a young Albany schoolgirl is getting national exposure this weekend on FOX television: AMERICA'S MOST WANTED will profile Gretchen Perham.
"...The America's Most Wanted television crew, who decided not to talk to local reporters, concentrated on Gretchen's murder -- revisiting the crime scene, and taking a look at the attempted abduction of another 14-year-old girl last week. They retraced steps and recounted her story..." (MORE)

Previous Posts: 1,2,3,4.

Is This The Murderer?

Could the man who attacked another young Albany Student who was walking to school along the same route Gretchen Perham took BE Gretchen's Killer? Have a look at the Police Sketch on News10's website HERE.

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Related:
We've read the stories that Gretchen Perham was hated and attacked by other students in her school. This is not unique to Albany!
A family is suing after their daughter suffered extensive eye injuries during an attack at a Central Florida middle school, according to Local 6 (MORE)

Racist Ad Withdrawn

Racism isn't just an American pasttime: It's everywhere! In Japan, a cosmetics company has agreed to pull a TV commercial that mocks black people. The ad features a group of black men dressed in typical Rastafarian garb cleaning their faces with Gatsby facial wipes, and as the camera pans across the room a chimpanzee dressed in the same clothing is shown mimicking the others. The revolting details:

TOKYO — Cosmetic maker Mandom Corp has stopped airing a TV commercial containing an expression mocking black people, company officials said Tuesday.

In the commercial for face blotting paper for men, several black people wipe sweat off their faces with the paper, while a chimpanzee with a curly hair wig and a multicolor outfit imitates them and wipes its face besides them.

The commercial had been on air since March 28, but a human rights group criticized it for putting black people on the same level as apes.

After consulting with lawyers and advertising agency officials, the company stopped airing the commercial June 9 and has also stopped using a printed version of the ad in magazines, saying it "lacked an international sense of ethics."

Motonobu Nishimura, a company executive, said, "We are very sorry. We apologize to viewers and other people who felt offended." (Kyodo News)

Interestingly enough, Little Black Sambo, the book, banned quite a few years ago, has reportedly hit Japanese book shelves again... (MoRe)

See Also: Bloggers VS. Natalee Holloway

See Also: Racist America, 2005 posts: HERE and HERE


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Radio 2005

Radio has been around for a long time, the oldest electronic media platform is going through turbulence... just when you thought the medium was stabilizing, along came Satellite Radio, and NOW, major radio stations are pulling format switches that are upsetting listeners and could eventually spell DOOM for these stations. Case in point is WCBS-FM, NY city's oldies station flipped format to "Jack" and some say it won't be long before the station goes off the air. Now, that might be a little hard to believe, but I'm sure if you told people back in 1969 that WABC-AM would abandon music for talk, they would have looked at you like you had three heads! CHANGES ARE IN THE WIND, not only for commercial, but for PUBLIC radio as well!

WAMC's Alan Chartock blogs: "More and more, radio is becoming a force to be reckoned with. I have always pointed out that when the Nazis or the Communists invaded a town, the first thing they did was take over the radio station...The neocons have made a major assault on those who run public broadcasting. It isn't hard to understand why. The way the conservatives have basically gained control of the commercial radio stations reminds me a lot of the way that we all used to play Monopoly. They, or their corporate pals, have bought control of huge numbers of radio stations throughout the United States..."

Read Alan's entire post HERE.

Commercial Radio fell victim to "The Satellite" back in the 1980's when suddenly, formerly thriving stations abandoned live dee-jays in favor of canned programming off "the bird" as a way to save $$$. Well, that backfired, and a few years later, ClearChannel and other major companies were buying up these skeletons of once-great radio stations. One result of this has been the homogenization of music cross-format, cross-America. Go where you wanna go, from LA to NYC, and it all sounds the same, save for a few radio jewels hidden here and there...

NOW the Satellite is becoming "our friend" and when they say Get Sirius, they're not kidding. First Howard Stern, then Cousin Brucie... expect another announcement soon. Norm Nite, the man who penned the "Encyclopedia of Rock," has reportedly been signed by Sirius as well.

Norm Nite used to broadcast a Sunday night show out of the Rock & Roll Hall of fame for WCBS-FM (R.I.P). Sirius announced a few weeks back that it would launch an oldies channel from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame studio. Put the two together and you have a match made in heaven.

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SarongPartyGirl Shocks Blogosphere

JUST ADDED!

SarongPartyGirl VS. Xiaxue

Vote for your FAVORITE BloggerBabe HERE!!!

It's not that often that something gets by me... I've been observing the differences in the style and content of blogs in the USA, Europe, Asia, India and Africa. The most popular blogs in the USA are political in nature. In Asia, SEX is a bigger factor than politics (many Asian nations frown on anyone engaging in a little "freedom of speech") but a HUGE Asian blogging story just went right past my eyes!
I actually visited the webpage in question BEFORE the story hit the Asian MSM, but I guess my persective is so hardened by America's permissiveness (for example, check out the lovely "gay couple" featured in this past Sunday's NY Times Magazine) that I didn't even take note of the picture that sent shock waves across Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. So what do we have here, a new pretender to the throne of Mu Zimei?

Net group set abuzz by nude blogger

THE local blogging community is buzzing after a girl posted nude pictures of herself on the Internet. Writing under the moniker Sarong Party Girl, her weblog chronicles her life and numerous sexual escapades.

SarongPartyGirl herself blogs about the incident in her Monday and Tuesday posts: "I like being in the news. You can be sure that I will have a gallery exibit for my photographs (and that of my girlfriends too) in slightly over a month."

In the USA, we're more concerned with Michael Jackson, while SarongPartyGirl is hitting the headlines across Asia and now Europe.


But though she is posing nude, most lawyers said that she is probably not breaking any obscenity laws. Lawyer Jonathan Kok said: It's a grey area. If someone were to flash himself physically, it's very clearly an obscene act. But on the Internet, it's a grey area.

When interviewed, the girl, a 19-year-old waiting to enter university, revealed that the blog is kept secret from her parents, but maintained she is not ashamed of her photographs. There is nothing wrong with having a nude picture of yourself published or on show, as long as there is an artistic and aesthetic value to it and these pictures were nice, she said.

Since she started her blog in February last year, she has gathered a daily following of about 3,000 readers. Bloggers like 22-year-old Gabriel Seah think nothing of her lack of inhibition. The Internet is a free society. But others like Ng Heng Ghee, a 33-year-old IT technician and father of two, thought otherwise.

"What she has done reflects badly on her parents." - from The Straits Times/ANN

The article drew commentary from Kimberlycun and Xiaxue. The site they're buzzing about is HERE. Don't check these sites out if you're at work or school! They're borderline, if not outright X!

