Why I hate Hipsters

Why do I hate hipsters? This will be one of the questions I will answer in this creative writing piece. First, I need to explain what a hipster is since there are many ways to describe this subculture. Another piece to exploring my dislike of this group will analyse their contribution to our society.

A hipster usually refers to a subculture that considers themselves to be a counterculture to the corporate excesses of the early 21st century. Hipsters claim to be nonconformists, bohemians, and free spirits who are trying to break the mould by pursuing the simple pleasures of life in their own right.

Well, how can hipsters be nonconformists if they mainly buy their clothes from American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, and marked-up thrift shops? Most of these hipsters ironically conform to trends by getting their fashion sense from established and corporate retailers like American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and “high-end” thrift shops around their hipster neighbourhoods. If these people were truly living like the working class they admire and claim to be living outside of the “corporate world”, they would have purchased their clothes from real thrift shops run by groups such as the Salvation Army and the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints (Mormons); or get them from discount retailers like Wal-Mart, Kmart and Khols because that’s where real working class people shop for clothes. After all, real working class people buy their clothes out of necessity instead of relying on corporate retailers to tell them the correct way to look “poor”.

Now here is another question: what kind of jobs do hipsters have that sustains their lifestyle? If your answer is “nothing” you’re probably right. Hipsters will claim to do real work by claiming to be freelance artists, actors, musicians, or students. The reality is that the older hipsters who claim to be students are lying their asses off while the rest don’t have real jobs. If you see people working in cafes, clothing stores, or in an office, just be aware that these people are not hipsters. People you see on tv or film, performing in a busy schedule or getting their work exhibited outside of Williamsberg, are also not hipsters because they’re actually self-employed. Hipsters are the ones who will shun real work because its “uncool”, “corporate” or “hard”. These hipsters can be seen performing around subways for some dollars, frequenting Willamsberg art exhibitions, parties around Brooklyn, playing kickball or loitering in a Starbucks drinking Fair Trade coffee. In other words, living like college slackers without the classes, exams or care of debt.

If these hipsters don’t work and simply loaf around, then how in the hell can they afford it? The common answer to this happens to be that most of these hipsters depend on their parents for money. Some of them may come from wealthy families who gave them trust funds to live like idiots (such as Paris Hilton) while the rest are really good at persuading their parents that they will eventually get their big break in music, film, or art, so long as they get money to keep going. As a result, some of these hipster neighbourhoods have practically become “gentrified ghettos” as a result of the large injections of cash into the area, which led to new development and increased cost of living. All of these changes would not have happened if parents didn’t give their slacker children money to live carefree lives at the expense of themselves and others.

Some people say hipsters are no different from the hippies in the 1960s, but I beg to differ. You see, unlike the hippies of the 60s, hipsters aren’t really raging against anything or strive to improve society. Hippies in the days of yore had a reputation for supporting progressive movements such as civil rights, ending the war in vietnam, and became associated with liberals. Hipsters on the other hand don’t really support anything unless American Apparel makes it cool (refer to the “Legalize Gay” fashion line), they don’t vote (wearing Obama “Hope” t-shirts isn’t voting), and appear indifferent to social issues that aren’t related to Williamsberg/Brooklyn seen by the fact hipsters shop at Urban Outfitters even though that company is against gay marriage in California. Ironically, hipsters are actually influenced by corporations and behave similarly to the point where they are considered nonconforming conformists because they don’t stand for anything or made any meaningful impact on society.

I hate hipsters because are phony, lazy, spoiled and apathetic groups of people who pursue a carefree, fruitless lifestyle at the expense of others while arrogantly claiming to be a new counterculture free from corporate influences. These people have done nothing to improve society while living off the backs of others despite giving lip service to social causes and claiming to be struggling artists.  They need to stop pretending be “down with the poor” because their behaviour is really insulting to real poor people and they need to stop appropriating culture from other groups just for the sake of being hip.  Give me a break and go back to school/work/reality instead of slacking around while the world becomes poor and miserable.

The Cove: Disturbing and Embarassing look at Japanese Dolphin Slaughter

I just finished watching the documentary “The Cove” about the Oceanic Preservation Society’s attempt to secretly document dolphin slaughter in Taji, Japan while evading local authorities and their fisherman’s union. I had known about the documentary since this summer but I never got around to watching it until I saw the South Park episode “Whale Whores” which poked fun at Japan’s obsession with whaling and the environmentalists’ feeble attempts at curbing whaling. Although, references to “The Cove” were vague in that episode, much of the issues explored in both “South Park” and “The Cove” do raise concerns about how Japanese whaling policies and how they handle the issues surrounding it.

The team assembled by the filmmakers is impressive given they and the film were funded by a billionaire environmentalist. Nonetheless, the footage caught by the filmmakers is a gruesome look at how dolphins are savagely slaughtered by local fisherman in the name of local tradition and to sell whale meat to a niche market. In addition to criticising the brutal slaughter of dolphins, the film makes a point that much of the dolphin and whale meat available in the Japanese market is heavily tainted with mercury, which makes it unsafe for consumption and increases the risk of neurological damage. What was more surprising was that the Japanese interviewed in the film seem to be either apathetic or disgusted at the idea or even eating dolphin meat, which seems to weaken the cultural justification for dolphin slaughter.

As a result of “The Cove”, the Japanese town of Taiji has received much unwanted attention from environmentalists and foreigners to the point where they have made changes to their traditional dolphin slaughters. The fishermen now are reported to cut the bottlenose dolphin culling, while continue their process of killing less appealing dolphins and whales. Many japanophiles and Japanese right-wing male virgins have condemned “The Cove” as a racist movie for only focusing on Japanese whaling while dolphins and whales are regularly hunted by Iceland and Norway. Although this is a valid point, Japanese whaling has come under greater scrutiny because while Norway and Iceland regularly slaughter dolphins and whales, they are not accused of exceeding international whaling limits, making baseless justifications that whaling is a form of oceanic pest control, hiding their slaughtering techniques from the public and buying support from current or new member-states in the International Whaling Commission.

