Posted 7:10 PM by Blah blah

Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer

Well Russell and his long-time girlfriend, singer Danielle Spencer, are getting married Monday in Nana Glen, on his rural ranch in Australia!

Here are two sweet articles about them from Hello magazine. Both interview Danielle. This one has pix of the two of them over the years. This one is from May 2002. I like how their relationship has been gradual, starting as friends, and consistent. All very sweet! Read how Danielle tamed Russell and how he's really a teddy bear.

Posted 8:17 PM by Blah blah

Picking up a Pregnant Hitchhiker. Saw Phone Booth

Oh my God, Sgt. Hook just told this awesome story on his blog, about picking up a pregnant lady while driving through Canada to Michigan. Either he's a better storyteller than I, or he has a more interesting life. I say both.

Like some movies are "popcorn movies," Hook's story is a "popcorn blog post." Sit back and read his posts on April 4. Part 1 is at 2:39. Part 2 is at 21:17.

Just saw the new movie Phone Booth. Bravo Colin Farrell for a giving a tour de force performance! While the premise may seem like that of an experimental student film, that's what I like about this challenging, intense thriller. It's unique. So atypical Hollywood. And cheap too (less than a $2 million budget I think).

Director Joel Schumacher has an unerring eye for casting gifted young unknown actors that end up as the hottest new thing. Schumacher did that with Kiefer Sutherland (who stars here as the bad guy) in Flatliners, with Matthew McConaughey in A Time to Kill, and now with Colin Farrell in Tigerland, followed by Phone Booth. If you like Colin, you will absolutely be blown away by him in Tigerland, a drama about military recruits training before they get shipped to Vietnam. Schumacher plucked him from Irish TV for the beginning of stardom here. (By the way, ladies, he spends much of Tigerland with his shirt off.)

Based on Colin's critical acclaim and promise from Tigerland, Schumacher used him for Phone Booth, shot in only 10 days in 2000, mainly in Los Angeles. Colin made Phone Booth before his fame for Minority Report and The Recruit. He was only 25. He shows an incredibly range and maturity for someone so young. He also reminds me of a young Brad Pitt. And my favorite TV star now, Kiefer Sutherland, shows authority and menace as a bad guy whom I ended up rooting for as well. I wanted both men to win.

Phone Booth does have a lot of swearing, though, which it didn't really need.

Posted 9:51 AM by Blah blah

Keep God Out of Political Arguments, PLEASE

This is something that bugs me to no end: politicians who shove their religion down our throats. I consider the continual use of God by U.S. politicians to back up their ideas just as bad as Saddam and Osama calling on Muslims to back jihad for the same reason---that God says so.

Bush Mix of God and War Grates on Many Europeans (Reuters).

From the Reuters article: "The House of Representatives called on Thursday for a rare national day of prayer and fasting to secure divine blessings for U.S. troops at war in Iraq and protection for Americans from terrorism."

Posted 9:51 PM by Blah blah

Gary Hart Blogs! Phil Carter: Intel Dump blog

Guess what? An actual politician, Gary Hart, now blogs! Lawyer and former U.S. Democratic Senator from Colorado, he ran unsuccessfully for President in 1984 and 1988. I've seen him debate on TV. He's a very thoughtful speaker and I like him. Inspires me to see him online! I see he spent 2001 back in school, getting his D.Phil in politics from Oxford.

Hart is considering running for President again in 2004. Wouldn't it be fantastic, for a change, to hear what a candidate really thinks, without all the crap and spin from his political handlers? Wouldn't it be a blast to have him answer your questions directly online? Politicians are usually much smarter than the banal sound bites, that tend to play on TV news, lead us to think. Leave him your good wishes!

I'm always looking for a good articulate source of views, whether I agree with them or not. Here's a very educational blog by Phil Carter, currently studying at UCLA Law School. His resume is outstanding: he was a captain in the U.S. Army, an officer in the 4th Infantry Division. He's worked on anti-terrorism operations in Texas. He's written for Investor's Business Daily as well as the Los Angeles Times and Slate.com. He writes quick military analyses on his blog of the current situation.

For the military, journalist, and legal perspective all in one, turn to Phil Carter's Intel Dump.

Posted 9:39 AM by Blah blah

Hi Leslie Cheung Fans!

Well the Leslie Cheung fans keep coming and coming here. Would you be kind enough to say hi, either on my Guestmap (on top) or my Guestbook? Please let me know what you think and how you are feeling. Again, I'm very sorry Leslie was taken away from you. Some of you grew up with him, and he was your first celebrity crush, I know. I hope the memorial service helped ease some of your pain. :)

Leslie Cheung Suicide. RIP :(

See Leslie's Pillow for many many links to articles about his death, both Chinese and English.
Photos of Leslie Cheung's Funeral (Yahoo News).

Nicole Tan, on his fan club message board, also translated two touching articles from Chinese about what happened at his funeral. Article 1. Article 2.

Why? The Neuroscience of Suicide (Scientific American).

Since many of you are coming here today for more on Leslie Cheung's suicide coverage, I organize it all here. For a list of good articles on Leslie's death, check here in the Hong Kong Entertainment News in Review. The HKER says:

Leslie Cheung Funeral Information

A private funeral service will be held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home, 979 King's Road, Hong Kong at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 8th April 2003. Fans who wish to pay their respects are invited to do so on Monday, 7th April 2003 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m at the Hong Kong Funeral Home.

The cremation takes place on Tuesday, following the last rites from 11 am to noon.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Children's Cancer Foundation or End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation.

Distraught fans of Leslie Cheung pay their last respect (Channel NewsAsia).
Astro to air Cheung’s funeral service (The Star).
Fans can pay their last respects (Straits Times).