Related:
Whole lotta love (as long as it's healthy)
from DANWEI (click HERE)

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The Weekend

The hot humid weather of the last several days has been delightful! When I had my fill of outdoor activities, I had the opportunity to watch two movies. Friday afternoon I found "The Butterly Effect" at one of the local library branches. This movie turned out to be a surprise treat! I almost didn't watch it, but when I did I was intrigued by the story line, which involves time travel. and by Ashton Kutcher's performance. Sunday afternoon I had to pick up a few items at a convenience store and noticed a DVD rental shop a few doors down. They had some used VHS and DVD's for sale,and the very last DVD I looked at was "Control Room." This is a great documentary (especially if you're in the media) following some of the major players of Al-Jazeera. The DVD has 3 or 4 of those "commentary" tracks, so you can watch it a few more times and get more of a feel for the picture from the filmmakers and others. In my book, both of these movies score 9 out of 10!.

CVS disposable Video Cameras & Hacks

The Revolution WILL be Televised! CVS is selling disposable camcorders! (TechNewsWorld.com)
Available now in the Northeast and elsewhere by the end of the month, the $29.99 video camera looks similar to a point-and-shoot disposable camera, except it's held vertically to film. ( There's also a $10 version, but with no screen, there's no way to review your shots or delete ones that aren't quite right.) The camcorder weighs 5.5 ounces and is about the size of an MP3 player. Users watch what they're filming through a rectangular, 1.4-inch wide color display. There are no zoom features. After filming a segment, the user can review what's been recorded and choose to delete the segment at any time during playback. (DETAILS)

For the price, it's a pretty good deal, considering the total cost of a comparable disposable film camera and development. Not only that, but I'd actually see the photos while I still knew the people in them. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've still got disposable film cameras from six years ago that haven't been developed.

The end result is a VCD-quality disk. Next thing to do is upload your video to your BLOG! (It's FREE, for now!)

ZippyVideos

OurMedia.org

GoogleVideo

Of course, the Hackers and Phrozen Crews out there will be offering "refinements" to the product as soon as they can start taking the cameras apart --- wait a minute--- they already HAVE!

Related:
How to Convert the "CVS Red" into a General Purpose Digital Camera:
http://vickers.homedns.org/PV2mods.htm

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Technorati Tag(s): Disposable Camcorder, CVS

Bloggers VS. Natalee Holloway

NEW NATALEE HOLLOWAY POST--- CLICK HERE!


Maybe it's the heat wave. Political Bloggers have gone GA-GA (or maybe Al Gore sprinkled them with Liberal Pixie Dust): they're all upset about that girl/woman who vanished in Aruba, Natalee Holloway. Not upset because she disappeared or might have been murdered. They're upset because she is white! Racism is a very funny thing. I sometimes have to edit or delete racist comments when they appear here on this blog. These vile comments have shown up associated with posts relating to Michelle Malkin (conservative columnist and blogger), Gretchen Perham (14-year old girl murdered in Albany in May), Xiaxue (Chinese blogger in Singapore), Ambra Nykol (Seattle blogger I interviewed for Capital Region People) and when I did a show on Black History Month back in February. There have been other "Natalee Holloways" whose stories never got picked up in the media past their hometowns. And who can forget the press' favorite "Damsel in Distress" back in the 80's... Tawana Brawley (NOW known as " Maryam Muhammad").
I'll tip the hat and pass the mouse to Michelle Malkin, who has all the info and links regarding the MISSING PRETTY GIRL SYNDROME.

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Technorati Tag(s): Natalee Holloway

Serious Head-Scratcher

While I was surfing, between googling for information about Professor Irwin Corey and eating breakfast, I found a group of the more politically-oriented bloggers hooting and raving over a post entitled "BEAUTIFUL ATROCITIES' ROOT CAUSES OF TERRORISM TIMELINE," which you can take a look at HERE.

I understand we all must have a little fun every now and then, but I really don't get this. I sure don't want to rub you poltical folks the wrong way, but with all of the serious topics crying for attention, needing stable voices to comment, why bother with nonsense like this? Political Blodgers, why don't you go watch several episodes of Seinfeld and Friends and have a tall cool one and then get back to what you do best. Can somebody explain? Even Xiaxue is more thought-provoking than this...

Update 8:47am - Just thinking... why is it that when a Blog strays a little from whatever is perceived to be it's defined topic, readers get a little uptight? I go through that whenever I post anything about a news event or a person that is not immediately impacting the Capital Region. It's just a blog... Capital Region People is just a name. I could draw pictures and post them if I wanted to. So, if the political bloggers wanna play, let 'em!

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Technorati Tag(s): Political Blogs

Strange Coincidences

Two stories, one local, one worldwide, and four girls. 1 dead, 1 lucky to be alive, 2 missing. Here in the Capital Region, Albany Police think the man who attacked a 14-year old girl while she walking to Hackett Middle School this morning may be the man who murdered "GiGi" Gretchen Perham last month. Gretchen was found stabbed to death in the city's South End. She too, was a student at Hackett Middle School and often walked to school along Myrtle Avenue. Capital News 9 has text, pictures and video (HERE) Mayor Jerry Jennings is urging parents to be on guard, protect their kids and drive them to school until the man is caught. Additional details from the Albany Times-Union are HERE. Police say the man grabbed the girl from behind, put her in a headlock and threatened her with a butcher knife. This brave little girl fought and screamed, and that probably saved her life. Not safe on the streets in broad daylight! And on Myrtle Avenue of all places! Maybe the Guardian Angels should be patrolling there at 8am!

In a case that's been in world news, but I haven't commented on until now: Aruban police arrested three young men Thursday who acknowledged giving a ride to an Alabama teenager the night she disappeared on the Dutch Caribbean island... (MORE)
The Blue Site raises a few disturbing questions. And most disturbing of all, another story of a teen who disappeared in Aruba is striking a chord with a family from Virgina. Their daughter was last seen in the very same bar where the Alabama girl was last seen... (MORE) I'm thinking that this girl may have been captured and is being sold into slavery, and some other bloggers agree...
"...IMHO, some enterprising and unscrupulous Dutch businessman probably kidnapped her and sold her off to another of his countrymen, and she's probably working the red light district in Amsterdam..."(MORE) (from: Erika's Space)
"...I’m guessing if you follow history, and follow the recent news about the large slavery systems still in the middle east, you can speculate this young, blue-eyed, blond could be a part of a very large crime..." (MORE) (from: My Dietrich Blog)

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Vanishing URLs

You may have noticed the absence on this and on other blogs and websites of various icons and other things... my SIDEBLOG has temporarily taken a hike... "This domain name expired on 05/30/05 and is pending renewal or deletion" is what it says when you hit their URL... a few other sites have met similar fates... makes me question the wisdom of depending on outside links... that's why I have kept my blogroll right on the template instead of going with one of those blogrolling services... if the service vanishes, so does my blogroll... SIDEBLOG will likely (hopefully) renew their site and all will be well... in my case, all will be well anyway! Cheers!