Some pro-Japan supporters even complain that the movie was unjust because Korea regularly slaughters dog for food and no one complained when China was having issues with their baiji dolphins. This is really a weak point because there are regular complains that Koreans slaughter dogs for food along with countless documentaries on the process, while the issue with baiji dolphins was more of an environmental concern dealing with the destruction of towns, historical sites, ecosystems and the fact that Chinese don’t slaughter their dolphins for food. In any event, I strongly recommend viewing “The Cove” if it is available in stores or online.

What US Economic Recovery?

Struggling in a recovering economy

By Michelle Fleury
Business reporter, BBC News, New York

America slowly appears to be emerging from recession, rebounding from its worst slump in decades.

“ I’ve been out of work a few months here or there but never like this ”
Jon Polis

New figures to be released on Thursday are expected to show that the US economy grew between July and September.

But for many Americans the pain is still dragging on.

More than 200 years ago, Slater Mill in Rhode Island helped kick-off America’s industrial revolution.

For centuries, manufacturing, mainly in textile mills, provided jobs in this small north-eastern state, but not anymore.

Rhode Island now has the third highest unemployment rate in the country, after Michigan and Nevada. According to the US Labor Department, the rate of unemployment climbed to 13% in September.

This does not come as a surprise to Jon Polis.

Each day, he searches for work on his computer and in the local newspaper.

He says his eight years working for a medical supplies company was over in eight minutes. He was laid off a year-and-a-half ago. Now his benefits have run out and he is living on his savings.

“I can last maybe next March or April,” says Jon. “After that I’ll just have to go to my family and ask for money.”

At age 53, this is not the first recession he has lived through, but it is the worst.

“I’ve been out of work a few months here or there but never like this,” he says.

Back home

It is not just the more experienced members of the labour market who are being affected. The recession is also hitting the young, potentially creating a lost generation.

“ I’ll get kicked off my parents health insurance [in December]. Then I’m on my own ”
Colleen Riley

Recent graduate Colleen Riley starts most of her days eating breakfast with her parents. It is a ritual she would enjoy a lot more if she had not been forced to move back home after she could no longer afford her own apartment.

Since finishing university in May she has struggled to find full time employment. In August she took on a part time job, working 20 hours a week at a local communications firm.

But making ends meet is still a struggle. In three weeks time, she will have to make her first student loan repayment.

“I did go to the university of Rhode Island, which is a public institution,” Colleen says.

“With the help of my parents they did pay off a good amount, but I do have about $10,000 in loans.”

Her health insurance coverage, which ends in December, is another source of worry.

“I’ll get kicked off my parents health insurance,” Colleen says.

“Then I’m on my own – so that’s definitely my biggest concern.”

‘Job-ready’

With so many people out of work and for longer periods of time, the staff at Rhode Island’s Department of Labor & Training are rushed off their feet.

Their goal, according to senior manager Scott Greco, is to make sure people are in the best possible position for when companies start hiring again.

“Right now our object with the training is to get people job-ready,” he says.

But for Colleen and for Jon the economic recovery feels a long way off.

“I think a very key ingredient to an economy coming back is employment coming back,” says Jon.

“The last thing that is going to come back is employment.”

America’s economy may be improving, but with so many people still searching for work, a return to prosperity looks like a distant dream for many.
Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/8331110.stm

 

Obama’s stimulus plan props up big businesses without helping the workforce.

Native Chinese responds to Chinese-American on Xinjiang controversy

NOTE: The Chinese-American’s remarks are on brackets followed by the response from a Chinese forum member

<<”I can tell you that the Uyghurs enjoy a very good livelihood in China.”>>

That’s why many Uighur men go to big cities in other provinces to work as street vendors selling lamb kebabs and bread, often living with 10 or more men in a small apartment away from their wives and children for months, just to make a little extra money than they could back home in Xinjiang. That’s why you never see them employed anywhere but Uighur restaurants outside of Xinjiang…

<<”Not only do they not have to abide by the one-child policy, but they can get away with a lot of shit (robbery, rape, murder) b/c of the government’s aversion to incidents like what’s going on in China right now.”>>

There are plenty of photos online of Uighurs being tortured and executed by police. They clearly did not get away with any crime. Even if they steal, there are far more videos on youtube taken by Chinese people of Uighurs being tortured by NORMAL Chinese people, not even police. For example, watch THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCv14v-1r1A&feature=related
The Chinese doing the torturing here are the REAL criminals. Also, many Uighurs outside of the provincial capital are forced to have abortions, the same how many Han Chinese are also forced against their will in some villages.
There are far more Han Chinese who commit robbery, rape, and murder than there are minorities. Look at this video from Guangzhou taken on a bridge not too far from the train station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM7Eq8kIyUE&feature=related

<<”Also, let’s not forget that ethnic minorities in China get affirmative action to China’s best universities.”>>

There is no affirmative action for Uighurs in China’s best universities. I spent a year back in China studying and saw only one Uighur student the entire time. The fact is most Uighurs do not have the same benefits or opportunities as other Chinese, and are often too poor to afford the tuition.
Affirmative action in any form does not exist in China. They are allowed to discriminate based on age, gender, whatever, and they even put signs in the windows of stores saying they’re looking for women or men, young or old, etc.

