Posted 11:07 PM by Blah blah

More on America Spying on UN Security Council Members

Interview with Martin Bright (Australian Broadcasting Corp.), journalist with The Observer. He's the man who broke the story about America spying on UN Security Council members. Shocking and dismaying. Damaging to the reputation of the United States:

MARTIN BRIGHT: Electronic surveillance is what the NSA [National Security Agency] does in the States. It's absolutely crucial to the operations of the American espionage community. It's a huge, huge operation. We know that there are at least 18,000 car parking spaces for instance at the NSA headquarters. So when you say, "just electronic monitoring," that is absolutely central to any country's spying operations.

TONY JONES: Do you know what they were hoping to get? Was it personal information about the people? Was it national information about strategies these countries were adopting?

MARTIN BRIGHT: It's quite clear what they were going for was not only the voting patterns and the voting plans and the negotiations with other interested parties such as the French or the Chinese, it wasn't just the bare bones, it was also the office telephone communications and email communications and also what are described as 'domestic coms,' which is the home telephones of people working within the UN.

This can only mean that they were looking for personal information. That is, information which could be used against those delagates.

It's even clear from the memo that this was an aggressive operation. It wasn't simply a neutral surveillance operation.....

TONY JONES: One of the very intriguing things about this story is it seems to have got very little coverage in the US. You'd think it would have been huge coverage there. Is it true that a number of US television networks which scheduled interviews with you cancelled them at the last minute?...

MARTIN BRIGHT: It happened with NBC, Fox TV and CNN, who appeared very excited about the story to the extent of sending cars to my house to get me into the studio, and at the last minute, were told by their American desks to drop the story.

Posted 10:23 AM by Blah blah

Tom Hanks: Charlie Rose Interview

Wow, I just listened to this FANTASTIC one hour interview with Tom Hanks. (RealPlayer) As usual, Charlie Rose is THE best interview show on television. Period. Charlie always has on the most accomplished, mind-blowing, and relevant people of today. On his website you hear most of his interviews for yourself in streaming audio.

Hanks is not only incredibly sharp about the movie/TV business, he's very humble and self-effacing. One reason for his great success. If you listen carefully, you gain a great deal of insight into how ideas for movies (or TV miniseries like his Band of Brothers on HBO) get turned into reality. He talks about what it means to supposedly be "the most powerful person in Hollywood," about Steven Spielberg's working style and what makes him a directing genius, about his own career, and how making movies like Philadelphia and Castaway emotionally affected him. Talks about the stroke of luck that led his wife Rita Wilson to going to see Nia Vardalos's one-woman show in LA, which ultimately led Hanks' production company to make My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

One thing Hanks emphasizes: even for someone with his clout, there are many film/TV projects he'd love to get made, that he knows are IMPOSSIBLE to get made. He says the economic risks and realities are too dominating in the biz for even him to get what his artistic sense would tell him. The best luxury of his position, he says, is being able to say NO to projects that he dislikes or don't suit him. Saying NO is the result of success in the biz, not an option for most entertainment people.

Posted 10:27 PM by Blah blah

Kevin Sites, CNN Correspondent

New on my reading list: the new blog of Kevin Sites, CNN correspondent. Today he just drove from Iran to the border of northern Iraq! Check out his photo from the border of Iran and Kurdistan. From Kevin's bio: "He has reported from war zones in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. He spent nearly six months on the front lines in Afghanistan covering the Northern and Eastern Alliance forces prior to, during and after the fall of the Taliban. He shot video of the first American journalist wounded during that conflict." Kevin also made this audio blog post yesterday. Listen. He also has a message board for each of his posts, which many have signed.

Posted 4:55 PM by Blah blah

Michael Schumacher: Champion Auto Racer

God, The Observer is a GREAT paper! It is more international, hip, and up-to-date than a lot of U.S. papers. Fascinating profile of German Michael Schumacher (The Observer), the king of Formula One auto racing. He is the 2nd best-paid athlete in the world and was ranked by Forbes as 6th best-paid world celebrity. He's been the leader of this sport for many years. A sharp profile of what it takes to be a champion:...The reason why motor racing has become predictable is simple: Schumacher wins too often and too easily. If he lost a bit more, those who run F1 acknowledge, then the product they are selling would become a lot more marketable again."