That Bai Ling Thing

A Chinese actress who ended up on the STAR WARS cutting room floor, has been the object of several searches of this blog in recent weeks. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the various postings on XiaXue.
When the e-mail requests came in for more information and mentioned the STAR WARS movie, I got curious and did some digging, and came up with the following text and links which should be all the Bai Ling anyone will ever need.
AskMen.com has a very thorough profile of Bai Ling (HERE), and if you click on other links below, you'll find ample material.

Here's a story that UPI ran:

LOS ANGELES, CA, United States (UPI) -- Chinese actress Bai Ling, who told her fans she was cast in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" has posed for this month`s Playboy.

Ling said she would play Senator Bana Breemu, a tattooed, skimpily clad character in the final "Star Wars" movie, however, she is almost non-existent in the movie, reported MTV.com Friday.

"I think you have to use binoculars, and it`s like green when you see me," said the actress, who added she shot a great deal more for the movie than what was actually used.

"George Lucas has all the rights to change it, cut it, for whatever reason he wants to, but I believe it`s for the artistic reason, because he`s an artist."

There has been some speculation that the scenes of Ling were cut after she posed with a suggestive lightsaber on Playboy`s cover, beneath the words "Star Wars` Sexy Alien."

Not so, says George: (HERE)

Bai Ling (白靈) appears in the June issue of Playboy magazine. Here is a link to the photos, DON'T LOOK AT THESE AT WORK (unless you work for Playboy or similar adult entertainment industry) OR IN SCHOOL!
The character painted on Ms. Ling's pubic area is 愛, and it means "love".
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Technorati Tag(s): Bai Ling, Senator Bana Breemu

the Power of T

"T" in this case stands for this Sunday morning's Capital Region People guest, Tina Yakuwa. Tina is originally from Hawaii. She came to New York right after 9/11. Back home she was a runner, a physical fitness and martial arts enthusiast.. When she arrived in New York Tina found a job with a Japanese TV Network, which allowed her to meet all sorts of people and visit parts of the Big Apple that most of us will never see. Tina is now a Holistic Health Counselor, and we'll be talking about the true holistic approach to life. Sunday 0600 EDST on WYJB b95.5 FM Albany NY.

Where in the world?

I haven't posted any kind of "personal" or diary-style journal entry on this blog in a long time. Usually when a blodger posts a "Where in the world" entry, they are going to be somewhere or do something and they want you to know about it. THIS ENTRY is a "been there, done that" entry. I spent Tuesday in Manhattan, on a personal rest/refresh/recharge retreat. Whoever and wherever you are, I recommend setting aside a day and just go off and do something on your own, FOR yourself. Society places many demands upon us. Family. Friends. Business associates. I think its good to STOP and drop everything now and then.

Somewhere along the outskirts of New York City, on the banks of the Hudson River, there is a little "bum town." Lots of makeshift tents and shelters erected under the trees. I saw a small group of men gathered around a small table, playing cards with a PORTABLE RADIO at the center of the table. Of course I couldn't hear WHAT they were listening to (too early in the day for a ball game) but I thought for a moment about the power of the media. Whether you're at the top or bottom rung in this earthly life, the media is always there, at your beck and call.

I read a newspaper article on the train about the group "Coldplay" selling 20 million albums. Music was the glue of the Pop Culture for many years, but is now so fragmented, a lot of folks wouldn't know a Coldplay song if it hit them over the head. Pop music has changed since 1999, the year I believe THE COMPUTER changed forever the way music is accessed. The great rise of Hip-Hop, IMHO, is due to the fact that music lovers/buyers of that particular style didn't have the same abilities and equipment to download everything in sight, as was and is being done with what we used to call Top 40 music. Add to that the flexibility the art of Mixing (cutting/scratching/cool-editing) brings to the table, Hip-Hop has risen above, well, to the point where I myself am more familiar with a lot of Hip-Hop tunes (thank-you Hot97) than with Pop Music. Artists like 50 cent particularly delight me becuase they make such catchy little can't get 'em outta your head tunes (listen around --- you'll hear a lot of 50 cent ringtones on cellphones).

These days, musical artists have to "be smart" to survive. METALLICA used to give away free cassettes of their music at concerts. This concept is not much different from downloading music off the Net for free... Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" and "Holler Back" are monster hits even though the music is available FREE for freelaoders/downloaders and has been used as background for TV commercials, something any artist or musician back in 1999 would have had kittens over!

So, what do you guys and gals think about all or some of the above? As always, your comments are welcome. I delete spam, nonsense and vulgarities.

Eye In The Sky

Talk about Big Brother! Time has come today! In England, motorists will PAY for each mile of road they drive on under a revolutionary scheme to be introduced within two years. Each of Great Britain's 24 million vehicles would be tracked by satellite if a variable "pay-as-you-drive" charge replaces the current road tax. (MORE)

"Earlier this year Norwich Union released a Pay As You Drive car insurance plan for young motorists, with charges based on how they are using their cars rather than what cars they have and where they live.The Norwich Union technology is based on a 'black box' style device, which tracks the car using a global positioning satellite. The information on where and when the car has been driven is transmitted to the insurer over a mobile phone network. The Government proposals seem to be based on a similar technology."
- Source: MyFinances.co.uk

Satellites will soon be keeping track of the garbage trucks and snow plows in one American City (MORE)

"The Indian national capital of Delhi will soon avail the Global Positioning System (GPS) to map and measure property and streamline the waste management process. According to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official, GPS is being installed mainly to channelise waste management in the city. It will also be employed to track and document property to minimise tax evasion."
- Source: The Asian Age

Animals better watch out, too! Researchers in New Zealand's Massey University equine research centre in Palmerston North are using Global Positioning Satellite technology to provide a comprehensive picture of the athleticism and fitness of racehorses. (more)

Now here's a "personal protection" GSM device that SHOULD HAVE GPS technology, but doesn't. (Scratches head...) It's called The Connection 2 Identicom. (MORE)

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Techno Lie

Here's an article that is DEFINITELY FALSE!

"The time-honored way to fix malfunctioning electronic devices at one time was a good whack.

TV picture flickering? Whack! Radio fading out? Whack!

But in the era of computer chips and solid-state circuitry, the whack has been unplugged. Literally.

From cable modems to cell phones, the quick fix is no longer the anger-releasing smack of an appliance but rather the less-aggressive unplug; it's a reboot without the keystrokes.