For 59 articles on Leslie (and climbing), please go to Google News Entertainment. Also see Yahoo News Full Coverage: Leslie Cheung.

I am very sad to hear that pretty boy Hong Kong actor and pop singer, Leslie Cheung (see his super-cute photos), committed suicide Tuesday, April 1.

Photos from the suicide:
Leslie Cheung's photo in a stretcher, near death. (People's Daily)
Larger version of stretcher photo. (The Sun)
Blood on the street. (Oriental Daily News)

His official website and Internet Fan Club. Sign the memorial page on his official site's message board. Extensive photos of Leslie from his official site.

Listen to Leslie in radio report that aired April 1 in Hong Kong. It has an interview in Cantonese with Leslie before his death.

---

No relationship woes (Straits Times): "The former manager of Leslie Cheung has dismissed rumours that the singer-actor took his life because of relationship troubles. Chan Suk Fan, who witnessed his fall last Tuesday, broke her silence and talked to Hongkong's Ming Pao Weekly after reading untrue reports about Cheung's relationship with his boyfriend Daffy Tong. The couple had been happily together since 1982, she said, and Cheung had once told her to take care of Tong on his behalf, should he meet with an accident. She said Cheung had been dogged by bad health in the past year. His voice had turned hoarse from a gastric ailment, causing his recording work to come to a standstill. Because of his health problems, he also rejected movie roles and it led to a confidence crisis."

We were just fine, says Cheung's lover (The Standard): " 'I have lost my best friend,' [Teresa Mo] wept. 'I knew him when we were both very, very young and he always cared for me. Whenever I was unhappy, he would come over and stay with me to make me feel better.' Mo said she felt something was troubling Cheung when she last saw him but when she offered to stay with him, he said it was not necessary."

Depressed for 20 long years (Straits Times):

[R]eports reveal that he might have been suffering from depression for 20 years. His boyfriend, Tong Hock Tak, also believed he was depressed. The former banker, whose eyes were swollen from crying, stood at the door of his apartment on Wednesday morning and gave an impromptu news conference to the Hongkong media.

He said: 'Our relationship of more than 10 years has been good all along. There's never been a third party. I've never changed towards him. I knew he was depressed. I spent a lot of time with him, counselling him.'

Cheung might have killed himself because of 'career hindrances', he said. He added: 'There're many things, it's complicated. I know why but I will not tell. Let's see if his family wants to tell. We'll give the fans and the public an explanation later.'

Apple Daily said Cheung, who was worth at least HK$300 million (S$67.5 million), wrote a will late last year, after an unsuccessful bid to take his life by swallowing sleeping pills.

He was said to have willed most of his property to Tong, who made him richer through the years by making wise investments in real estate and funds....He kept his relationship with Tong secret for years, United Daily News said, to protect the latter's banking career.

Cheung was said to have gone public with his romance only after Tong gave up his job for love.

During the conference on Wednesday, Tong also blasted newspapers for making up reports that other men had come between Cheung and himself.

(Includes timetable of what happened in Leslie's FINAL HOURS...)

Cheung cites depression in last note (The Star, Malaysia): The [suicide] note in Chinese, found in his coat pocket by a policeman, stated:

Depression! Thank you to the fans. Thank you to Prof Mike [his psychiatrist]. It has been a year of suffering. Thank you Mr Tong [his companion], Thank you Fei Che [Lydia Shum Tin Ha (plump comedic actress on left)]. In my life I have done nothing wrong. Why it has to be like this?

Farewell my friends (Straits Times, Singapore): "HIS last words were posed simply in a brief suicide note...So, why did Leslie Cheung take his life?...Reports, not unexpectedly, have been conflicting. [Tong] also confirmed that Cheung had been suffering from depression and that he had accompanied him to see a psychiatrist. He revealed that in November last year, Cheung had tried to kill himself. He did not reveal more details of the suicide attempt."

---

*** Great articles about Leslie's relationship with his companion Tong Hock Tak, including a photo of Tong and Leslie holding hands. Translation of Chinese article about Tong and Cheung. Photo of Leslie and Tong on March 20 leaving the movies together.

Cheung's Suicide Note Released to Public (Zap2it.com).

Was failed affair the final straw? (Straits Times). [Tong said NO.]

That Old Feeling: Days of Being Leslie (Time): "A glittering raiment of ego had cloaked and cushioned Leslie for nearly 30 years in the limelight. Still beautiful, still looking a decade younger than his years, at the end he had all the perfections but one: a belief he was not as perfect a Leslie as he had been. Or that he was not seen to be as beautiful, as necessary, which for a magician is the same sad thing. What to do? Leslie's choices of films, songs, plumage, concert strategies had been brazen and true. Could his choice of a solution to his despair be just as daring?"

From Channel News Asia: "Cable Television reported that Cheung had left a note saying he was suffering from emotional problems before his death at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong's Central district." From The Standard (Hong Kong): "Cheung had fallen from a high floor, crashed through fences on the podium and onto Connaught Road. He was taken to the Queen Mary Hospital where he was certified dead at 7.06 pm. Hotel staff had seen Cheung using a gym on the 24th floor at about 4pm. He was said to be alone at the time. A note Cheung had left with the concierge said he was experiencing 'emotional problems.' "

Horrible and shocking tragedy. He seemed to have everything going for him: a hot pop singing and acting career, increasing recognition in the West, and more tolerance of his sexual preferences. From Time Asia: "[H]e has not publicly declared his sexual orientation. 'It's more appropriate to say I'm bisexual,' Cheung notes. 'I've had girlfriends. When I was 22 or so, I asked my girlfriend Teresa Mo (his frequent co-star in TVB serials of the time) to marry me.' As a guest on Mo's cable TV show last month, Cheung bantered, 'If you'd agreed to marry me then, my life might have changed totally.' "

My friend Vivian LOVES him. She's from Hong Kong and showed me this huge wall poster she still keeps of him. With his soft, sensitive pretty boy face, his expressiveness and talent, his sensuality, and his combo of male/female qualities, Leslie had androgynous appeal. He was a sex symbol for women and gay men alike.