Guide to Iraq Pundits

Field guide to Iraq pundits (Slate), "who's who among" the TV talking heads. "The Slate field guide to Iraq pundits is arranged in order of bellicosity, from blood-red hawks to snow-white doves."

Posted 10:13 AM by Blah blah

Russell Wong: Black Sash

I started this discussion thread on Rice Bowl Journals about this story.

Please help me spread the word, on RBJ, your blog, and to your friends. Let's get some high ratings for this show and open the way to more Asian starring roles.
Sundays 9/8c, Series Premiere on March 30, the WB network.

Be still my ancient Chinese heart. Is it possible? Yes! An ASIAN guy will be starring in an American TV show. Russell Wong is coming out in Black Sash, starting March 30 on the WB network at 9 pm/8 pm CST.

Russell stars "as an ex-cop who sacrificed everything and must now rebuild his own life as a [martial arts] teacher and mentor to a diverse group of teenagers." The series is set in San Francisco but actually filmed in Vancouver.

Despite how I dislike how Hollywood associates Asian guys mainly with martial arts, at least an Asian-AMERICAN guy is out there in the spotlight for the first time, dammit. (The last show with an Asian star was Martial Law with the Hong Kong star Sammo Hung.)

According to the trailer, Russell even kisses white girls on the show. He's not a monk (Chow Yun-Fat's latest flick). He has a PENIS!

The first show in American TV history with an Asian guy star who speaks perfect English and romances white girls. (Or did he do that in his last show, Vanishing Son?) Thought I'd be old and balding before that ever happened. Break out the champagne. Be kind to Russell.

Posted 9:06 AM by Blah blah

Funny anti-Bush cartoon. Please read. I caught Bush clubbing this week, incognito. Flex those military abs, baby:



More on the American Spying of UN Security Council Members

More on the American request to spy on UN Security Council members. Disgraceful. I'm ashamed of my government. UN launches inquiry into American spying (The Observer):

"The revelations of the spying operation have caused deep embarrassment to the Bush administration at a key point in the sensitive diplomatic negotiations to gain support for a second UN resolution authorising intervention in Iraq....The operation is thought to have been authorised by US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, but American intelligence experts told The Observer that a decision of this kind would also have involved Donald Rumsfeld, CIA director George Tenet and NSA chief General Michael Hayden.

President Bush himself would have been informed at one of the daily intelligence briefings held every morning at the White House....The Observer story caused a political furore in Chile, where President Ricardo Lagos demanded an immediate explanation of the spying operation. The Chilean public is extremely sensitive to reports of US 'dirty tricks' after decades of American secret service involvement in the country's internal affairs. In 1973 the CIA supported a coup that toppled the democratically-elected socialist government of Salvador Allende and installed the dictator General Augusto Pinochet."

US Press Slow to React.

I can't say it any better or more clearly than Terry Jones, creator of Monty Python:
Mr Bush goes for the kill (The Observer)

Posted 11:47 PM by Blah blah

Next on Tiger Cafe...

1. Brandon Vedas, a guy in Arizona who killed himself accidentally with an overdose of prescription drugs 2 months ago as "friends" watched live on his webcam. He was chatting with them on IRC and some even encouraged him to take more drugs. Read the horrifying chat log.

2. I will summarize Chapter 3 of Susan Page's book, The 8 Essential Traits of Couples Who Thrive.

Stay tuned! Send me lots of cards and sign my Guestmap in the meantime. :D

Posted 9:14 PM by Blah blah

Who are you? Sign My Guestmap!

I've added a guestmap to this blog, below my hit counter. Please

Sign My Guestmap!

It lets you zoom into your country and region before you sign. Who are you, mystery visitors from Paypal, PaineWebber, the U. of Washington, and Northwestern U.? I see you come daily. Please sign it and say hi.