"In the old days, we were dealing with very physical devices. You had a bunch of tubes plugged into a board with lots of sockets," said Ted Werth, chief executive officer of PlumChoice, an on-site computer repair company that works with small businesses and residents.

He admits to — gleefully — whacking his RCA tube television in the 1970s.

"Not only were there moving parts, but the connectivity within a TV wasn't as reliable then. When you hit a TV, you were causing a device with poor connections to connect or to make small moving parts function."

Today, functions once handled by tubes are embedded in computer chips or run by software.

In cases where a reset is in order, the simple solution might be to power down — or unplug. And, of course, who'd want to clobber a $4,200 LCD television hanging on the wall?

Wireless computer routers, all the rage in this wi-fi era, are examples of where the whack has been unplugged. No power? No problem.

"In the case of a router — or anything that doesn't have volatile memory — unplugging is basically the only way to reset the unit," said Stefan Dietrich, an engineering expert in New York and co-author of "Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide."

A Voice-over Internet Protocol device would qualify for the fix from unplugging. Perhaps, too, a printer, monitor or newfangled washing machine.

But a computer? Treat those with a velvet touch — and never simply unplug.

"Whacking and hitting them is worse," Dietrich said.

"When you do this, you have the head of the hard disk moving around. When you get that kind of shock, that data is lost.

"But I see people doing it anyway. It's frustration and anger."

Don't despair. You can still vent your frustration by delivering a good whack to the vending machine that ate your quarters and kept your potato chips. "

-Cox News Service

#1 - The Picture on my Sharp 26" TV set would suddenly shrink to a flat 1/2" line across the middle of the screen. I talked to a tech who said he'd "look at it" for 50 bucks. A friend overhead my phone conversation and suggested I whack the TV. Guess What? It WORKED! For almost a year, I'd whack the thing at least once a day. Then, an engineer at the radio station suggested I place a book or other object underneath the TV (even though it rested on a shelf). VOILA! That was two years ago, and the line has never returned.

#2 - PC at work - same problem, but the book underneath didn't work. The once-in-awhile whack DID WORK.

#3 - my current PC at home - same problem. When it happens (about once a week) I just turn the monitor on its side or upside down, whack it, and it's good to go for another 6 or 7 days!

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Mu Zimei

Looking for MU MU? CLICK HERE!

Mu Zimei PODCAST & other AUDIO HERE

NEW Monday, September 05, 2005
Blogebrity: Mu Zimei HERE!

New post: Sister Hibiscus meets Mu Zimei

Muzimei listens questions from reporters at promotional event held by a Chinese blog service company in Beijing, July 5, 2005. The event was covered by Chinese media as "Notorious trio of BBstars Muzimei , Sister Furong , Han Zhenzhen attend a promotional event... Media circus highlighting alternative individuals who are usually of a sharp personality and odd behaviours draws intense attention from the general public, as stirs heated discussion of the newly-emerged phenomenon of the BBstar, short for the BBS star. Muzimei shot to her notoriety overnight as she publicized her explicit sex experiences on her own blog, which attracted numerous hits. (More)




Long before there was Xiaxue, there was the legendary Mu Zimei. What? WHO?
Believe it or not, the art of Blogging** has been around for awhile, and back in 2002 there was a young woman named Mu Zimei whose very popular and highly controversial blog detailing her sexual activities lasted just a few months, but was likely the working model the creator(s) of Xiaxue used to formulate their product.. At one point 10 MILLION visitors PER DAY were checking in to read Mu Zimei's latest exploits. (Makes Xiaxue's 8-Thousand visitors a day pale in comparison). Mu Zimei didn't have to photoshop herself or apply shades of pink to everything. Like Xiaxue, Mu Zimei wasn't the one-woman blogger she appeared to be:

"...Mu Zimei is the pen name of Li Li(pronounced Moo Zuh-MAY), who began working in 2001 as a feature writer at City Pictorial, a glossy magazine covering fashion and social trends. At the end of 2002, editors decided they wanted a sex columnist who could write about "real life" issues.

Mu said she was chosen because editors knew she was familiar with the subject.

Her first sexual experience — on April 30, 1999, she noted — led to an abortion and left her wary of men. She followed that with a "pretty normal boyfriend" before concluding she was not a one-man woman. "Personally, I felt I was suitable for temporary relationships..."

Excerpted from: Sex writer's tell-all online diary spurs debate in China



"...Li Li, a 25-year-old aspiring writer from Guangzhou, probably realized as much in June when launching her weblog, "Love Letters Before Dying." Under the pen name Muzimei ("Wooden Beauty"), Li Li provided lurid details of her unusually hyperactive sex life, naming names -- some of them famous. China's titillated netizens lapped it up, and by November the blog was receiving more than 100,000 visitors a day. It was also attracting less enthusiastic attention. The state-owned press excoriated the blog as pornographic and corrupting, denouncing the author's disillusionment with love and marriage. The growing furor got Li Li fired from her magazine job, and in late November she shut down the blog..." (Source) Since Muzimei was removed from the site, scores of imitators have taken her place..." (today the heir to the throne is Xiaxue!)

More detail & photograph: The writings of Mu Zimei have prompted a raging debate in China about sex and women on the Internet

Pierre Haski blogs en francais about Mu Zimei in Mon journal de Chine (you'll need to be able to read French or run the text through a translator like Google or Babelfish) in a post entitled "Mu Zimei - l'intégrale" (HERE).

Related: Mu Zimei: reviled, admired

Related: Where does freedom end for bloggers and online journalists?

It was a unique but short-lived literary experiment that rocked China back in 2003. Everyone knows that the seamier side of the internet was doing a landslide business, turning profit long before all of the other e-commerce sites and portals. The Mu Zimei experiment paved the way for today's pop-sex blogs, with Singapore-based Xiaxue leading the pack. Not everyone loves Xiaxue, as you may read HERE, but like her, love her or hate her, you've got to admire her drive and determination to create a high-traffic blog that is just beginning to fulfill it's goal: a central character (Xiaxue) who has been interviewed and featured all over Asian Media, now beginning to use that fame to SELL PRODUCTS! ***(Click HERE to see the Non-Photoshopped Non-heavily made up Xiaxue!)***

"...The Singapore-based graphic arts student dolls herself up like a Japanese pop star but breezily pops off expletives as easily as a trucker, and her Judy Tenuta-type sense of humor ("Why are you worshipping the ground I blog on?") has garnered her lots of fans. Cheng, whose blog won this year's Best Asian Weblog award, says she gets 3,000 visitors per day, but her daily traffic spiked to 8,300 after she was mentioned on Blogger Buzz . Throw in a healthy dose of Singlish, or Singapore English ("I see you, my heart will POM POM TIAO!"), and you have the makings of a blog celebrity. Cheng has even landed an endorsement deal with a T-shirt company called Local Brand..."