I've only seen him act in two movies. He was manly and aggressive in He's a Woman, She's a Man, while in Farewell My Concubine you felt for him as a Chinese opera singer who played women's parts.

The world has lost a star. He was only 46. I hope you have conquered your demons at last, Leslie.

---

[Note: I want to explain something to readers who wonder why I keep quoting in detail certain news articles. This site, Tiger Cafe, is highly ranked on Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, and other search engines. Whatever I write here today gets indexed in all those search engines within a few days---for Google, it's by tomorrow. Sometimes my ranking is higher than that of certain major newspapers. Thus for a popular news story, like:

Leslie Cheung,
Adrien Brody kissing Halle Berry,
why Amanda Marsh broke up with Alex Michel and Alex entered soft porn,
or the Bush and Blair duet of "Endless Love,"

I get a LOT of hits. I feel a certain responsibility to point those readers in the right direction. Sometimes articles from news sites get taken off the page and archived, so Tiger Cafe becomes the ONLY free source left on the Internet for the full article.

If you are here looking for an old post on my site, please use my Site Search in the left column ("SEARCH: Chinese/English").

You should also see my favorite sources for many articles, from many papers, on a hot news topic: Google News and Yahoo News Full Coverage.]

Posted 7:29 PM by Blah blah

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

An uncommon cold (The Independent): "A mysterious and deadly virus is spreading rapidly across the globe. What caused the outbreak? And are the right steps now being taken to contain it? Jeremy Laurance follows the trail of the disease to a Hong Kong hotel to find out." Detailed story of how this scary disease sweeping Asia got started.

Tech Sector Gets a Case of SARS (Washington Post): "SARS...cutting a lethal swath through parts of China and the Far East, as well as other cities worldwide -- is starting to affect the technology sector. Fear of the pneumonia-like illness is causing tech companies to cancel travel plans to Asia, leading to an economic dip in the region."

Economist predicts world recession (CNN):

One of Wall Street's leading economists is predicting a global recession this year, prompted in large part by fears surrounding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the "mystery illness" with cold-like symptoms that is blamed for 78 deaths in 15 countries, CNNfn has learned. Morgan Stanley's chief economist in the United States, Stephen Roach, will formally advise clients Friday that he's forecasting a world recession in 2003. His previous forecast was for an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent. Roach told CNNfn that SARS is "just another nail on the coffin for the world economy." And slower global growth, he said, will impact U.S. exports. "You've got war, SARS, uncertainty, and imbalances that will prevail after the war is over and until a cure for the disease is found," Roach said.

Posted 6:26 PM by Blah blah

One Blog Sues Another

This is hilarious! Look at this mock class action lawsuit on the BlogShares page:

Class Action Complaint: FAITH and PATTI vs. BATGRRL
NATURE OF THE ACTION

1. This is a class action on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Guru between March 29, 2003 and April 2, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").

2. Throughout the Class Period, and prior thereto, defendant, Guru’s sole officer and director, repeatedly misrepresented and failed to correct prior misrepresentations regarding Guru’s blog condition and prospects. Specifically, these misrepresentations concealed (i) that Guru was really a chicken posing as a wombat posing as a bat; (ii) that Guru rambles on excessively about frogs that do not, in fact, exist; that Guru was in fact being controlled by the Sleestak, Cthulhu, and Elvis; and (iv) Guru improperly diverted a significant portion of the blog assets to hooha.org...

See more on BlogShares. One of the bloggers works as a paralegal, and she even created a legal document on Microsoft Word for this complaint. BlogShares now has thousands of players, so the server may go down again. This stock simulation game is fun!

Posted 2:59 PM by Blah blah

Affirmative Action Helped George W.

How Affirmative Action Helped George W. The President might ask himself, "Wait a minute. How did I get into Yale?" (Time):

"The Administration has asked the Supreme Court to rule the [University of] Michigan system unconstitutional because of the scoring method it uses for rating applicants. 'At the undergraduate level,' said Bush, 'African-American students and some Hispanic students and Native American students receive 20 points out of a maximum of 150, not because of any academic achievement or life experience, but solely because they are African American, Hispanic or Native American.'

If our President had the slightest sense of irony, he might have paused to ask himself, "Wait a minute. How did I get into Yale?" It wasn't because of any academic achievement: his high school record was ordinary. It wasn't because of his life experience---prosperous family, fancy prep school---which was all too familiar at Yale. It wasn't his SAT scores: 566 verbal and 640 math.

They may not have had an explicit point system at Yale in 1964, but Bush clearly got in because of affirmative action. Affirmative action for the son and grandson of alumni. Affirmative action for a member of a politically influential family. Affirmative action for a boy from a fancy prep school. These forms of affirmative action still go on. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Harvard accepts 40% of applicants who are children of alumni but only 11% of applicants generally. And this kind of affirmative action makes the student body less diverse, not more so.

George W. Bush, in fact, may be the most spectacular affirmative-action success story of all time. "

Posted 11:31 AM by Blah blah

See How People Click to Your Site

I just added this one line at the bottom of my blog template (just before the </body> tag). It makes your blog list, at the bottom, what sites people are clicking on to get to yours. It will slow down your page loading a bit. Try it. Make sure to put it at the very bottom to avoid screwing up your page formatting. It comes from Stephen's Referral System.