<<”The Uyghur salesmen were notorious for not pronouncing the prices of their food well on purpose, so that they say “10 yuan” when they’re actually charging 30, so that after they make the food, the buyers have to give 30 yuan.”>>

I have never been cheated by Uighurs, and I frequently buy from them on the streets in any big city I visit. The woman probably didn’t understand their Mandarin, since it can be poor at times, or she herself probably doesn’t speak Mandarin well since she is Cantonese. Anyhow, this actually is often done by Chinese people all over. You mention one incident, but I can personally recount many instances other Chinese have done this to me.

<<”Also, it’s funny that you mention racism from Chinese, when Koreans are much more racist.”>>

The thread is about Cantonese, not all Chinese. I have been all over China, north, south, west, and east, and can say without a doubt, the nastiest, most racist people I have encountered were in Guangdong province and Hainan.

<<”It’s hilarious how so many of you who have been to mainland China once at the most are buying into more white media brainwashing. If you go to China and talk to the locals, you’ll find out that the vast majority of Han and minority Chinese have nothing against one another. But it’s these Uyghur and Tibetan extremists that western media love to portray b/c it’ll stir the most unrest in China.”>>

White media brainwashing? You’re the one talking about the propaganda you see from Xinhua and CCTV. You are either very naive or very brainwashed if you actually believe what the state-operated media in mainland China tells you. I have talked to not only many Han Chinese on the streets, but many minorities including Kazakhs, Uighurs, Hui, Miao, and others. Most minorities do not have nearly as much money as the average Chinese, and almost every Han Chinese will say minorities smell bad, though minorities never have these kind of comments to make about the Han. They only complain about not having the same rights and being oppressed-never say anything about their ethnicity. I have been to Urumqi and Turpan before and have seen kindness frequently exhibited by Uighurs and other minorities in one week that is rarely seen with Han Chinese people. In fact, I visited in January, perhaps the coldest time of year to go. The temperature was -25C out one evening and I had been waiting for a while for a taxi near the Bazaar. An elderly Uighur woman holding two bags had given up the taxi that stopped in front of her and let me take it, even though she is elderly, a woman, holding bags, and was there first. I was stunned. I was also given things for free at stores and invited to sit down and talk with the owners. People on the street would smile and say hello. If you are kind to them, they are kind in return. Also, they may be Muslim, but they are not even that religious. It is a complete exaggeration to call them extremists.
By the way, do you consider Hong Kong news stations as “white media brainwashing” since they report about these things and don’t censor everything like in the mainland.

<<”If you have any experience in China, you’ll know that Han Chinese would rather hit themselves than hit minorities b/c the government cracks down big-time on “hate crimes.”>>

One night in Jianshi liu malu, a Uighur man I often talk to was harassed by several security guards (not even a police) and forced to pay him a bribe to continue to work there. I also saw a Tibetan woman selling earrings and bracelets on yellow rugs on the sidewalk being harassed by a security guard telling her she has to leave. I overheard her telling him it was only 9 o’clock, and she’s allowed to stay until 11, but he was forcing her away. In another instance, in Dongshan kou, 2 Uighur men and a woman were refused by a bus driver, even though they were trying to pay to get on.
Outside my apartment there are usually a few Uighur men who sell lamb and nan, who I used to talk to as I was leaving home. One day one of them was telling me about a Uighur guy who was beaten up by several young Cantonese guys while he was working on the street…he wasn’t even a thief.

<<”They don’t want to stir unrest like what’s happening now. What you don’t hear about are the countless Chinese military personnel and civilians murdered by Uyghur/Tibetan terrorists.”>>

Murdered with what weapons? It’s the soldiers and police that have guns and who are very quick to pull the trigger on people. Last month there was a large riot in Hubei province, with 40,000 people rioting on the streets. The police did not shoot the Han Chinese who threw bricks and bottles at them, nor the ones who beat them with wooden poles. They only shoot minorities who are fewer in number, who could not start a full-scale, nation-wide revolution.

<<”Tibetan guerrillas were funded by the CIA, just like Falun Gong cultists are supported by the US government today. I would not be surprised if there was more shady shit going on right now.”>>

Like China’s involvement in Darfur, for instance? Beijing sells weapons and builds roads and bridges in exchange for oil. Those same weapons are also used to massacre innocent civilians and rape the women.

<<”If Chinese censorship was so good, how would the Uyghurs hear of something happening in Guangzhou if not for western media?”>>

Because Chinese people took the videos themselves and posted them on youku and tudou themselves. You can hear them saying “Beat them, beat them, stop running.” You understand Chinese, go watch the videos I posted above.

You ask Dae where he gets his information from when it is evident that you yourself have never talked to any minorities, nor bothered to learn anything in their language (though they have to learn yours)

An Old Article From The Medium (circa 2003)

A Celebration
By Right-Wing Larry

As you may have known, the Liberal Rutgers University has disbanded an infamous file-sharing network. Why is such a seemingly harmless file-sharing network being destroyed? The answer, you simplistic terrorist-sympathizing liberals, is that not only can these file-sharing programs allow local welfare cheats, bums and pacifists to share liberal, drug-fueled, blasphemous music over the internet such as the Beatles and Johnny Cash; it is also used by Al-Qaeda and their supporters such as the Democratic Party to channel sensitive information and terrorist plans amongst themselves. What is even worse is that these file-sharing programs are used to share pornography, which is an affront to our only true Christian God, promotes pagan values, and attacks our great Western Civilization.

What is so wrong with sharing files among friends? Well, for one thing you misguided liberal idiot, those artists and filmmakers worked hard to produce the trash that you idiots download. Hey liberal bitches, they worked hard, they deserved their tax rebate, why support bums and dirty terrorists by file sharing? Too bad those idiot Democrats do not care about the dangers of file sharing and are being Un-American by not supporting the Patriotic PATRIOT ACT. Besides, the Democratic Party does not listen to Asians or Whites; they only care about liberals, Blacks, Mexicans, Iraqis, bums, hippies, and terrorists. Nevertheless, enough about the stupid Democrats and let’s talk about a true patriot.

