Archive for April, 2008

Barney Frank : HR 5843

MNP Reports 4/21/08

Here’s a transcript from our ninja down in Philly. She’s currently working to obtain the coveted status of MNP’s first dedicated on-the-scene correspondent.

Laura G. is a body double by day and ninja by night. When not teaching the youth about today’s mathematics she volunteers part-time at Obama’s Philadelphia campaign.

Here’s her short-but-necessary take on what is happening, posted without graphic interruption.

This is an exciting time to be in Philadelphia. Political signs, pins, and t-shirts are infiltrating the streets and people are talking. They are talking a lot. This morning, on my five-minute walk from the train to work, I heard at least three conversations about what was going to happen tomorrow. A woman shouted to a man wearing an Obama hat, a€oeI mean, I respect guy, but he aina€™t got a chance of winning.a€A The man with the hat gave a smirk and continued on, explaining to his friend that Obama understands the larger picture because his heritage embodies the larger picture, that he gets how to deal with a variety of people because he grew up around a diverse group of people. For this reason, he believes in the man. He believes the man will really change the country.

I am not a political person. It is hard for me choose sides, to stand for something, to pick someone based on what say to get votes. I am never quite certain I a€oeknowa€A enough to really choose. And choosing between Hillary and Obama was especially hard because ultimately I wanted to be able to support either of them in November. But for some reason I wanted to be a part of this election. So I did my research. I picked my person and I became an intern in the Obama office two weeks ago. Not because I am necessarily a€oeagainsta€A Hilary but because I am a€oefora€A Obama.

Three days ago, I walked through the city, all the way down to Independence Hall where the Obama rally was being held. I began my journey at the city center, where Hillary supporters were holding up a€oeHonk for Hillarya€A signs and screaming at passing cars. There were about ten people total and they had all lost their voices. Cars were honking, people were cheering and there was a general sense of urgency amongst the crowd. As I continued down to Independence Hall, the clash began to happen-a clash that exist in every pocket of the city right now, a clash that both terrifies me and brings me energy. People with Hillary pins bumping against people with Obama t-shirts, and people with Hillary hats passing people Mamas For Obama stickers; the division is so stark and so charged. Soon, it became Obama territory and the crowd was full of an energy that I have never experienced. It is this abstract a€oehopea€A that people keep on talking about but there really is no other word for what I think (and I only know from the one side) that people are experiencing. Ita€™s why there were 35,000 people out of their homes, waiting for over five hours to see Obama at a last minute rally and why a lady in her seventies, covered in Obama paraphernalia, used all the voice she had left to tell people where to get their red and/or blue tickets. And this hopea€"this overwhelming support for a candidate no one thought would get very far-is, in my opinion, slightly scary. It is scary because it is so easily felt, so accessible, so tangible and if it goes away tomorrow, next week, next month, or even in November, the loss will feel as tangible and it will feel huge. I worry about that.

Today, one day before the election, I sit with seven other people on the a€oeNew Mediaa€A team and blast myspace messages about getting out the vote. In the next room over, volunteers are screaming, every hour on the hour, a€oeFired up and Ready to go!a€A The office is disgusting at this point, empty Starbucks cups and Qdoba wrappers are falling out of the trashcans and fluorescent lights make it look that much worse. But people are ready for something to happen, ready to work all night and keep the vote close because they have to. Because if they dona€™t, they and everyone else theya€™ve convinced, might just deflate, might just fall apart. Ita€™s an exciting time to be in Philadelphia.

BYOB : wear BLUE for Earth Day 2008

Overseas Chinese rally in support of Beijing Olympics, against Western media’s biased coverage

Many Chinese expatriates and students in the United States, Japan and Europe rallied on Saturday to express their support to the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and their anger at some Western media’s biased coverage of the recent Lhasa riots.

Thousands of Chinese Americans and overseas Chinese rallied outside the Cable News Network (CNN)’s studios in downtown Los Angeles to protest anti-Chinese remarks by Jack Cafferty, one of the network’s commentators.

The protestors crowded the sidewalks, holding placards which read: "No Racial Discrimination," "CNN, Don’t Fool Americans," "No Media distortion" and "True Apology from CNN."

Singing patriotic Chinese songs and shouting "CNN Liar, Cafferty Fire," the protestors demanded a true and sincere apology from the CNN and Cafferty, as well as his dismissal from his post.

On April 9, as the Olympic torch relay was underway in San Francisco, Cafferty said in a CNN program that goods from China were "junk," and "I think they’re basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they’ve been for the last 50 years," apparently referring to the Chinese people.

Over 300 Chinese Americans and Chinese nationals gathered near the U.S. Capitol to protest against some U.S. media’s and politicians’ biased remarks about the Lhasa riots on March 14, which killed 18 civilians and one police officer.