See my referrals.

<script language="Javascript" src="http://www.downes.ca/referrers.js">
</script>

On my page, it made the font too big for me, so I added SPAN tags to shrink it, like this:

<span style="font-size:10px;">
<script language="Javascript" src="http://www.downes.ca/referrers.js">
</script></span>

Posted 9:21 AM by Blah blah

BlogShares: Fantasy Blog Stock Market
UC Berkeley Economist Brad DeLong

Very cool! I just joined this new craze in the blogging world, BlogShares. It's a "fantasy stock market for weblogs. Players get to invest a fictional $500, and blogs are valued by inbound links."

Hence the link to my BlogShares listing above. You get to play stock investor, using your favorite blogs. Follow price-earnings ratios. Your blog gets an IPO once you hit $1000 valuation. Valuation comes from people in BlogShares linking to you. Only then may people buy and sell shares in your blog. So if you haven't yet, please join and be kind enough to link to me!

This is fun! I've already made at least $70 since I signed up last night. Try it. You also may discover many popular or new blogs you may have missed. The entertainment industry has its own version, the Hollywood Stock Exchange, where you trade fake stock in actors and movies.

(Warning: the BlogShare logo they ask you to post on your site will slow down your page loading. I kept it on long enough for them to "claim" my site. Then I deleted it and replaced it with a text link. BlogShares accepts that too.)

Just added Prof. Brad DeLong's blog to my reading list. He's an economist (Harvard Ph.D.) at UC Berkeley and tells in-depth thoughts about how this war is affecting our economy. Here's his resume.

Posted 5:41 PM by Blah blah

Go See Phone Booth this Friday!

The Colin Farrell and Kiefer Sutherland thriller opens nationally this Friday. Please Hold the Line (For 30 Years) (NY Times). I love Kiefer from his work on the best show on TV in my book: 24.

Timely role for Kiefer (Canada.com), about how he played the voice in Phone Booth. Go watch Phone Booth! The reviews here on IMDb are excellent. People say it has the tension and pace of Speed. "Made for the bargain-basement level price of $1.5 million, digital effects and all, it shows economy doesn’t necessarily preclude Hollywood-level action film thrills."

Posted 4:44 PM by Blah blah

Blogger Types

Portrait of a Blogger (Kuro5hin):

Teenie Blogger (Teenoger)

Percentage of blogger population: 22%
Hours spent blogging: 28/week
Habitat: Suburbia
Average Age: 12 (actual age doesn't matter as most of these bloggers tend to emulate a 12 year old.)
Favorite hangout: The mall
Last Book Read: What's a book?
Favorite Offline Activities: Gossip, boy bands, gossip about boy bands, boy bands about gossip.
Mode of Dress: Varies wildly, but you will notice it will have some brand name of some company predominantly displayed.
Psychological profile: ESFP
Typical post: 10/24/02 5:43 p.m. So, like today I was in the cafeteria talking about Shelly's stupid blog, ok, and then Josie like totally walked up in my face and said my blog was trash and I was like, noo way, talk to the blog, ya know, cause i'm cool and I don't play that. So anyway, I need to go eat dinner now. I'll blog on it later.

Techie Blogger (Togger)

Percentage of blogger population: 20%
Hours spent blogging: 56/week
Habitat: Usually a messy desk type area with lots of caffeine nearby. Techie Bloggers have been known to be nomads, though, with the advent of wireless internet technology. You may see them anywhere as a result, although most tend towards urban areas.
Average Age: 20 something
Favorite hangout: Slashdot
Last Book Read: Understanding the LINUX Kernel: From I/O Ports to Process Management
Favorite Offline Activities: Microsoft jokes, computer swap meets, hacker conventions.
Mode of Dress: Varies wildly, but you will usually notice at least one obscure reference to linux ruling and microsoft sucking.
Psychological profile: INTP
Typical post: select extract('epoch' from now()) as unixtime; Recompiled the kernel from CVS today. Blech. While waiting for it to compile, I worked some on my project to turn GIMP into an auto-dynamic IP range modifier for my Sega Dreamcast box. The boxen are doing ok, but the 486 piece of crap is pulling too much juice and overheating so I'm thinking of rerouting the fan and mounting it inside my refrigerator. Yeah, yeah, I saw the /. article, but mine is going to be way cooler. More later, my Mac is beeping...

See more types on Kuro5hin above.

Posted 1:55 PM by Blah blah

'Spiderman' Scales Skyscraper in War Protest (Reuters). Way cool! Check out the AP Video in the article to see how he climbs up the last bit. "[Frenchman Alain] Robert has several arrests and minor charges to his name for climbing skyscrapers and other landmarks. His tally includes the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York, the 54-floor Shinjuku Tower in Tokyo and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco."

Why Bush Keeps Losing Friends and Moderates (Slate): "by acting as if the choice on Iraq, and in American foreign policy generally, is between these extreme critics and the administration's own hardliners---you're either with us or against us---the Bush team has done a great deal to alienate the broad swath of people lying somewhere in between: those at home and abroad who might well have been brought to some grudging support for this war had it been sold more honestly, more tactfully, and in less revolutionary terms. By choosing to bully its way forward against all opposition, the administration gambled that a quick, easy war would silence the critics and provide its own retrospective justification."

Amen! I am a moderate on this war and this speaks about me EXACTLY and why, though I may reluctantly support war, I cannot trust Bush any more. And my support for the war is weak. I dread what will happen post-war. Just dread further missteps, future wars (which I will NOT support), and so on.