The Patriot I am referring about is not our Blessed Commander-in-Chief George Walker Bush, who will be reelected and capture Osama Bin Laden, but a great man as discussed by the Great Daily Targum who wished to preserve his right conservative views in our ignorant, liberal university. As a dedicated college Republican, my hero was first alarmed that such a file-sharing network existed and attempted to reason with the network hosts to stop this blatant violation of our PATRIOT ACT and the spread of pagan values to our fellow Christians. However, the ultra-liberal network hosts repeatedly rejected his pleas and he was even banned from participating in the network, so much for reason and a fair and balanced file-sharing network.

In response for being banned from the network and the failure of Rutgers to enforce the PATRIOT ACT on the university network, our hero did what was only right: he reported this terrorist file-sharing network to the proper authorities and ended their satanic orgy of file-sharing. His act of Patriotism not only destroyed this potentially devastating network if it fell on to terrorist hands, he also ended the mindless proliferation of Satanic music and Un-Christian pornography trading as well. The destruction of Optimus Prime was a great act of true American courage that we have not seen since we have liberated Iraq and I am sure that our Christian God, our only God (to all pagans, please convert or you will go to Hell) will bless his True American soul for this act. Moreover, I am sure “Geo” will truly get the appreciation and love he deserves from his fellow Christian Americans.

So that is the True Patriot, I wish to praise in this week’s opinions page. Before I go, I wish to say the following: Down with the limousine liberals like Kennedy and Kerry! To idiot Democrats, come to the true, divine side of America, the Republican Party; only tax cuts will fuel the economic growth needed to create jobs and the economy for our American Empire!

VOTE BUSH-CHENEY ’04! A VOTE FOR BUSH IS A VOTE FOR GOD!

Jim Rogers: The Next 10 Years

Jim Rogers: The Next 10 Years

Written by Heather Bell – October 09, 2009 12:40 PM

I’m moving to China … possibly to live in a bunker. At least that was my inclination after listening to a presentation by Jim Rogers yesterday.

Now don’t get me wrong―Mr. Commodities wasn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, his talk was both informative and highly entertaining. But Rogers doesn’t sugarcoat things―he’s very matter-of-fact about his concerns and projections for the future. And most of them don’t bode well for the U.S.

I’ll be posting an interview with Jim Rogers on the site in the coming week, but for now, I just wanted to offer some highlights from his speech at ETF Securities’ mini-conference and the Q&A that followed.

1. The 21st century belongs to China

According to Rogers, the 19th century was the era of the British Empire and the 20th century was the U.S.’ heyday. But the 21st century is China’s (though the rest of Asia is definitely going to get a boost too).

The reasons for this are many, but some points brought up by Rogers include the following:

1. The Chinese want to live like we do;
2. They are more eager to work;
3. They are better at saving;
4. There are 1.5 billion Chinese citizens (and 3 billion people in all of Asia), and we owe them money. They are, according to Rogers, “among the best capitalists in the world.”

There will be some setbacks, of course, Rogers says, but these are opportunities. “If you see setbacks in China, you should pick up the phone and get more involved,” he advised, before adding his favorite refrain, “The best advice of any kind that I can give you is to teach your children and grandchildren Chinese.”

China’s path to world domination started with Deng Xiaoping’s capitalist programs in 1978, and there hasn’t been any looking back since. Rogers views China’s dominance as nigh-on unstoppable except for one little thing: its water problem. There are parts of the country that are running out of water, and when the water disappears, Rogers points out, so does civilization. However, the country is acting aggressively to combat the problem, and he doesn’t view it as that much of a threat.

2a. Jim Rogers is not a Ben Bernanke fan

Yep, it’s a fact. No “Team Bernanke” shirts for Jim Rogers (who said to scattered applause during the Q&A session that if he was in charge of the U.S. economy he would “abolish the Fed and resign.”).

Rogers is appalled by the government’s actions—Bernanke’s in particular. The U.S. government’s strategy calls for the debasement of the dollar, he says, calling it a “horrible policy.” While he concedes it can work in the short term, it NEVER works in the mid- or long term.

“He’s going to run those printing presses until we run out of trees, because that’s the only thing he knows,” Rogers said of Bernanke.

Add that on top of the country’s rapidly growing astronomical debt, and Rogers believes you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

2b. The U.S. dollar is screwed

Consider this a corollary to point 2a. Its status as a reserve currency is teetering on a precipice, in Rogers’ opinion, and he’s not alone. In fact, so many people are selling dollars right now that he’s sitting tight, waiting for a possible—and ultimately unsustainable—rally in order to exit the market. Of course, if it fails to rally and just drops again …

“I’ll just have to panic and sell like everyone else,” Rogers said.

3. Commodities, commodities, commodities

OK, as mentioned before, there are 3 billion people in Asia, most of whom are aspiring to play the home version of the American Dream game show. And let’s face it: American society is largely about consumption. We like stuff―we buy it, we wear it, we eat it, we flaunt it, we sometimes even bedazzle it (yeah, Google that). So that’s a lot more consumption on the global level. Rogers notes that while consumption is expected to increase exponentially, not a lot of capacity has been added in the last few decades for a lot of commodities. Meaning, not a lot of new refineries have been built, and not a lot of new resources have been discovered or excavated for a variety of commodities.

In terms of oil, Rogers cites the fact that Saudi Arabia has not seen any new oil discoveries but has consistently said for the past two decades that its reserves are at 260 billion barrels (in which time it has sold 60 billion barrels). He also points out that farmers are a rapidly disappearing species. So to sum up―that’s a lot more people competing for diminishing resources (including the all-important energy and food). Basic supply and demand theory pretty much takes it from there.