All who sign will get virtual noogies from me, and I don't give them lightly. :p

Posted 1:44 PM by Blah blah

Moon River

Are you stressed? Remember that romantic Audrey Hepburn movie Breakfast At Tiffany's? Well listen to its wistful, dreamy title song, by the gifted composer Henry Mancini. Yes, I grew up enjoying all those old movie classics. I like the song better than the story:

Directly from the film, hear Audrey Hepburn singing "Moon River" (1.3 MB):

Moon River, wider than a mile,
I'm crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
Wherever you're going I'm going your way.
Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.
We're after the same rainbow's end--
Waiting 'round the bend,
My huckleberry friend,
Moon River and me.

Posted 11:40 AM by Blah blah

More War News

Funny columns in The Observer by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, about the war, including: I'm losing patience with my neighbours, Mr Bush.

Good news, for a change.

Bush Sr warning over unilateral action (The Times of London):

"THE first President Bush has told his son that hopes of peace in the Middle East would be ruined if a war with Iraq were not backed by international unity. Drawing on his own experiences before and after the 1991 Gulf War, Mr Bush Sr said that the brief flowering of hope for Arab-Israeli relations a decade ago would never have happened if America had ignored the will of the United Nations. [Here's a transcript of his speech at Tufts University.]

He also urged the President to resist his tendency to bear grudges, advising his son to bridge the rift between the United States, France and Germany....

In an ominous warning for his son, Mr Bush Sr said that he would have been able to achieve nothing if he had jeopardised future relations by ignoring the UN. 'The Madrid conference would never have happened if the international coalition that fought together in Desert Storm had exceeded the UN mandate and gone on its own into Baghdad after Saddam and his forces.'

Also drawing on the lessons of 1991, he said that it was imperative to mend fences with allies immediately, rather than waiting until after a war. He had been infuriated with the decision of King Hussein of Jordan to side with Saddam rather than the US, but while criticising the Jordanian leader in public and freezing $41 million in US aid, he also passed word to King Hussein that he understood his domestic tensions.

Where This Bush Parts Ways with Dad (BusinessWeek): "[W]ith war perhaps days away, this President has at every point turned away from much of his father's foreign policy wisdom, and he has elevated the second showdown with Saddam to the largest of gambles."

---

US public turns to Europe for news (dotJournalism):

"The threat of war in Iraq is driving increasing numbers of Americans to British and international news web sites in search of the broader picture.

According to the internet audience management and analysis company, Nielsen NetRatings, traffic to the UK's biggest news sites, BBC News Online and Guardian Unlimited, has increased dramatically over the past year. Many of these new users are from the US.... [The Guardian even keeps this blog and a special blog on Iraq (see their links).]

The American public is apparently turning away from the mostly US-centric American media in search of unbiased reporting and other points of views. Much of the US media's reaction to France and Germany's intransigence on the Iraqi war issue has verged on the xenophobic, even in the so-called 'respectable' press. Some reporting has verged on the hysterical...

Mr Dennis said: 'American visitors are telling us they are unable to find the breadth of opinion we have on our web site anywhere else because we report across the political spectrum rather than from just one perspective.' "

Posted 11:34 AM by Blah blah

I have a new favorite music station now! It's this catchy dance music station I just discovered, 92.7 FM (KZSF), in the East Bay. My housemate K listens to that kinda music a lot, and I got it from her. Makes me wanna get up and bump bootay with someone! Whew... :D Before, I'd been listening to Wild 94.9 FM, a mainly rap station. I got this habit from my OTHER housemate. Do you listen to these too, Sandy?

Yup, I appreciate rap and techno as well as classical, bluegrass, and jazz. Goes against my image, huh? And I used to play violin too. Sometimes you just wanna shake that stress out of your system! Back to 92.7 for me...

Venting Machine

From the Best of Craigslist:

"Venting online not satisfying enough? Wish you could whine about life -- in real life? Now you can.

Presenting the world's first fully automatic Venting Machine®."

Posted 8:36 AM by Blah blah

Ho-Bag Story

Was checking out Alaysia's blog. This Feb. 28 story really made me fall out of the chair laughing! Some girls can be just SO funny when they get in trouble. And how girls THINK---that never fails to amuse me. She's studying to be a chiropractor.