War Blog Fatigue. Photo: Getting Naked for Peace

Bushes against Bush: Why I Dropped my Drawers for Peace (Salon.com). "The protesters would disrobe, form the Chinese symbol for peace, and a photographer would climb up into a cherry picker and take their picture." Peace protesters have the best bodies!

Ok, I have war fatigue. I promise not to say anything about war for at least one week. The girly girls may come out of their shopping malls now.

Posted 10:05 AM by Blah blah

My Site Down. Use w.bloggar to Prevent Losing Your Blog Posts!

Arrgh, my site has been down since last night. Pain in the butt. Blogger had a problem with its template server, and my blog got stuck with the wrong template. It wasn't till I edited and saved my blog template that I reset it. At first I thought Bush must have called the CIA in on Tiger Cafe.

Blogger and Blogspot have been having a TON of problems posting lately. I'll bet many of you (e.g. Sandy) have been seeing your posts vanish when you hit "publish." Check out the Blogger FAQ Blog and Blog Help Forum, both by Phil Ringnalda, for extra Blogger support. He doesn't work for Blogger but is kind enough to help!

I just found a way to prevent losing your posts!

Download this blogging client, w.bloggar. It's a program you use to blog OFFLINE, locally. It interfaces with whatever blog tool you use, like Blogger, Movable Type, b2, Nucleus, and BigBlogTool. It has a much better interface than the Blogger edit window, with more features. It even downloads several posts from the past if you wish to edit them locally. When you're done, you may publish directly to your blog---only then will it connect to the Internet. If Blogger is not working, it still keeps your posts.

I'm using it right now to write this. It's heaven! From his w.bloggar FAQ:

To use w.bloggar with Blogger.com you must have already created an account there. To set up it to post to your Blogger.com blogs, follow these instructions:

1. Download w.bloggar from http://wbloggar.com/ and install the application.
2. Open the w.bloggar application.
3. A login window will appear allowing you to create a New Account.
4. Enter your Blogger.com username in User, your password in Password, and click OK.
5. You'll be asked if really want to create the new account, click Yes.
6. In the Account Connection window you don't need to change anything. The values there must be plant.blogger.com into Host name, and /api/RPC2 into Page. The port must be 80, and the secure server (https://) check option must be off.
7. If you're under a proxy sever you can also configure it in this window.
8. Click OK to confirm the conection configuration and validate your user information.
9. You can now post to your Blogger.com blogs using w.bloggar's posting interface.

From now on I'm always using w.bloggar. It also lets you edit your blog template offline.

Posted 7:09 PM by Blah blah

Britain's Daily Mirror Hires Peter Arnett

Well thank goodness Peter has found a home so soon! Home of the Free: Arnett Joins Mirror (Daily Mirror). It's a tabloid paper, though, that is strongly anti-war.

Sad that a naturalized American citizen like Arnett, a great Pulitzer prize-winning journalist who could work for any news organization, has to leave America to find a home for his voice.

Arnett speaks: This War is Not Working (Daily Mirror) "For me...to be criticised for saying the obvious is unfair. But it has made me a target for my critics in the States who accuse me of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. I don't want to give aid and comfort to the enemy - I just want to be able to tell the truth."

You may write to the Mirror to reach Arnett.

See video of Arnett talking to Matt Lauer on the Today Show this morning.

Posted 3:52 PM by Blah blah

War-Gamed: Why the Army shouldn't be so surprised by Saddam's moves (Slate):

Much has been made of Thursday's remark by Lt. Gen. William Wallace, commander of U.S. Army forces in the Persian Gulf. Talking about the fierce and guerrilla-style resistance of Iraqi militia groups, Wallace said, 'The enemy we're fighting is a bit different than the one we war-gamed against.'

In fact, however, militia fighters did play a crucial role in a major war game designed to simulate combat in Iraq—but the Pentagon officials who managed the game simply disregarded or overruled the militias' most devastating moves.

The war game, which was called Millennium Challenge 02, took place over three weeks last July and August. Planned over a two-year period, at a cost of $250 million, the game involved 13,500 personnel from all four services—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines—who waged mock war in 17 simulation locations and nine live-force training sites. The scenario envisioned a war in a fictitiously named Persian Gulf country that resembled Iraq."

Bush Advisers Divided. George Bush Sr.'s Advisers Disapprove

More on what Peter Arnett had been saying---i.e. the truth. Advisers Split as War Unfolds (Washington Post):
__________________
The first 11 days of the war have brought back with a vengeance the deep splits that have long existed within the Bush administration and the Republican Party over policy toward Iraq.

Already there is a behind-the-scenes effort by former senior Republican government officials and party leaders to convince President Bush that the advice he has received from Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz -- a powerful triumvirate frequently at odds with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell -- has been wrong and even dangerous to long-term U.S. national interests....

Some within the group of former GOP officials were advocates last summer of going to the United Nations to win broader international support for confronting Iraq rather than moving unilaterally. The president decided to try to obtain U.N. backing -- a course Powell strongly favored -- after his father's national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, and secretary of state, James A. Baker III, went public supporting that approach. Administration officials, however, said that Bush always intended to go to the United Nations and was not influenced by his father's former aides.

Since that time, Scowcroft, who currently heads the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, has had limited access to the White House because of his public criticisms of the administration's policies toward Europe, NATO and the United Nations.

Posted 12:45 PM by Blah blah

Transcript of Peter Arnett interview on Iraqi TV (CNN). In war the first casualty is always the truth.

Correction: Peter Arnett worked for National Geographic's "Explorer" program (which airs on MSNBC), and NBC had struck a deal with National Geographic for him to cover the war for NBC News. MSNBC has deleted Arnett's Baghdad Diary from its website! I don't think I'll ever watch MSNBC again. Arnett was one of the few Western television reporters remaining in Baghdad providing coverage for a U.S. network.