“Commodities are the second-largest asset class in the world,” Rogers noted. And they are “the best anchor” for your portfolio, he adds.

Rogers says the typical life span of a commodities bull market is 18-20 years. We’re currently in year 11 right now. Yeah, it could end tomorrow, but that whole supply and demand imperative could also extend this bull beyond its typical time frame.

During the Q&A session, though, the conversation took a darker turn. One questioner asked if the increased competition for resources might lead to war, and Rogers allowed it was a possibility, though he hoped it would not come to that. He pointed out that when a rising power clashes with an established power, the result is usually war, and said that research consistently shows that resource shortages lead to war. So, sure, commodities shortages might start World War III, but if you invest in the commodities themselves, you might at least be in decent financial shape when the shelling stops—and I’m not being flippant at all. War drives up the costs of commodities.

4. U.S. government bonds are the next big bubble

Well, would you lend money to us? Rogers says short-term bonds are probably OK, but he advises getting out of anything with a longer maturity. He calls it “inconceivable” that anyone would lend money to the U.S. for 30 years at the going rate, and notes that the U.S. was a creditor nation as recently as 1987.

“Now the U.S. is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world,” he said.

And for bond portfolio managers, he had some very pointed advice: “Get a new job.”

5. Protect yourself

The underlying theme of Rogers’ entire speech was that the world is changing, and here are some things you should know if you want to come out the better for it (and for your family members, clients, etc., to also come out the better for it) financially. Based on Rogers’ observations, it seems recognizing that change is a key step, but so is adapting to it (see advice regarding learning Mandarin, for example). And in Rogers’ eyes, commodities are a good way to achieve this protection. No investment is certain of course, but right now, he thinks commodities look pretty darn good.

Best Comment Of The Night

Addressing one audience member’s question, Rogers asked if the young man were an MBA. The questioner admitted to holding an MBA and was promptly told he should swap his MBA for an agriculture degree from Texas A&M.

“You should become a farmer,” Rogers said.

That’s an old line for Rogers, but he added a new wrinkle. If you’re not going to become a farmer, you should open the first Lamborghini dealership in Iowa. Because with farmers closing in on extinction just as the world needs more food, that’s probably what they’ll be driving in a few years.

Rants, Raves, and Germs

It’s been a while since I last posted and this will be a nice break from writing sound bytes on twitter.  Well, it is safe to say the American economy is going to have a “Lost Decade” in the coming years.  The American-engineered Global Financial Crisis has already sent shockwaves through the rest of the world by first bringing down the once self-sufficient Iceland into the EU, gave impetus to ramming through the Treaty of Lisbon, and pressuring China to develop its domestic market to offset potential losses from the global economic slowdown.

Blame it on Rio or blame it on Obama.  President Obama, Michelle Obama, Oprah, Michael Jordan have actually failed America for the first time in the world stage.  Not only did the Obamas’ speeches fail to persuade any of the IOC members to support Chicago for the 2016 Olympics, the committee decided to gave the rights to Rio de Janeiro, a city that is best known for its favelas, street children and crime.  The official IOC justification were complaints of the hostile American visa system and underlying anger at the global recession that originated in the United States.  Also, Brasil made a very persuasive argument that it was time for South America to finally have an event on their continent and highlighted its significance in her respective region.

In the end, Obama returned from Denmark with disappointing results and again shocked a country that felt it was entitled to host the Olympics in America.  First New York loses the bid to host the 2012 Olympics and now Chicago in for the 2016 Olympics.  This would have been unthinkable years before since the United States had hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  The American-dominated New World Order that Bush alluded to was destroyed by his idiot son and his former advisers.

Today was another miserable in the NJTransit trains.  Jon Corzine slashed the budgets for the trains and there are more delays due to broken trains from lack of maintenance and endless delays from overcapacity.  Corzine also did a great job raising taxes and slashing state services based on his experiences as a Goldman Sachs CEO.  Usually when someone raises prices while cutting services is considered a ripoff and Corzine is no different in ripping NJ taxpayers off.  There was once a rumour that Corzine was considered as a nominee as Obama’s Treasury Secretary, which I am glad was just a lie.  America just doesn’t need another former Goldman Sachs CEO to fuck up the economy the way Hank Paulson did.

I only wished there were Ben Bernanke masks for sale for Halloween.  That way I could get a mask, dress up in a cheap suit and tape a sign with the words “Financial Terrorist” on my back to create the Ben Bernanke Halloween costume.

Taiwan is not country, but US Territory says Chen Shuibian

So there you have it: Chen Shuibian admits that Taiwan is not a country and implies that the entire Taiwan Independence movement is not directed at China, but the United States, which would make the entire movement anti-American and “pro-terrorist” as some right-wingers say.

Former Taiwanese President Chen Shuibian has been indicted on new embezzlement charges just weeks after being sentenced to life in prison, and has filed a lawsuit claiming that the U.S. legally controls Taiwan and should release him from detention, officials and a lawyer said Wednesday.

Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/09/24/2003454322

Chen asks US court to intervene to free him
PETITION: The Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization said it was sponsoring the legal action on behalf of the former president, demanding his immediate release
By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 3

“His intent is to clarify that native Taiwanese people are not Chinese and should not be subject to any legal prosecution by courts of a Chinese government in exile.”
— Roger Lin, Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization

As part of his affidavit for a case at the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) petitioned for the US to intervene as the “principal occupying power of Taiwan” to seek his immediate release and restore his civil and human rights.

Roger Lin (林志昇), a member of the Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization, yesterday said his organization was sponsoring the legal action for Chen and demanding full respect for his civil rights and his immediate release from incarceration.

But Lin focused on Chen’s argument in the affidavit concerning Taiwan’s international status and dismissed speculation that the suit was aimed at resolving Chen’s legal problems.