This morning I was perusing the usual sites, RBJ being one of the new additions, and nothing much had changed. I see a new girl in the top 200 and I'm thinking to myself "yeah yeah, lets move right along now.." and I click to another window when it suddenly dawned on me that the girl I had just dissed that was staring at me, was in fact, myself. If I recall, I said "holy shit! sorry." Yes, I actually apologised out loud to myself =/ ...

You know what happened earlier? I went to buy a spine from this place that sells it much cheaper than anywhere I've looked...and the guy there put it in a box for me and it was pretty big so I hugged it and he held the door open for me while I walked out. When I put it in the car and got in the driver's seat ready to go for my chiro appointment, I noticed all this pink stuff over my front. Whatever the hell was on that box got all over my grey shirt. I panicked and spent a quick minute or two trying to get it off. I'm sure it looked like a one-man frisky, self-satisfying quickie to outsiders.

The damage looked a lot worse than I can describe---let's just say, it looked like someone drew a smiley face using just my womanly assets (or lack of) and my belly. Just as well I remembered my sister had left a top in the trunk/boot to throw away. I thought I'd give it a chance. I found a crumpled black bonds top and it looked in pretty good condition. So for the rest of the ride, I spent all the red lights trying to de-crease the thing. I changed in the car on the side of the road where I parked---hopefully nobody saw :D although 6 years of soccer with boys around has taught me to be able to change without showing any skin. I get out and look at my reflection and I realise why it is that my sister is throwing the top out. It didn't even come down to my belly button. If you don't know, this bonds shirt is a type that little boys wear as an undershirt.

Needless to say, when I walked into the chiro's place, everyone stared at me like I was some ho-bag girl. There wasn't much I could do..except shout "at least I'm a ho-bag who knows what a spondylolisthesis is!" ....haha, right.

Posted 7:10 PM by Blah blah

Just talked to my mom today. She's been sick with a high fever and non-productive cough. I'm worried. We'll see what happens tomorrow and then go to the doctor again.

In reading Susan Page's book, I see a lot of my own faults. Boy...so many places I can do better! When I finish summarizing the whole book here, I will try to review myself, honestly, and see how I follow her criteria. This will be a humbling experience.

Susan Page: Couples Who Thrive (Part 3)
Excerpts from her book The 8 Essential Traits of Couples Who Thrive.

Here's Part 1. Part 2.

Chapter 1 Summary:
1. Desire: act as if you have a passionate desire to be with your spouse and to have a wonderful relationship together. Find some small way to behave the way an enthusiastic spouse would behave. Very often, new feelings will follow new behavior.
2. Belief: believe that you both can have a thriving marriage and act accordingly. Believe that you can work or deal with your disagreements.
3. Commitment: unswervingly commit to each other and to improving the relationship. This will increase intimacy and trust.

Chapter 2. Trait 2: Goodwill

Goodwill means: giving your partner the benefit of the doubt, being as concerned about meeting your partner's needs as your own. Being on your partner's side and knowing that your partner is on your side. Even when you disagree, you assume your partner means well. You never impugn your partner's motives.

The happy couples I interviewed had an abundance of goodwill toward each other, and this...was the basis for the freedom and ease they felt with each other. [In unhappy couples,] this spirit of goodwill is conspicuously absent.

Goodwill is: 1) a willingness to focus on positive qualities; 2) an attitude of gratitude; 3) mutual tolerance and acceptance; 4) respect; 5) trust; and 6) the ability to give.

A Willingness to Focus on Positive Qualities

I have a friend who often complains that her husband doesn't see what needs to be done around the house. The irony is that this man is very handy. He does lots of little jobs, he does them well, and promptly. All she will see is that she has to tell him to do every job. My friend is making her own life miserable just by choosing to think about what her husband does not see instead of what he does do.

One woman said to me, "People tell me my husband is conceited, but I just tell them, 'He deserves to be.'" I thought her comment was a delightful way of telling him, "I'm on your side. I love you exactly the way you are."