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ADDED JUNE 18th: SarongPartyGirl VS. Xiaxue

Vote for your FAVORITE BlodgerBabe HERE!!!

**The first weblog was the first website, http://info.cern.ch/, the site built by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. From this page TBL pointed to all the new sites as they came online. Luckily, the content of this site has been archived at the World Wide Web Consortium. NCSA's What's New page took the cursor for a while, then Netscape's What's New page was the big blog in the sky in 1993-96. Then all hell broke loose. The Web exploded, and the weblog idea grew along with it. (from: The History of Weblogs)

Shaima Rezayee Murder Update

According to a three-sentence story in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Shaima Rezayee, an Afghan woman who played Madonna videos and dressed in Western clothing on her TV show "HOP", was shot dead in her Kabul home. Media accounts noted Rezayee had been condemned by Muslim mullahs who said her program was "unIslamic." Catherine Philp reported in The Times of London that Afghan authorities believe her murder was linked to her TV show.
The murder of the 24-year-old female television presenter has turned the spotlight on the controversial new channel where she worked.

Viv Groskop writes (in The New Statesman) "Shaima Rezayee's death is a tragedy, but to turn her into some sort of MTV martyr does a disservice to other Muslim women." (Article)

Related: Afghan Portal
Technorati Tags: Shaima, Rezayee, Shaima Rezayee

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Aisha O'Gilvie Update

This update comes to us by way of reporter Erikah Haavie and appears in The Poughkeepsie Journal

An Our Lady of Lourdes High School senior previously barred from Saturday’s graduation ceremony will now be able to get her diploma with her class.

Aisha O’Gilvie, 17, was described by Archdiocese of New York officials as a discipline problem last week. But the archdiocese has backed down after Lourdes officials allegedly changed their story. (Read the Rest)

Related: Qusan from San Jose CA has something to say about this!

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Gretchen Perham Murder Mystery Update

Click HERE for the NEWEST Gretchen Perham post.

A brief update on the Gretchen Perham Murder Mystery. Tonight CBS-6 (The update was written and reported by veteran WRGB newsman Ken Screven.) Ken, thank you so much for not forgetting this case! Ken reported that one month after 14-year old Gretchen was beaten up by female students at her new school, Hackett Middle School, her family considered placing her in the prestigious Doane Stuart School.

Ken reported that Gretchen actually attended what the kids call a "shadowing" session, where she sat in for a day of classes at Doane Stuart, and made an IMPRESSION on students and teachers. Now, KEN SCREVEN digs his heels into the story: In January Doane Stuart School sent 3 letters and made 5 telephone calls to Gretchen's family. The good news was, they wanted Gretchen and had aid and grants available that would have covered the bulk of the 16-thousand dollar a year tuition fee. NOBODY RESPONDED TO THE LETTERS OR CALLS. Sources say detectives are looking at classmates of Gretchen's at Hackett as possible suspects.

Point #1: early in the case, there were many who suggested if Gretchen HAD been killed by classmates, they would have had to have been BIG GIRLS with access to a CAR -OR- have had an ADULT ACCOMPLICE who had a car. The place where Gretchen's body was found was FAR AWAY from the streets she took to walk to school

Point #2: There has been a rumor circulating that two girls from Hackett Middle School (another version of the rumor says they are from Albany High) have admitted killing Gretchen and turned themselves in. As far as I have been able to tell, this is false. Last night I asked Albany Public Safety Spokesman Jim Miller about this, and he said no such event has taken place.

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Destruction of Israel?

Haaretz muses about the fates of Israelis and Palestinians in an editorial in today's online edition (HERE) which gets blog attention from Scott at Powerline and Caerdroia. That "Late Great Planet Earth" guy, Hal Lindsey, has come out blasting President George W. Bush. The event blogged on "Raising Kane."

Related: Well, We Know What Side Oprah's On

Related: How Haaretz sees Yavin

Mr. Lee Kaplan, Communications Director for the Northeast Intelligence Network, will be a guest on Israel National Radio, The Tovia Singer Show, tonight at 11:00 PM EDT. CLICK on the image of Tovia and you'll be taken right to his website where you can listen live, if you like. The Tovia Singer show - and Rabbi Singer himself is a powerful and provocative voice of reason on current Jewish issues. In addition to being carried on Israel National Radio, the show can also be heard live around the world on the Internet.

Mr. Kaplan is also a distinguished author of numerous investigative articles on terrorism and a well-known and respected investigative journalist. He is a contributing editor for the popular and insightful web site FrontPageMag.com, as well as the organizations DAFKA and Stop The ISM.

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Mind Your Manners!

Have you ever felt anxious about making small talk at a dinner party? Should you avoid ordering soup at a business lunch? What's the minimum number of days in advance a man -- or a woman -- should ask for a date?

Help is on the way. Jodi R.R. Smith, a Guilderland native and 1986 graduate of Albany High School, is making it her life's work to help everyone from children to CEOs improve their manners and behavior, and fine-tune their social savvy.

Smith is the author of two well-received books -- The Guy's Guide to Social Savvy and The Girl's Guide to Social Savvy -- which offer practical help and advice to many vexing questions about etiquette and social protocol. She appears regularly on television and radio shows around the country, offering insightful and educational tips on proper behavior in the business world and at social functions like weddings.

Smith is president of Mannersmith, a Boston-based etiquette consulting firm which creates and delivers seminars for corporations, colleges and others who value improved manners and social skills. Popular seminars for business groups include Business Protocol and Networking & Interviewing. For those who want to master * or at least feel more comfortable * in social situations, Mannersmith offers courses on Dating Today, Gracious Dining and even Wedding Preparations.

Smith brings her entertaining and educational lecture style to Capital Region People, She is my guest Sunday Morning June 5th, 6AM EDST via WYJB b95.5!

FOX kicks it up a notch, BUT:

In a very short time, Fox News Radio expands its service... (MORE).

Question: What does this mean for local talk radio across the country? Fox has a little deal going with Clear Channel that will go into effect over the summer. I think it's good to have a CBS or ABC network newscast in the interests of being FAIR and BALANCED, which, I think is a Fox motto!

Hmmm... does this mean people like Michelle Malkin and Bill O'Reilly will be anchoring newscasts? I hope not! I like these folks commenting and opinionating (is there such a word?) about the news, not presenting it!
What do YOU think?

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Hillary Clinton moves closer to presidency

spunk ( P ) Pronunciation Key (spngk)
n.
Informal. 1: Spirit; pluck.