“This is what I call the ‘Viagra effect,’” he said. “The drug was originally used to treat heart diseases, but most people pay more attention to its other effect — just like the suit is aimed at clarifying Taiwan’s international status, but most people look at its fallout.”

Chen has been in custody since December last year. He and his wife were handed life sentences for a string of charges last week. Chen has asked his lawyers to file an appeal.

Despite his repeated calls for the court to release him, the Taipei District Court overruled his most recent request.

Chen has decided to use international law and US constitutional law to resolve the legal problems concerning Taiwan’s status, while at the same time tackling his own legal problems, Lin said.

“His intent is to clarify that native Taiwanese people are not Chinese and should not be subject to any legal prosecution by courts of a Chinese government in exile,” Lin said.

In an English declaration provided by Lin, Chen said that during his eight-year presidency, the US executive branch often made decisions for the people of Taiwan without consulting them. These affected the lives, liberty and property of Taiwanese and the nation’s territory.

“I concluded that the machinery operating in the background was not the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act or any Executive Orders issued by the US Commander in Chief, but rather the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty,” he said in the declaration.

Under the peace treaty, Chen said it is clear that Taiwan was not awarded to the Republic of China and thus remains under the US Military Government until that government is legally supplanted.

His assertion is based on the argument that the US commander in chief did not make any announcement recognizing any civil government in Taiwan as supplanting the US Military Government after the 1952 treaty, he said.

Chen said the US is “the occupying power” under the customary laws of warfare because all military attacks against Taiwan in the World War II period were conducted by US military forces.

While some have called Chen “crazy” for putting forth this argument, Lin said, Chen’s accusers are the ones who are crazy.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei branch director Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林) said he supported the theory that Taiwan’s status was undetermined but that only the 23 million people of Taiwan should have a final say in resolving it.

Calling the corruption trial against Chen invalid and unfair, Huang said he hoped that once Taiwan’s status had been determined by a US military court, a new constitution could be written and Taiwanese who break the law could be tried under Taiwanese law.

Richard Hartzell of the Formosa Nation Legal-Strategy Association said Chen’s case was a very good approach, adding that many people had confused territorial control with sovereignty.

“[If] I have lived in this hotel for 60 years — it does not mean the hotel belongs to me,” he said. “Occupying territory is a foreign territory. Taiwan is not the 51st state, not a part of the US. It’s a foreign territory under the dominion of the United States.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday accused Chen of committing treason by referring to himself in his appeal as the former president of the “exiled ROC government.”

KMT Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said Chen must be mentally ill after spending so much time in detention.

Meanwhile, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the party was surprised by Chen’s remarks and did not know when Chen had made them.

“The fact that Taiwan is independent and that the sovereignty rests in the hands of its people is not only the basis of a resolution on Taiwan’s future adopted by the DPP in 1999, but a fact that is recognized and accepted by all the people [of Taiwan],” Cheng told a news conference.

“What former President Chen stated is different from the DPP’s stance,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND LOA IOK-SIN

“Chen claimed he is immune from the Taipei court’s ruling because as president he was acting as civil administrator for the U.S. military government, according to the petition, which demands that Washington release him.” – http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hA1Z8MlHPhdXAe2_2z7zBBZhV99QD9AT1DS00

So there you have it: the Taiwan Independence is all about seceding from the United States and Chen Shuibian was never a President in anything but name because he was just an elected bureaucrat doing America’s bidding.  We should all be grateful that Chen Shuibian finally clarified what Taiwan Independence is all about because it was never a Chinese issue as many Taiwanese Secessionists claim, but rather it is an American issue with a corrupt American official now behind bars in a Taiwanese prison who admits that Taiwan is not a country or independent.

He is so honest with his claims that even his colleagues at the Democratic Progressive Party are confused because Chen’s views seriously contradict their party platform.  The Democratic Progressive Party started as a grouping of dissidents and democratic reformers who fought against corruption and authoritarian rule.  Once the KMT’s grip relaxed they started talking about Taiwanese Independence and this actually prompted some core democracy activists to leave the party since Taiwan Independence was never a major issue for them.  Now we learn the DPP was never fighting for independence from China or Chinese under Chen’s leadership but rather for secession from the United States and from being Americanised.

Why does Chen have to do this legal roundabout rants when he could have just worked for gradual autonomy with the United States like what Puerto Rico did?  In any event, the fact Chen admitted that Taiwan is not a country and the Taidu movement is anti-American does not change the fact he got busted for being incapable of money laundering.  Maybe Chen Shuibian should follow his American counterparts and learn from masters of scams like Bernie Madeoff and ACORN.

ACORN is evil

ACORN is not only an organisation that aids and abets in prostitution and human trafficking, it also mistreats their employees and temporary workers to the point they would unionise against the “social-justice” non-profit group.

Below is an article that explores ACORN’s corruption from a different perspective:

The ACORN that imploded

Squeezed between a union drive and a financial crisis, an activist group cracks.

BY PHILIP DAWDY

Hollie Hefferman is one of four ACORN employees laid off after trying to unionize.

Hollie Hefferman is no armchair activist. She spent last fall working for ACORN, a fire-breathing social-justice group that mixes community organizing with in-your-face theatrics. As an organizer in East Portland, Hefferman knocked on upwards of 80 doors a day, trying to convince residents to fight slumlords, loan sharks and City Hall by signing up with ACORN.

Fed up with the long hours and low pay, however, Hefferman and three co-workers decided to train the group’s rhetoric on itself: They mounted a campaign to unionize ACORN’s local office. Two days later, they were “temporarily” laid off.

Hefferman calls it “hypocrisy” for ACORN to market itself as the fifth wave of justice for the downtrodden while turning its employees into food-stamp applicants.