Experiment: Focusing on the Positive

1. List all the things you don't like about your spouse.
2. Now list all the things you like about your spouse.
3. Make a pact with yourself that you will not mention anything in list #1 to your spouse or to anyone else for 2 full weeks. Mark this on your calendar.
4. Be certain you mention at least 5 things on list #2 to your spouse every day for the next 2 weeks. Think of original ways to compliment your spouse. You also could write a little rhyme or give him or her a little gift as a thank you. Be sure to mention 5 positive qualities every day.

An Attitude of Gratitude

Virtually every happy couple I spoke with mentioned how grateful they are to be with each other. When I asked "How often do you talk about your relationship, and of what does that usually consist?" this is what I often heard:

We are always telling each other how lucky we are to be together and to have the life that we have.

I really feel that Lisa saved my life. I mean she did. I thank her for it every day.

If anything comes up that we need to talk about, we do it right away. But we're always saying how much we love each other. [Not a big Asian thing to do.]

I could detect a slight feeling of awe that they had found each other. Even after many years, they felt their being together was a little miracle. As one man said, "After 32 years, I have finally gotten used to the idea of being happy and of having this extraordinary woman by my side, but it doesn't mean I'm not still extremely grateful." To cultivate an attitude of gratitude in your marriage, spend as much time talking about the good things in your life together as you spend complaining about your problems.

Mutual Acceptance and Tolerance [I can just see her trying to tell this to the wives of axe murderers. :P -RG]

Unconditional love is simply total acceptance. I may be angry, I may feel hurt, I may feel distant. But this doesn't mean that my love is in any way diminished. It is when someone feels sad or anxious or blue that unconditional love is the most important. You need to know that you are loved especially when you aren't being very loving toward yourself.

If I choose to make a full commitment to someone, and then I fall short of it, my failure is a statement about me, not about the other person. It might be more accurate to say, "I have come up against a fear in myself that makes it impossible for me to love you right now, or to love this part of you." When love is conditional, the weakness is not in the object of love, but in the lover.

Accepting something doesn't mean you have to like it; it means you stop fighting it. When one partner is trying to change another, the conflict is usually caused by the partner who is not willing to be accepting, not the partner who is not willing to change.

Make an internal shift so that you can begin to see the qualities that are less desirable to you as acceptable---possibly even endearing.

If you are nagging your partner about something that the person is not likely to be able to change anyway---like talking less for an exuberant woman, or not worrying about his fair share of the bill for a naturally thrifty man---then you are actually creating a problem. Bruce's one complaint about his wife Jan is that she talks too much and tends to dominate conversations. By resisting Jan's talking, Bruce was causing this issue to persist in their lives. After our conversation, he decided to experiment with letting go of his intensity about the whole thing. He stopped mentioning it. Whenever he wanted to get into the conversation, he would very politely say, "Could I interrupt a second?" or "Could I say something?" Jan always stopped and let him talk. When he let himself go along with what was happening naturally, the problem disappeared.

I have found a common difference between men and women is that men often have a need for "alone time," especially at the end of a busy day, whereas women are more likely to be eager for some intimate contact at that time. Misunderstandings have led many couples to say "He's too remote." "She's too demanding." But for example, she could give him 40 minutes to relax by himself. Then he could give her 40 minutes to connect and talk.

For thriving couples, any potential problem was nipped in the bud by their spirit of goodwill toward each other. They didn't take their differences in temperament personally. Because of their ability to be flexible, tolerant, and accepting, they were able to avoid many potential problems.

It does not mean that two people cannot ever ask for change. Instead, a spirit of acceptance in a relationship creates a nonjudgmental, safe atmosphere that makes asking for change much easier. It would be very hard for me to consider changing for you if I felt that your love for me depended on whether or not I changed.

Experiment: Acceptance and Tolerance

1. Make a list of all the things that annoy you about your partner.
2. Rate each item from 1-5, with 1 meaning not integral to who your spouse is, and 5 being extremely integral to who your spouse is.
3. With each item, ask yourself if the problem would go away if you simply became more accepting of whatever it is that annoys you.
4. Make a pact with yourself to avoid mentioning some of these items for 2 full weeks.

Trust and Respect

Couples who thrive have learned to take their mutual trust for granted. Also, mutual respect is a fundamental component.