Here's what National Geographic said about it. I called the National Geographic Society to complain: 800-NGS-LINE (800-647-5463). A person answered the customer service line. I couldn't get through with the NBC and Fox phone lines. I have never called or written a TV show or studio in my life.

Auto Email Reply from NBC

Just got this automatic reply to my letter:

Thank you for your thoughtful comments about Peter Arnett. He will not report for MSNBC again. Granting an interview to Iraqi TV was wrong and the commentary within the interview was disgraceful. As you may know, Arnett did not work directly for MSNBC and NBC. And now he will no longer even appear as an on-scene correspondent.

Sincerely,

Erik Sorenson
President, GM
MSNBC

My Letter to National Geographic Explorer, NBC News, and Fox News

To: Natgeoexplorer@msnbc.com, ngt@nationalgeographic.com, comments@foxnews.com, Today@NBC.com, weekendtoday@nbc.com, Nightly@NBC.com, Dateline@NBC.com, MTP@NBC.com, viewerservices@msnbc.com, countdown@msnbc.com
Subject: Upset at National Geographic and NBC's Firing of Peter Arnett
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:39:33 -0800 (PST)

Dear National Geographic Explorer, NBC News, Fox News:

I was very upset on reading your story about National Geographic Explorer, NBC, and MSNBC firing Peter Arnett.

For the record, I am a moderate and reluctantly pro-war. I support Blair's vision of the world, not Bush's. I am not rabidly for or against the war.

Yet this obvious flag-waving and censorship of Arnett, a great journalist who is loyal to neither side but the truth, SERIOUSLY bothers me. Also, if you check out MSNBC.com, most of the columnists there with blogs are very pro-war and pro-Bush.

I'm asking my friends to support me on this letter I'm sending to National Geographic, NBC News, and Fox News.

To me, what Peter Arnett said makes me TRUST him more. It's a sign of what makes him a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter. Journalists don't work for the U.S. government. They are not supposed to shade the truth or lie, like diplomats. They are supposed to say what they observe, whether it is favorable or unfavorable to you or NOT! What Arnett said was old news and had been widely reported in the New Yorker, New York Times, and Washington Post. It had been said by former U.S. generals commenting on national TV. People admit that U.S. officials underestimated the extent of Iraqi military resistance. Big deal.

Plus he said there was growing opposition to the war in the U.S. Again---not exactly anything that violates national security. Arnett never reported on secret troop movements, for instance. In fact, if American war planners had listened to Arnett's reporting beforehand, they might have avoided making some of their costly mistakes that we now must confront.

His only "mistake" was saying, on Iraqi TV, things that the U.S. press had been talking about for days! For me, to be able to report facts that might be unfavorable to your country is a sign to ALL Iraqis of the benefit of something we are supposed to have: a free press. That should be a POSITIVE thing and a proud thing for me as an American.

I also notice that most of the columnists for MSNBC, the ones with blogs, such as Glenn Reynolds, are strongly pro-war and pro-Bush.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle: "The interview sent Fox News' John Gibson into an apoplectic fit of moral outrage...'Is he on the Iraqi side?' Gibson demanded...'His comments seem to be supporting the Iraqi regime,' Gibson fumed, adding Arnett 'seems to be encouraging Iraqi resistance.' He ratcheted that up later with this: 'Arnett seemed to cheer the Iraqi resistance.' Gibson's less-than-veiled anti-American wink-wink to viewers continued as he suggested Arnett 'seems to have the run of Iraq.' Later: 'Peter Arnett is live in Baghdad and we may now know why.' "

I am shocked at and ashamed of National Geographic, Fox News, and NBC News. Unless National Geographic and NBC rehire Arnett, my friends and I refuse to watch NBC, MSNBC, and Fox for any more war coverage, and we refuse to read National Geographic because of their obvious pro-war, pro-Bush bias.

Posted 10:11 AM by Blah blah

NBC Fires Peter Arnett For Telling the Truth.
Help Me Boycott NBC News and Fox News.

I'm sending this letter to National Geographic Explorer, NBC News and Fox News now. Please email them too if you want to support more objective news coverage.

NBC Fires Peter Arnett Over Iraqi TV Interview (Reuters). This makes me SICK and ANGRY. He was called anti-American and fired for telling the truth:

"American television network NBC said on Monday it had severed its relations with veteran reporter Peter Arnett after he told Iraqi television that the U.S. war plan against Saddam Hussein had failed. 'Peter Arnett will no longer be reporting for NBC News and MSNBC,' NBC said in a joint statement with National Geographic, for whom the Pulitzer prize-winning reporter was also working.

'I said in that interview essentially what we all know about the war, that there have been delays in implementing policy, there have been surprises,' Arnett told NBC's Today show....

'It was wrong for Mr. Arnett to grant an interview with state-controlled Iraqi TV, especially at a time of war and it was wrong for him to discuss his personal observations and opinions,' NBC said in a statement.

Arnett told the Iraqi television that American war planners had underestimated the determination of Iraqi troops to fight U.S. and British troops and that the Pentagon seemed to be amending its original strategy.

'Now America is reappraising the battlefield, delaying the war, maybe a week and rewriting the war plan,' Arnett said in excerpts of the interview aired on U.S. networks. 'The first plan has failed because of Iraqi resistance. Now they are trying to write another plan.'

He added there was a 'growing challenge to President Bush about the conduct of the war and also opposition to the war.'

That view echoed similar comments in many U.S. media after the rapid advance of U.S. forces through southern Iraq slowed south of Baghdad amid disruptive attacks on its long supply lines persistent resistance, particularly in the towns.