2: the courage to carry on; "she kept fighting on pure spunk"

"As she prepares to run for re-election next year, and perhaps make a presidential run in 2008," Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) "is counting on the counsel of a tight-knit group of advisers who possess a set of qualities that she may prize above all others: discipline and loyalty..." - the New York Times

Yes, Hillary Clinton has been busy with a little self re-invention. She has turned many around, and made friends where not too long ago she had none! How DO the Clintons keep coming back? SPUNK! Spunk is popular today... people like people who have it. Look at Mariah Carey.

Deep down, many people secretly admire and root FOR the Clintons! They're the "everyman" who has somehow mastered playing the game of life/poltics. Don't think so? Read their books!

Keep in mind, the Clintons are smart, and crafty. Take a look at this excerpt from a post on loadedmouth.com:

"...we also have to remember that Clinton never won 50% of the popular vote in either 1992 or 1996. In 1992, Perot split the right's vote. Poppy Bush would have been reelected if it weren't for Perot. In 1996, Dole was a weak candidate, and Perot's campaign was certainly weaker, but Clinton still didn't get 50%. I hate to burst the Democrat's bubble, but the Big Dog wasn't that popular. Thinking that Hillary can repeat his success without a third party spoiler to split the right's vote is silly..."

There's the KEY, Hillary! Bring in a fall guy, a "3rd Party" spoiler with conservative leanings, and you're President in 2008!

Other choices? The GOP could roll out Condoleeza Rice OR Jeb Bush OR LAURA Bush!

Related Item:
You Can’t Stop Her. No One Can.
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Troopers & Angels

Today marks a new beginning for the City of Albany. Members of the legendary Guardian Angels and troopers with the NY State Police will partner up with city police officers patrolling the tougher neighborhoods in town. For years Albany officials were in denial that there is a serious gang problem in the city, spanning back to the break-off pseudo-muslim 5-per-centers, who ruled the streets of Arbor Hill and the South End durng the 1970s and 80s.

Last night I spoke with Curtis Sliwa. What a difference an administration makes! Back in the 80s under Mayor Thomas Whalen, Curtis was escorted to jail and sent back to NY city. Now, under Mayor Jerry Jennings, the red bereted crimefighters got a warm welcome. Curtis says the angels will work very closely with Albany police officers. IMHO this is an excellent community realtions move, because the angels are feared and respected by criminals and gang-bangers, while at the same time embraced by residents who until now felt trapped in their own neighborhoods.

The added clout the NY State Police bring to the table is also enhanced by fear. Many street thugs who wouldn't give a second thought to mouthing off to an Albany cop are a little more restrained around troopers. In reality, police officers and troopers are equally well-trained and well-equipped. The difference is in how they are perceived on the street. The local cop is viewed as a "soft target" who will have to "be careful," while troopers (as the name implies) troop--- they take no crap, but do take prisoners.
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Hillary Clinton 2008?

SAY ANYTHING blogged about it earlier today... and now, on the heels of word over the holiday weekend that she's gained support for a run for president in 2008 from a majority of Americans for the first time, Hillary Clinton may be getting ready for the ride of her life... and if you and I make it through 2008, we may see history made like it's never been before... the first FEMALE president of the United States of America. Personally, I think Hillary has done a thorough job as New York State Senator. The importance and the quality of the legislation she has sponsored is what we really should look at. She has shown, that although she's an outsider, she's shed that skin... She's a NEW YORKER now! Occam's Razor Blogs it out of the ballpark (Here)!

Yes, there are some sticky issues, like abortion... timesonline.co.uk reports: "...Her supporters have been at pains to challenge the assertion that perhaps the most divisive figure in modern American politics is reinventing herself. She has always been moderate on abortion, for instance, argued Peter Beinart, Editor of the left-of-centre magazine The New Republic. He said that she was relying on the same formula that her husband had used to cross the cultural divide by saying that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare”.

Nevertheless, Mrs Clinton clearly has made great efforts to show that she is keen to find new ways in which politicians from both sides can discuss issues such as abortion without partisan rancour..." Read the rest.

See Also:
(news.telegraph): Hillary Clinton clears way for presidential run

So, the question: would Hillary Clinton as President be fitting in 2008?
Your comments and trackbacks are welcome!
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Al-Qaeda - Albany Connection?

A Bronx martial arts expert and a Florida doctor were both ordered held without bail Tuesday after appearing in court on charges they offered to use their training to help terrorists... Text and Video from NY1 Tarik Shah is one of the two men... he is the son of an Albany woman... oneof his friends says the charges against Shah are false. Attorney Anthony Ricco says Shah was set up.

From Associated Press: "...Shah's mother, Marlene Jenkins of Albany, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel the charge against her son is ridiculous and insisted he's not a terrorist. Rafiq Abdus Sabir's former wife, Ingrid Doyle of New York, told the newspaper he was a good father and husband, and a hardworking man..."
That may prove to be true. Innocent until proven guilty. Someone somewhere commented "Doesn't this remind you of the neighbors of whatever criminal who always remark how wonderful, fun-loving and quiet he/she was? " The Complete Associated Press Report is HERE.

UPDATE: Tuesday's NY POST says Tarik Shah was with an undercover informant at a meeting, and smiled at a girl, then told the informant "I could be joking and smiling and then cutting their throats in the next second." The POST also says Shah used his talents as a jazz musician as a "cover" for his terrorist activities. And guess what was found inside Shah's car parked outside his Bronx apartment? A note, reminding himself to buy a $125 Ward Churchill DVD. Someone run and tell Michelle Malkin!

These aren't the first alleged terrorists with ties to the Capital Region, (see "Taking the Sting out of Jihad") and they probably won't be the last. I suspect Al-Qaeda is patiently cooking up a blockbuster terror attack that will come out of left field and surprise us all. I still think that old "UFO" case that grew out of a piece of Fox23 videotape may have possibly been a test-firing of a missle or other WMD.
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Wanted: Comments & Trackbacks!

If a search engine brought you here and you can't find what you're looking for, type it in the Technorati Search Box at the right. (Make sure the button is highlighted for "this blog".)
My apologies, Blogger recently renamed all of my posts!

After much tinkering, much scouring Blogger and Haloscan faqs for code and information, I have restored BLOGGER comments for Blogspot users. Now, you have a choice! Some bloggers complained they had problems commenting on Haloscan. Others said they'd like to use trackback but the service they were using to publish their blog either didn't allow it or didn't offer it. You've probably noticed in the last few posts I found a trackback service that operates independently. Of course, you have to take a few minutes to learn how to use it. I figure that if there are options, I have "back-up" systems in place and you'll be more likely to leave comments or trackbacks! If and when you do, make sure you leave links back to YOUR homepage or blog!
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United We Blog

God Bless the USA!
I came across this entry today on Google.news:

Nepali blogs cut through censorship
Bangkok Post, Thailand - May 25, 2005
... Top of the heap of Nepalese blogs is United We Blog at , a brave effort by two ... we will go undercover and continue our crusade for a free Nepali society and ...