DONALD: When I say I respect Barbara, I mean that I value her in a way that goes way beyond all the things she does. I respect that she is a wise, old soul, that she is connected to the universe in a way far beyond what I can see. We have been put together for this sojourn on earth, and I have a great responsibility to honor her and treat her well. She's a beautiful and very special spirit.

Respect empowers both the one who respects and the one who is respected.

Giving

In gaining our cherished independence, we have forgotten how nourishing it is to give freely and generously, wanting nothing in return. Of course there is such a thing as unhealthy giving. When you do for other people what they need to do for themselves, you are giving in a way that helps no one.

As one woman put it, "If people would spend less time in their marriages trying to get their needs met and more time going over to rub each other's shoulders, we wouldn't have so many couples in therapy."

Psychologist Harville Hendrix contends that one's deepest, most instinctive self doesn't distinguish between self and other, so that giving to another person is experienced as giving to oneself!

In marriage, you have the opportunity to please yourself and your partner with thoughtfulness and generosity every day. From doing the little favors your partner requests, to offering help, to giving in when your preferences differ, to thinking up lovely surprises, giving is part of the basic design of the tapestry of marriage.

One woman, a feminist, didn't want to be in a position of having to subordinate her needs to those of another. But she had misunderstood what sacrifice really means. When you give in and go to your partner's movie choice instead of your own, you are actually gaining something you prize even more than your movie: the joy of making the person you love happy.

Couples who thrive tend to be more concerned about whether they are giving their fair share than whether they are getting their fair share.

BARBARA: "I have two friends who keep insisting that I acquiesce to Donald too much. His goals have become my goals, and I have given up some of my own in the process. They point out that I don't play bridge anymore and that I dropped out of two singing groups I was in. I spend half my time now promoting his business, making handcrafted furniture.

But I'm only giving to Donald what I want to give. I love working with him. I'm making a huge contribution, and I'm as invested in it as he is now. The whole thing is adding a stimulating new dimension to my life. I'm free to choose not to give to him, and I choose to. If you spend all your time looking after your own needs only, you might as well have stayed single."

Two specific suggestions on HOW to give:
1. People tend to give what they themselves would like to receive, forgetting that the recipient of their gifts might have altogether different preferences. Make a deliberate attempt to find out what your partner wants and how your partner wants to be given to.
2. The most thoughtful and often the most appreciated giving of all is the unsolicited, unexpected gift. Flowers on Valentine's Day don't count as much as flowers on any normal, routine day. Best of all is when you notice something your spouse could use, or you pay attention to a little hint that gets dropped, and you totally surprise your spouse with exactly what he or she most wants.
_____________________
Chapter 2 Summary:

1. Focus on the positive qualities of your loved one.
2. Feel gratitude about your life together.
3. Accept even things you don't like much about your partner or relationship.
4. Trust and Mutually Respect each other.
5. Want to give freely to your partner.
All of these qualities reflect and create GOODWILL.

Posted 5:53 AM by Blah blah

Danny!

Oh my God. I was checking out RBJ today after several months absence, and Danny (aka Mighty Asian Thunder) is using my photo as his avatar. And not just any photo. It's my swimming photo, the only photo I've posted of me with my shirt off. HAHAHA! Danny!!! I can't believe you actually dug through my photos for that one.

Here are the photos after Danny made me go bald last year. He loves to modify my photos in Photoshop, for some reason. What a trip, man. You are hilarious! Even though Danny and I are pretty far apart politically (he's more a Rush Limbaugh fan), we have always gotten along online. Warm wishes to you and the lovely Jocelyn!

Another thing: we BOTH like both Kobe Tai and Mary Poppins!

What a weird coincidence! How did we ever get from one to the other...? We are both twisted, I tell ya. Hahaha!

Kobe Tai looks like she is having so much fun...as does Mary Poppins. What does Mary yell in a porn movie filmed in California? SuperCALIfragilisticexpialidocious!!!!!!

Danny wrote: "Internet stalkers are total losers... hell, have fun, let the person know who it really is... hiding behind your monitor is nothing but stupid to say the least... Kobe Tai rocks... I'd do Mary Poppins too." Go Danny!