Arnett's remarks were received with anger by the administration in Washington. One White House source said they were based on 'a position of complete ignorance.' "
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Arnett rattles hornets' nest with Iraqi TV comments (San Francisco Chronicle):

"Arnett's appearance has already solidified the argument that one network, Fox News, has no qualms about waving the flag during this war. On Sunday night, Fox News took sole possession of the Arnett interview and whipped it into a media story by saying his actions were aiding Iraq....

The interview sent Fox News' John Gibson into an apoplectic fit of moral outrage -- also not exactly breaking news for him or the channel. 'Is he on the Iraqi side?' Gibson demanded...

'His comments seem to be supporting the Iraqi regime,' Gibson fumed, adding Arnett 'seems to be encouraging Iraqi resistance.' He ratcheted that up later with this: 'Arnett seemed to cheer the Iraqi resistance.' Gibson's less-than- veiled anti-American wink-wink to viewers continued as he suggested Arnett 'seems to have the run of Iraq.' Later: 'Peter Arnett is live in Baghdad and we may now know why.'

If you thought this televised indictment couldn't get any more journalistically unsound, Gibson then let former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato unload this bomb on Arnett: 'He gives aid and comfort to the enemy.' "
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Bich Ngoc just told me she belongs to the MoveOn Media Corps, a group of "volunteers who will mobilize to push the media to fairly cover this war." We could join.

For Broadcast Media, Patriotism Pays (Washington Post):

"Now, apparently, is the time for all good radio and TV stations to come to the aid of their country's war. That is the message pushed by broadcast news consultants, who've been advising news and talk stations across the nation to wave the flag and downplay protest against the war.

'Get the following production pieces in the studio NOW: . . . Patriotic music that makes you cry, salute, get cold chills! Go for the emotion,' advised McVay Media, a Cleveland-based consultant, in a "War Manual" memo to its station clients. ". . . Air the National Anthem at a specified time each day as long as the USA is at war.'

The company, which describes itself as the largest radio consultant in the world, also has been counseling talk show stations to 'Make sure your hosts aren't "over the top." Polarizing discussions are shaky ground. This is not the time to take cheap shots to get reaction . . . not when our young men and women are "in harm's way." '

The influential television-news consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates recently put it in even starker terms: Covering war protests may be harmful to a station's bottom line."

Posted 8:25 AM by Blah blah

My Apologies to Anyone Offended

What I did with the "Ramona" thing was sort of an April Fool's Day joke. I'm sorry if anyone got offended. I was gently poking fun at the whole "high school popularity contest" way of thinking on Rice Bowl Journals, and I proved my point. I had no idea people would actually take the bait. I was always planning to post this photo for a short time only, change it back, and then report it here. Other people have had their fake photos up for MONTHS, but no one has said anything about them. I am upfront and open about what I did.

I think people are more offended because it reveals something that's TRUE. But most people, I'm sure, would be amused, just like they were at the whole lie of Joe Millionaire. Most girls, too, are interested in knowing whether people like them more for their brains or their boobs. That's one reason some girls never post their photos at all!

No harm done. To anyone offended, I owe you a thousand rice cakes in a burnt offering.

Posted 7:57 PM by Blah blah

#1 on RBJ Top 200. New Fox TV Show: Mr. Personality

Well well, I just proved something to myself. People have wondered why it seems like the blogs that get the most hits on the Rice Bowl Journals Top 200 are pretty girls.

Some of them, like Arnold's, aren't even girls! He just puts a torso of a naked girl for his avatar. That was in the Top 10 for a while. Some, like Miyuki's, have not been updated for months. Some don't even exist any more. Yet the guys keep-a-comin'.

So a few days ago, I tried a psychology experiment. I changed my avatar photo to that of a Japanese girl in a black bikini. And I changed my name, to "Ramona." :D I changed my site name to "Do you read the words?"

Guess not. Today, this blog reached #1 in the RBJ Top 200! Guys can be sheep.

No, Cyn, this isn't a bid to get more hits for my site. I get plenty, thank you. But when some of us put thought and effort into writing, we sometimes wonder how effective it really is at drawing people back. Or how much people really care.

On RBJ at least, I can proudly announce that people think more with their groin. Happy April Fool's Day! (I've changed it all back.)

Fox TV should take this idea for its next reality show! Actually they DO have a concept like this coming soon:

Mr. Personality: "a young, beautiful and single woman will court several eligible men who must rely strictly on their individual personalities to captivate her. Each man will be disguised throughout the dating process, keeping his looks hidden. While our beautiful heroine will not see the appearance of the men she is dating, viewers will. As the series progresses, the single woman ultimately narrows her choice to one man. Will she love her new mate after first setting eyes on him, or will she leave him?"

Guess who's hosting Mr. Personality? Monica Lewinsky!

Posted 7:12 PM by Blah blah

Bill Gates is ALIVE---Sounds Like a Bad Joke. Jian Shuo Wang Got Married!

Jian Shuo, who works for Microsoft in Shanghai and was one of my cowriters for Tiger Cafe, just freaked me out with his message in my tagboard to the left.

According to his blog, major media companies in China reported Saturday that Bill Gates had been murdered in Los Angeles.

THIS REPORT IS COMPLETELY FALSE. Sounds like a cruel April Fool's Day joke to me.

Some companies who said this reportedly included: CNN, China International Radio Station, Sina.com.cn, Sohu.com, Yahoo! China, CCTV 4, and Oriental TV. My jaw dropped. I can't believe journalists would report this in a blind frenzy without checking the facts!
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Hey, Jian Shuo just got married on March 17!!!