Problem: I tried to follow the link to read the story but it was GONE:
The requested URL /News/26May2005_news30.php was not found on this server.
Apache/1.3.27 Server at bangkokpost.net Port 80

Good thing UNITED WE BLOG is still up and running. If you have some time right now, take a look. Read. Give thanks if you're in a free country. Pray if you're not.

You'll find a related article on the Nepalese situation HERE.

Many readers of this blog have come to know Xiaxue/Wendy Cheng, whose blog is #1 across Asia, thanks mostly to the large number of Singaporeans who vote for and visit her weBlog daily. 8-thousand hits a day is nothing to sniff at. Trouble is, lotta folks look at Wendy's site and leave, scratching their heads. Okay. Here's the deal. Sex sells. Some sweetly photoshopped pictures, some well-placed four-letter words in her posts and VOILA! But there is a far BIGGER reason why Wendy is #1. Free speech as we know it in the USA is limited in Singapore!

In "Blog no evil" Singapore Straits Times' Ng Mei Yan writes:

"IF YOU think you can rant and rave on your Web log and get away with it, think again. Last March, Mediaah!, a media-criticism blog run by Pradyuman Maheshwari of India, was given a legal notice by the Times of India newspaper to remove 19 libellous posts from the website. The blogger chose to shut down the site instead. And in Singapore, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) recently took former scholar Chen Jiahao, 23, and Jeremy Chen, 22, an engineering student, to task for allegedly making defamatory remarks about the agency in their online journals. While Jeremy settled the matter amicably with the agency, Jiahao was nearly served with a libel suit before he extended his unreserved apology to the agency... Prominent blogger Wendy Cheng, 21, also known as 'Xia- xue', said: 'I know the people whom I criticise are not going to come after me and sue me. I don't write about companies and they are the ones that will sue.' One of the few who is more conscious about what she writes is 18-year-old Shandy Yeo, a student at a private school who blogs about her daily life. She told The Sunday Times that she is not taking any chances with the law.
'I think I will be more careful about what I write, and won't venture into topics like politics, race and religion.'"
Funny... I've searched Technorati and Google and other than the Straits Times Article above, I can't find any blog authored by a "Shandy Yeo."
on another note:
If you're deep into the science of counting and rating weBlogs, then this article is for you! It's entitled "Measuring the Impact of Blogs Requires More Than Counting" By CARL BIALIK (read it HERE)
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Knowledge, History, Politics Q and A

QUIZ: Who said it?
"I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save."

A) Darth Vader

B) Abraham Lincoln

C) Rufus T. Firefly

Find the correct answer HERE

Now, while you were sleeping, or watching the INDY 500, or attending a parade, or observing Memorial Day in some other way... French voters have overwhelmingly rejected the European Union's proposed constitution in a key referendum. BBC reports almost 55% of people voted "No". Turnout was high, at about 70%. The vote could deal a fatal blow to the EU constitution, which needs to be ratified by all 25 member states. Question: Why are the French so dead-set against the treaty? Answer: HERE. Scared Monkeys blogs a wrap up from around the world of newsprint. HERE is what other Europeans think. THIS French Blogger writes "...some people in the White House certainly opened a few bottles of Champagne..." Rowan offers British persepective: "...The fact that France is a founder member of the EU means diddly-squat with regard to this. Her Non is no more nor less meaningful than that of any other member state." (Full Post).
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Now Read Sith...

There's a RARE STAR WARS DVD that has people scouring e-Bay and harassing street vendors, just as US authorities continue clamping down on illegal copies of the latest STAR WARS movie. Revenge in a nutshell? A quickie synopsis of the movie? You pretty much find out WHY Anikin turns to the dark side. I found out today.

If you're going to be cheap, or you're scared to take your digital camera to the theater, or you just hate going OUT to a theater, then you'll never be happy unless you get a quality bootleg... the first bootlegs hit the streets May 20th, and there's a Chinese version floating around with sub-titles from a completely different film! MTV reports: (The bootleg on the Net) ...appears to be what's called an "internal work print," as indicated by the time codes on each frame, meaning that it was most likely derived from an official source, not a bootlegger with a camcorder in a theater. Piracy aside, the new STAR WARS is making TONS of MONEY! Lots of BLOGGERS are watching, too!
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Racist America, 2005

A young AMERICAN girl is crying out for justice... Aisha O'Gilvie is the captain of the cheerleading team, a Student Council officer and an honor student. Aisha has been accepted to six colleges and hopes to become a speech pathologist. The following is excepted from (Friday May 27) The Poughkeepsie Journal
__________________________________________________________
But 17-year-old Aisha O'Gilvie recently found herself labeled a discipline problem and has been barred from next week's graduation ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes High School.

As of Thursday, her parents, George O'Gilvie and Audrey Graham-O'Gilvie, weren't sure of their daughter's status as a Lourdes student...

Aisha O'Gilvie, who is black, said she and her boyfriend, who is white and captain of the football team, were repeatedly asked by school officials this year if they were dating.

She said she was verbally reprimanded for calling her friends, "fam," or family. A school official said the term was "gang-related" and not permitted in school.
__________________________________________________________
(Read the entire story..)

WATCH VIDEO from CBS2NY

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Memorial Day in The Blogosphere

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day... indeed, people were still calling it that in the early 1960s. Decoration Day was first observed in 1868 to honor the soldiers of the Civil War. It is believed that the end of May was chosen for the first Memorial Day because "because flowers would be in bloom all over the country."


Bloggers' Memorial Day posts are "in bloom":
Kerry is sporting a neat YODA tatoo and plans to attend a Vietnam soldiers tribute this weekend...

Nick Thomas offers a thought-provoking post :
"If you're living here in America, know that thousands upon thousands of men and women have died just so YOU, someone they most likely have never met before can live in a free world..." (Someone Elses America)

California Conservative offers a link for all to sign “An Open Letter in Support of America’s Armed Forces” along with a link to Michelle Malkin's Memorial Day Post. (check It Out) In turn, Michelle links to posts from Blackfive and Mudville Gazette.

Here's a MEMORIAL DAY PRAYER...

Other keyboards Blog the Holiday HERE, HERE and HERE.