“We felt there was a lot of deceit in the organization,” says Sarah Manowitz, another ACORN organizer.

Andrew Ginsberg, ACORN Oregon’s head organizer, says the layoffs and unionization were not connected.

Hefferman and Manowitz were spurred to become organizers by all the usual liberal impulses: The 22-year-olds thought they could help low-income renters stand up against slumlords. More often, however, they spent their time whipping up public dissatisfaction over city stormwater fees.

Working conditions were less than ideal for the group’s five paid organizers. Employees were required to work 54 hours a week, Saturdays included, for an annual salary of $20,200 (which works out to $7.19 an hour). The two say they were often paid late and, beginning in November, not paid at all.

On Dec. 3, four employees handed Ginsberg a letter outlining their plans to join the Industrial Workers of the World, a.k.a. the Wobblies. Two days later, citing budget problems, Ginsberg temporarily laid off the four employees (the office’s fifth organizer chose not to join the union). They haven’t worked since.

Ginsberg declined to answer anything but the most cursory of questions, citing ongoing talks with IWW Industrial Unit 650.

“The timing would make it suspicious to begin with,” says Linda Davidson, acting officer in charge of the Portland office of the National Labor Relations Board.

ACORN has always been an odd beast. With 45 offices nationwide, the organization presents itself as a grassroots group promoting “people power.” Typically, ACORN crosses swords with slumlords, usurious banks and neglectful local governments. In cities such as Chicago, it has become a potent political force, filling a power vacuum between a distant City Hall and more traditional activist groups such as the Urban League.

ACORN sends organizers to canvas neighborhoods and to sign up members for a monthly fee ranging from $5 to $20. Members are taught various strategies to petition for their rights, including street theater, confrontation, taking over government offices, and demanding that bureaucrats sign pledges.

That’s largely how things have played out for ACORN Oregon, which opened offices in Lents two years ago. After an ineffectual campaign against predatory lenders, ACORN has skittered from one crusade to another, including urban renewal, sewer fees, traffic lights and unpaved streets. Currently, the group is hectoring the city for a traffic light at Whitaker-Lakeside Middle School in Northeast Portland.

These bread-and-butter issues have gained ACORN some traction among eastsiders–it boasts 1,640 Oregon members, most living in outer Southeast Portland. And it has staged some classic confrontations. The most spectacular came last August, when tattooed, tank-topped ACORNites stormed a meeting of the buttoned-down Portland Development Commission, demanding more citizen control of millions of dollars in Lents urban-renewal monies.

Some critics argue that ACORN is a band of self-perpetuating mercenaries, constantly waging new crusades in order to attract more members. Others say its Sharptonian tactics are out of place in a mellow, consensus-minded community like Portland.

Mary Volm, spokeswoman for the Portland Office of Transportation, told WW that the group’s invasion of PDOT’s offices last fall earned it enemies instead of the cooperation it sought.

Meanwhile, ACORN employees are mulling their legal options, which include filing an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board and a wage complaint with the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries. However, Manowitz and her colleagues say they would all return to work at ACORN if they had a union contract.

Talks between ACORN and the IWW begin March 23.

Originally Published on 3/6/2002

Find this story at www.wweek.com/editorial/2818/2532 | Close Window

So ACORN is anti-union, unethical, and aggressive?  We have to bear in mind that these problems existed long before conservatives started gunning them because they decided to fraudulently register Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Clark Kent and Seymour Butts to voter registration forms on Obama’s behalf.  Nevermind the video expose done by James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles

Here is another article that talks about why ACORN is targeted by the GOP

Comedienne Esther Ku Reponds to Asian Critics

An e-mail from an Asian Zatch
by Esther Ku (notes) Today at 06:37
from Zatch Pouchprom
to ku@funnyku.com
date Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 10:41 PM
subject You should be ashamed of yourself.

Ms Ku,
Let me start out by saying that I’m a American man of Asian descent in my 20’s. You and I are from the same generation so I’m sure that we grew up with the same media and the same cultural environment.

After seeing your act on Youtube and having had to tolerate the same garbagr from Bobby Lee on tv for the last 8 years, I feel it is important to write you this email.

You are continuing in the long tradition of Asian “step-n-fetch its” acts that started with Charlie Chan and then went from Charlie Chan to Hop Sing to Long Duk Dong to Wiliam Hung to Bobby Lee and now you.

I grew up in the South, from elementary school up into high school I was the only Asian face in the class. Everyday it was me having to punch another kid for slanting their eyes at me or doing the “Ching Chong Ching Chong” thing (I know you know what I’m talking about) then in high school it progressed to cracks about eating dogs and having a small dick.

I’ve been 6′1 220lbs since I was a freshmen, so I was able to kick the crap out of most of the asshats, most other Asians are small and I’m sure didn’t have the recourse of kicking their bullies’ asses and just had to live with it.

But you know as well as I do that this has happened to every Asian kid who has ever gone to school in this country.

Why?

Because of the type of stereotypical trash that Hollywood has shoved in our face about Asians (Especially Asian men) for the last 100 years.

But thats not the worst part the worst part is that they are helped in creating this image because people like you and Bobby Lee are willing to sell out not only your racial heritage but you’re own brothers and fathers by embarassing yourselfs and re-enforcing these stereotypes with your pathetic attempts to get a few laughs from a predominately non-Asian audience.

Are you that desperate for fame? You do realize they are not laughing with you they are laughing at you.

You know what Ms. Ku one day you may have a son, and he will have to go to school and endure this type of racism because people like his mother helped create it.