Photos of his new wife Fan Fan. Check out this slideshow he made of his wife, called Fan Fan's Video, at the bottom of the photo page. Includes a Chinese pop song. SWEET! Awww, many many warm wishes for a joyful and happy life together, Jian Shuo! He's been trying to start a software/consulting business on the side, too.

Here's a whole list of bloggers from Microsoft.

Posted 5:26 AM by Blah blah

Call 911! We Have a Supermodel Shortage

Read the joke article (Weekly World News):

America has been hit hard by a devastating shortage of supermodels -- and insiders say if this trend continues, it could have a crippling effect on the $140 billion fashion industry....

"But the original generation of supermodels is fading, and there are no new ones coming along to replace them. In a very short while, the supermodel as we know it may become extinct."...

At one time, it was hoped that the top supermodels in the world would have beautiful daughters that would carry on their legacy. This plan didn't work out. Gallows notes, "Many supermodels married ugly rock stars, which diluted the gene pool. "

Posted 4:59 AM by Blah blah

How the Bush People's Thinking Evolved into War

First Stop, Iraq (Time): How did the U.S. end up taking on Saddam? The inside story of how Iraq jumped to the top of Bush's agenda—and why the outcome there may foreshadow a different world order.

"F___ Saddam. We're taking him out." Those were the words of President George W. Bush, who had poked his head into the office of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It was March 2002, and Rice was meeting with three U.S. Senators, discussing how to deal with Iraq through the United Nations, or perhaps in a coalition with America's Middle East allies. Bush wasn't interested. He waved his hand dismissively, recalls a participant, and neatly summed up his Iraq policy in that short phrase. The Senators laughed uncomfortably; Rice flashed a knowing smile. The President left the room.
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For more on this topic, see these PBS Frontline documentaries on the Net: The Long Road to War. Specifically: The War Behind Closed Doors, "the people, the clashes---and ultimately the 'grand strategy'---behind George W. Bush's determination to go to war with Iraq."

Posted 3:44 AM by Blah blah

Arrogant Donald Rumsfeld. More Arabs Get Pissed Off. The War Shifts Goals.

Sigh. Hubris again. Now our troops are suffering setbacks, delays, and danger because of the arrogance of this man. The war hawks call the peace mongers "unrealistic and naive." Yet who had the unrealistic expectations of Iraqi resistance and underestimated the difficulty of fighting guerilla warfare? I don't trust the hawks (Paul Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, etc.) and fear they will get to screw up the post-war reconstruction.

On the plus side, we HAVE covered a lot of ground with relatively few deaths. We have reduced the problem of Iraq, a country the size of California, to the size of Connecticut. In only one week.

Report: Rumsfeld Ignored Pentagon Advice on Iraq:

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld repeatedly rejected advice from Pentagon planners that substantially more troops and armor would be needed to fight a war in Iraq, the New Yorker reported.

In an article for its April 7 edition, which goes on sale on Monday, the weekly said Rumsfeld insisted at least six times in the run-up to the conflict that the proposed number of ground troops be sharply reduced and got his way.

"He thought he knew better. He was the decision-maker at every turn," the article quoted an unidentified senior Pentagon planner as saying. "This is the mess Rummy put himself in because he didn't want a heavy footprint on the ground."

It also said Rumsfeld had overruled advice from war commander Gen. Tommy Franks to delay the invasion until troops denied access through Turkey could be brought in by another route and miscalculated the level of Iraqi resistance.

"They've got no resources. He was so focused on proving his point -- that the Iraqis were going to fall apart," the article, by veteran journalist Seymour Hersh, cited an unnamed former high-level intelligence official as saying.
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More problems from Rumsfeld's big mouth:
Arabs Shocked at Rumsfeld's Syria Threat (LA Times):

In newspaper headlines, street interviews and among the Arab elite, the response was at first surprise and then angry resignation to what Arabs view as the blind aggression of the American administration.

However, most people also expressed puzzlement at why Rumsfeld would make such an antagonistic statement at a time when the United States' stock in the Arab world is already so low.

"Only a madman would think of widening the circle of war," said Information Minister Adnan Omran, a former Syrian ambassador to Britain who also spent several years in the United States as a diplomat.

In a press conference Friday, Rumsfeld charged Syria with sending night vision goggles to Iraq, along with other items, saying, "These deliveries pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces. We consider such trafficking as hostile acts, and will hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments."

In the same press conference he accused Iran of aiding Iraq by allowing hundreds of fighters to cross its border into the country. His words were widely taken to mean that the United States was prepared to attack Syria and Iran unless they fell into line.

Rumsfeld's language seemed particularly oblivious to the public mood in Syria which has rallied enthusiastically behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's outspoken opposition to the war.
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War's Military, Political Goals Begin to Diverge (Washington Post):

Top Army officers in Iraq say they now believe that they effectively need to restart the war. Before launching a major ground attack on Iraq's Republican Guard, they want to secure their supply lines and build up their own combat power. Some timelines for the likely duration of the war now extend well into the summer, they say....

But as time goes by, other factors could force the U.S. military to act sooner. In four to six weeks, "there could be real problems" with food supplies in major Iraqi cities, said Ken Bacon, the former Pentagon spokesman who is president of Refugees International.

A war that lasts months may also leave a vacuum that could encourage trouble elsewhere around the globe, some generals and strategists worry. If the Pentagon does deploy into Iraq all the troops currently scheduled to go, about half the combat power of both the Army and the Marine Corps will be in Iraq. One senior general at the Pentagon said he is especially concerned that North Korea, which has been locked in a confrontation with the United States over its nuclear program, will attempt to capitalize on the situation.