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The Digital Times of Wendy Cheng

phe·nom·e·non
n. pl. phe·nom·e·na (-n)

1. An occurrence, circumstance, or fact that is perceptible by the senses.
2. pl. phe·nom·e·nons
1. An unusual, significant, or unaccountable fact or occurrence; a marvel.
2. A remarkable or outstanding person; a paragon.

In America tonight, Scared Monkeys writes; "Blogs have revolutionized the way we inform ourselves in gaining the news." How true! A lot of people are trying to size up the blog and the blogger. Some are concerned with content, others with traffic, while others don't give a damn. In Asia today, the publicity generated by one, single, otherwise insignificant blogger, is truly amazing. Having reached superstar status in the East, Wendy Cheng is to blogging what Twiggy was to modeling, what the Beatles were to music: a Phenomenon!

The latest cover of the Digital Life Today supplement features a pink (what else?!?) Xiaxue cover, coming on the heels of the recent (and presented to you a few posts down in this very blog) Zaobao pink Xiaxue cover!

The Digital Life Today article is entitled "Worshipping the ground they blog on" and is only available to subcribers. The headline reads: "All Ms Wendy Cheng had to do was bemoan the loss of her camera on her blog and ask readers to contribute a dollar each to help her buy a new one."

A synopsis of the article comes by way of MercerMachine, who refers to Xiaxue as Wendy Cha-Cheng (as in, no doubt, the jingle of the cash register, which seems to be the ultimate destination Ms. Cheng is on her way to).

In... "... Digital Life today, Wendy Cheng (xiaxue) says that her popularity is due to readers developing a rapport with her, as one would with characters in a drama series. "You grow with the characters and end up feeling emotionally attached to them," she says.

Personally, I think it has more to do with the cleavage.

Don't get me wrong, I think Ms. Cheng is an absolute master at self-marketing. On the verge of genius, in fact. But I've read her blog, and it's just not that engaging. All style and eye candy, and not much substance. It's blogging to the least common denominator. I'm not asking for or expecting literary or journalistic prize-winning essays, just posts that are inherently interesting. Ms Cheng's aren't, to me. But apparently they are to some 8,000 visitors to her site every day.

These numbers don't really phase me, though. I am reminded of a movie where someone is talking about tai chi, how a hundred million people practice it. The character asks 'can a hundred million people be wrong?' His father's reply: 'Frequently.'

I was reading Ms Cheng's article the other day in the paper, in which she describes an outing to Zouk. She gets hit on by a nerd, who puts both hands on her bare waist and acts in a generally boorish manner. She rebuffs him. She goes on to tell us that a short while later some other non-nerd does substantially the same thing, and that's okay. To paraphraze the moral of her story, life's not fair and neither is she.

Well that's great, Wendy. Thanks for the warning. Riveting reading it was not.

Wendy writes not to inform or emote or even entertain. She writes to be read.

And, sadly enough, it's working."

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Destroying America from INside

Shock and awe tonight across the blogosphere:

"... was listening to talk radio just now and heard about a new book called "Rainbow Party." The book is being marketed to kids and promotes "rainbow parties" parties where kids get together and engage in oral sex..." "...A rainbow party is when guys get 7 women to perform oral sex on them, each wearing a different colored lipstick, so that their magic-sticks look like rainbows..." "...here we have someone admitting by implication to what really most of us have come to accept as the tragic norm: that liberal groups often seem eerily uninterested in protecting children..." "...You know it's bad when it's too racy for the librarians to consider stocking it...."
You know something is rotten when it riles Howard Stern! Michelle Malkin has In-depth blogerage...

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More Bad News for Level 3 Sex Offenders

God, Paper and Ink

The Rev. Creighton Lovelace, of Danieltown Baptist Church, Forest City, North Carolina, says he won't apologize for a church sign (pictured) that says the Qur'an should be flushed. (MORE)

I believe that God is God, regardless of your particular faith. The fabric of the religious beliefs and traditions of the major faiths of the world are woven into a single glorious tapestry of praise and reverence for the Creator. Just as there are diferent versions and arrangements of a song, each of the major faiths has its own "mix" incorporating codes to live by, guided by a much higher power. Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews all send their prayers toward the same target, which because of culture, time, tradition and distance, has taken unique forms. The Qur'an, Bible and Torah are all sacred books in their own right. Ibrahim N. Abusharif nails it in his piece in the Christian Science Monitor, Desecrating the Qur'an. Crooks & Liars blogs: "...Hate is what hate does. Wait till this is broadcast around the world..." Indeed!

Incredibly, Pirate Buddha today posted the following:

"If our operatives in gitmo are NOT desecrating the Koran in an attempt to gather information from terror suspects, then they are not doing their job. This may sound harsh, but lets be honest, what's more affective(sic) when dealing with religious fundamentalists? Physical torture or religious torture? These guys are obviously in a hurry to die - but they believe strongly in their religious ideologies, so what better way to combat that? This statement is not made against Muslims, it is made against religious fanatics, fundamentalists and terrorists. Now, with that said, should a publication like Newsweek be telling the entire world the practices of our interogators at Gitmo?
Probably Not."

Recommended reading: The battle for Muslim hearts and minds? by Aijaz Zaka Syed.

Other Writings:
A Hitchhiker's Guide to Religious Tolerance

Refreshing

Interfaith dialogue essential to build ties

Spiritual Torture

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The Prom Murders

The "Gangsta" mentality seems to be taking root with America's youth. From West Virgina, a shocking tragedy... 4 teenagers murdered Sunday in front of the apartment house where one of them lived. AP reports that a neighbor says he heard gunfire...and a girl pleading for her life. He says he heard a girl say "Please don't kill me, I'm sorry," followed by gunshots...
MORE

The following videos are QuickTime format, so if you have dial-up, it may take a little time, but you should be able to download and play them back offline. They're from WOWK-TV, and could be pulled or modified at any time.

1 - Police say it's possible that Donte Ward was the target, and the three others killed were in the wrong place at the wrong time... VIDEO

2 - Students and faculty members remember Michael Dillon, who was slain just hours after attending the school's prom. VIDEO

Lindane Revisited

This Sunday 0600 EDST on Capital Region People via WYJB b95.5, my guest is Pamela LaBrake.
We'll be discussing a previous article posted to this blog. The background you'll need for this post is HERE, so read the post first before proceeding.

Pam and I got to sending emails back and forth and I ended up inviting her to appear on the radio show. Off-air she told me the gentleman who wrote the original Times-Union piece has since left the paper. Pam gave me links that are pertinent to her stand against Lindane.

* The text of the bill sponsored by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg in the state Assembly Health Committee is available Here!

* FDA FAQ on lindane shampoo & lotion
* EPA lindane facts
* CDC head lice fact sheet
* More info on head lice and treatments
* More info on head lice and lindane
* Ban Lindane Campaign Website