You know how bad it is in hollywood for Asian Males? Jet Li once starred in a movie with a beautiful black pop Singer (Romeo must Die) who is suppose to be his “love interest”, In the movie Jet goes through hell to rescue his “love interest” going so far as to have skin ripped from his hands in a fight scene. And in the end, you know what our hero gets? A freaking half-Hug!! Its so anathema for Hollywood to portray an Asian male as anything but a Sexless, weakling, computer nerd or screaming kung fu fool that even in his OWN MOVIE the Asian hero doesn’t get a Kiss or anything.

People like James Shigeta, Bruce Lee, John Loan and Daniel Henney worked hard to force Hollywood to treat Asian Males with respect and as MEN.

People like you and Bobby Lee are doing everything you can to set the clock back even further on Asians.

You are a Disgrace.

You think that by throwing off on Asian Males that you are ingratiating yourself with non-Asian audiences but really your are just perpetuating stereotypes for yourself such as the iconic “Me Suckee suckee” or theever popular “Happy ending” bullshit.

Hollywood tells us:

Asian Men are Unattractive and “Sexless” (Even Asian Women are not attracted to them)
Asian Men have no physicality (other than kung fuing)
Asian Men are scared of all non-Asian men
Asian Men are meek and cowardly
Asian Men are silly excitable fools
Asian Men can be mocked with impunity.

Stop it Ms Ku

I know its hard to make it in show biz, but not at the expense of you degrading yourself and your heritage.

And don’t give me this crap about you trying to subtley poking fun at stereotypes, you are doing nothing of the sort. You are reenforcing them.

I know your going to say

“But Chris Rock makes jokes a about black people and Carlos Mecia makes jokes about Mexican people.” This is true, but the difference is there is always an element of pride in their humor, you can tell Chris Rock is proud to be a black man and Carlos is proud of his Hispanic Heritage. There is no pride in what you say about Asians, and the undertone of self-hate is loud and clear.

I hate to tell you but you will never be white, no matter how many white guys you date or how many times you degrade other asians.

Help empower your people not emasculate them. Asian Males have so few role models in the media to be proud of. They don’t need sell-outs like you and Bobby Lee coming along and piling on with the ridicule.

One day your Son may want to get into show biz, but because of the stuff you are doing the only roles he’ll be able to get are the William Hung type crap that Hollywood is still pushing. Is that really what you want? Because like it or not your son is going to look like the Asian guys you degrade in your act and not like those stud blond haired blue-eyed white guys you love to date.

I would suggest to you watching a documentary on Youtube called “The Slanted Screen” and how you are being part of the problem and not part of the solution.

I hope you read this Ms. Ku and I hope you think about how many people you are hurting with your “Comedy”.

————————————————– ————————————————– —–
my response … but feel free to email your own response to Mr. Pouchprom.
————————————————– ————————————————– —–

Hi Zach. What kind of Asian is Pouchprom? hahahahahahahahah. Is this a real email or are you pranking me? I can’t tell.

We may be from the same generation however, I come from a family that knows how to laugh. Laugh at people like you. Guys who feel it is important to write me this email that place me in the same category as Bobby Lee. Thanks! I’ve been trying to let him open for him at Caroline’s for years. Would you mind if I used your email as a letter of reference?

Stop trying to blame me for having grown up in the south! Your parents were the retarded ones who moved to the south. Mine went straight to Chicago with several other families so that their children could form a gang and stick with each other from kindergarten. I don’t know what you’re talking about. In our school, the Asians were the ones doing the punching. Every time my brother punched a hole in the wall, we covered it up with a painting that translated to “harmony” or “love”. Everybody was scared of the Asians in my school. You didn’t mess with the Yang’s, the Yoon’s, and definitely not the Ku’s. What I feel you maybe doing is projecting your regrets of not being able to stand up to your bullies onto me. And I refuse to stand for it.

So you’re complaining that Hollywood has been oppressing Asian men for a mere 100 years? Compared to the thousands of years that Asian women have been oppressed by their male counterparts? Then sign me up Hollywood! It’s reparations time! You guys have bound our feet, demanded hot food, clean clothes, polished nails, cute babies and happy endings for centuries. Get the fuck out of here. You’re lucky we’re not doing more damage. Oooh did we hurt your feelings? Wait. Let’s work this out the old fashioned way. Why don’t you give me your mom’s phone number and I’ll have my mom call your mom and yell at her for raising a six foot two hundred pound slanted pussy.

Is it also my fault that the audiences are predominately non-Asian? Man that’s a good point. We should market to more Asians. Can you help out? There’s a position for barker open at Stand-Up NY. I can totally get you a job so we can get that quota for Asians to match the current demographics of the US population.

Am I that desperate for fame? You think I’m famous? Yay! If you come to a show, I promise to take a picture with you afterward. Then you can tell people you met me and they will be impressed for moment if I am indeed as famous as you say I am.

So when I have my son, are you saying I should be a PTA mom? Because don’t worry I would never join the PTA. When I have kids, I will be at home with my snugly bong and be wondering if little Jimmy from Occidental College ever graduated with a degree in Bio after I helped him with his anatomy assignment.

You keep referencing me and Bobby Lee in the same sentence. Do you think we should go on tour together? Cuz that’d be so much fun! Who do you think should drive? Me or Bobby?

Hollywood tells us that Asian men are silly excitable fools? I don’t think anybody thinks that. Ever. hahahahah. Which is why Bobby Lee has a career. Don’t you get it man? He’s fighting the stereotype that you help perpetuate: the awfully boring, dorky nerd who takes himself way too seriously and whose parents thought it’d be a good idea to move in with a bunch of hillbillies.

You stop it Mr. Pouchprom. Seriously are you even Asian or are you half or something? Is your dad a pervert who only gets off on Asian porn? ew.

It is hard to make it in show biz and that’s why I want to thank you for writing this letter because I think you’ve helped me seal the deal to become the next Kim of Comedy.

Sincerely,
Esther Ku