The peaceful demonstration in the Upper Senate Park, which lies across the street from the U.S. Capitol Building, attracted Chinese Americans and overseas Chinese of all ages and of various professions.

"American media, you can muzzle our voices, but cannot smother the truth!" reads one banner.

The demonstrators are also infuriated by some members of the U.S. Congress, who support the Dalai clique for their own political purposes.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Chinese students in Japan signed their names on three flags to extend their support for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The campaign, initiated by the Chinese Students in Japan Friendship Association, plans to collect over 10,000 signatures of Chinese students and scholars in Japan.

At the opening ceremony of the campaign held in the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, the Chinese students set up banners promoting Olympic spirits and the Beijing Olympics slogans such as "One World, One Dream."

The flags will then be presented to the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Nearly 10,000 Chinese expatriates and students held a peaceful demonstration in downtown Paris to express their support for the Beijing Olympics and their anger at a few French media’s distorted reports about the Lhasa riots.

The rally, starting from midday at the Place de la Republique square, was the biggest ever staged by overseas Chinese in France in nearly 20 years, organizers said.

The demonstrators, dressed in red T-shirts with the slogan "Olympic Games is a bridge, not a wall," waved both Chinese and French national flags and chanted patriotic songs.

They also protested against the stance of a few French media which have provided misleading information on the Olympic torch relay and the Lhasa riots.

In London, over 3,000 Chinese expatriates and students staged a silence demonstration at a square opposite the British Parliament building, in protest of distorted reports by some Western media including British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) on the Tibet riots.

"Today, we are here to oppose media distortion and media fabrication in the recent events. We are here in a quest for objectivity, fairness and justice," a demonstration coordinator read out a statement.

"As we heard, we saw, we say the BBC on some of the recent events has misled the British public and the rest of the world by providing intensive untruthful reports and biased coverage."

The rally was mobilized via the Internet and received enthusiastic responses from all parts of Britain.

Over 2,000 Chinese studying or working in Manchester and neighboring cities in central Britain held a silence demonstration against media distortion in front of the BBC office building.

In an open letter to the BBC, the protestors said the BBC adopted "double-standards" and failed to provide credible and independent coverage of the Olympic torch relay and the Lhasa riots.

Meanwhile, thousands of Chinese expatriates and students from all across Germany staged a peaceful demonstration in Berlin to protest against the biased news coverage of the Lhasa riots and voice their support for the Beijing Olympics.

Nearly 3,000 people participated in the march, beginning from Berlin’s famed downtown Friedrichstrasse railway station to the Potsdamer Platz, a landmark square for the capital city.

During the rally, the protesters held banners such as "Tibet was, is and will be a part of China" and "Boycotting Olympics = New Berlin Wall," and sang patriotic songs.

Moreover, some 1,500 Chinese expatriates and students staged a peaceful demonstration in Vienna to show their support for the Olympics and their anger at the "pro-Tibet independence" activists’ attacks of the Olympic torch relay.

The demonstration, titled "Overseas Chinese in Vienna Supporting Beijing Olympics Demonstration," was organized by 25 Chinese groups in Austria and local Chinese-language media organizations. [englishpeople]

Where is Melchizedec?

The Most Serene Republic of Melchizedec is a massive, devout nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 3.068 billion enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the political process is open and the people’s right to vote held sacrosanct.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Social Welfare. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 20%. A robust private sector is led by the Trout Farming, Soda Sales, and Gambling industries.

Voting is voluntary. Crime is moderate. Melchizedec’s national animal is the blessed soul and its currency is the eternal life.

Melchizedec is ranked 4th in the region and 16,047th in the world for Largest Basket Weaving Sector. [nationstates]

Danica Patrick wins Indy Japan 300

The third race of the IRL season and last event before the on set of the merger was history in the making. The Indy Japan 300 was a difficult race to get off the ground though, as rainy conditions cancelled qualifying and caused postponement of the race start.

Twin Ring Motegi will now forever be the site where the first female driver won an Indy Car event. Danica Patrick sealed the deal after passing Helio Castroneves with 2 laps to go in the 200 lap race. The historical event was made possible through excellent planning and strategy on the part of the Andretti Green team. Danica sat in fourth with 4 laps to go, but fuel starvation forced Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan into the pits. Fuel level was also an issue with Castroneves, he was in conservation mode in the final laps. Thanks to the efforts of her crew, Patrick had enough fuel to maintain speed throughout the race and take her first, and hopefully not last, win in the big leagues. [autoblog]

Japanese Show of the Week #15

Cookin’ With Coolio - Fork Steak

We posted the first one last week. These just keep getting better.

Elements | Fire Listening Party