Clipmarks | ouyangwulong's clips

I support Obama on Issues, not because of the Cult of Personality

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:08:45 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: I don't worship Barak Obama. I don't think he's a savior, or even an angel. Although the novelty of him being a "black" president is entertaining, I don't really care about that either. (Honestly, it seems a little strange that we are so self-congratulatory over 'voting for a black man,' as if that should be really impressive somehow.)

Why do I support Barak Obama? Because of all the people running for President, I believe he has the best ideas on what direction our country needs to take. I would like to see much of his platform made into reality, and because of that, I will vote for him.

I don't want to waste all our time arguing of personal slights and vauge rumors. Let's get to the issues. Here is why I support Barak Obama:

Clip Source: www.barackobama.com

Renewing American Diplomacy

Talk to our Foes and Friends: Obama is willing to meet with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe. He will do the careful preparation necessary, but will signal that America is ready to come to the table, and that he is willing to lead. And if America is willing to come to the table, the world will be more willing to rally behind American leadership to deal with challenges like terrorism, and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.

Clip Source: www.barackobama.com

Restore Our Alliances

Organize to Help Our Partners and Allies in Need: An Obama administration will expand humanitarian activities that build friends and allies at the regional and local level (such as during the response to the tsunami in South and Southeast Asia), and win hearts and minds in the process.

Tags: obama, president, issues, serious, philosophy, experience, patriotism, iraq

Inexperienced Republican vs. Inexperienced Democrat

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:38:42 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: So I've been having a lot of heated discussions on exactly how important it is for a candidate to be experienced. My view is: not at all. Knowledge matters. Belief matters. Judgment matters. But experience in Washington is a minus for me.

Hopefully, now, this will put the experience debate to bed. Shame on Barbra Boxer for making the same argument against Palin that she dismisses against Obama!

Both tickets are a good mix of experience and freshness. If Democrats want to take on Palin, they should have enough wherewithal to criticize her political positions, just like Republicans should stop whining about manufactured personal issues with Obama and get to the meat of why they don't like him: the issues.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Several of Mr. McCain’s outside advisers reacted with bewilderment to the selection of Ms. Palin, and one said that it would undercut one of Mr. McCain’s central criticisms of Senator Obama — that he is too inexperienced to be commander in chief.

Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, dismissed Ms. Palin’s appeal to female voters.

“The vice president is a heartbeat away from becoming President, so to choose someone with not one hour’s worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice,” she said in a statement.

“Governor Palin is a very bright leader who will bring a fresh perspective to a ticket that already has the experience and judgment necessary to lead our country from day one,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader.

Tags: palin, obama, mccain, experience, democrat, republican, idiots, democracy, talking points

Case in point: Messed Up British People

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:27:16 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: So, this guy is addicted to sex and drugs and doesn't know when to draw the line? And he's British? Hey, I bet he would love a nice vacation in Greece!

But seriously, his perspective at the end, about comics helping the audience to empathize with something strange, is really insightful and good advice to all artists and writers.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Russell Brand, who will host the awards on Sept. 7, is a 33-year-old British comedian whose sartorial sensibility favors snug leather pants, unbuttoned shirts, a manly bit of eyeliner and shaggy, Amy Winehouse-style bouffants.

in a scandalous autobiography titled “My Booky Wook,” he has made no secret of his addictions to sex and hard drugs like heroin and crack

as an adolescent he attended (and was expelled from) a series of increasingly prestigious theater schools, where he was introduced to an array of increasingly potent controlled substances. In his 20s he became a popular host for British MTV, only to be fired from that job for showing up at the studio on Sept. 12, 2001, high on drugs and dressed as Osama bin Laden.

If the job of a comedian is to find common ground with his audience, Mr. Brand said in a recent telephone interview, “it is also to make things that are uncommon seem accessible and empathetic. That’s something I sometimes struggle with, because of the life I’ve led.”

Tags: sex, addiction, heroin, crack, bouffant, mtv, osama bin laden

Three White People Who Won't Be Voting For Barak Obama

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:46:53 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: People still keep talking about how racism among "working class whites" (that's media code for "po' white trash") will not vote for Obama because he is black.

I'm getting seriously tired of this. Working class people in America aren't any more racist than the class of Americans who are too wealthy to work.

Sure, there are some people who are racist and won't vote for him, and that shocks people so it gets a lot of attention. But seriously, look at these three guys: do you think they vote AT ALL? (remember, something like 60% of America doesn't!)

Nobody is talking about all the working class whites who had trouble voting for John Kerry or Al Gore. If Obama loses, it will be because of the pathetic Democratic Party itself, not because he is black.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

From left, Shawn R. Adolf, Tharin R. Gartrell and Nathan D. Johnson were arrested Sunday on drug and weapons charges.

“We’re taking it very seriously,” said Troy Eid, the United States attorney for Colorado, at a news conference on Tuesday. But he said the racist rants that the men made after their arrests on Sunday — all three for possession of methamphetamine, and two of them on weapons charges — had not risen to the level of a “credible threat” that would have allowed federal charges of threatening Mr. Obama to be filed.

Tags: obama, methamphetemines, drugs, conspiracy, assassination, white working class voters

Screaming, Vomiting, Cross-Dressing, Stripping: Vacation British style...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:30:15 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Oh my goodness gracious! This is a funny funny article about bad bad people. I have to admit, even jaded party animal that I am, born and raised in the liberal Sodom and Gomorrah of left-coast America, EVEN I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW OUT OF FREAKING CONTROL THESE BRITISH ARE!

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

“They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit,” Malia’s mayor, Konstantinos Lagoudakis, said in an interview. “It is only the British people — not the Germans or the French.”

They are the ones, the locals say, who are carousing, brawling and getting violently sick. They are the ones crowding into health clinics seeking morning-after pills and help for sexually transmitted diseases. They are the ones who seem to have one vacation plan: drinking themselves into oblivion.

“The government of Britain has to do something,” Mr. Lagoudakis said. “These people are giving a bad name to their country.”

They are also hurting themselves in the process. A recent report published by the British Foreign Office, “British Behavior Abroad,” noted that in a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, 602 Britons were hospitalized and 28 raped in Greece, and that 1,591 died in Spain and 2,032 were arrested there.

Tags: vomit, nudity, cross-dressing, alcohol, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, brawling

The Daily Show vs. Blovation Fest 2008!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:22:41 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: I've been watching the Daily Show since its first episode, and I started taking it serriously when Jon upped the IQ quotient by replacing Craig Killborne. Now the show pretty much only does indie film makers, political wonks, and third world presidents. How cool is that? The only people who do more serious interviews are Charlie Rose and Bill Moyers, and actually, Bill Moyers described Jon as "The Mark Twain of our time."

But why did I clip? for the "Blovation Fest" Quote, which by the way, will be the festival of avant garde noise-punk music I attempt to put on this fall.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America?

Most important, at a time when Fox, MSNBC and CNN routinely mix news and entertainment, larding their 24-hour schedules with bloviation fests and marathon coverage of sexual predators and dead celebrities, it’s been “The Daily Show” that has tenaciously tracked big, “super depressing” issues like the cherry-picking of prewar intelligence, the politicization of the Department of Justice and the efforts of the Bush White House to augment its executive power.

Tags: jon stewart, daily show, blovation fest, sexual predator, dead celebrities

So whatever happened to Austin?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:29:17 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: I've been absent from Clipmarks for a while, while I traveled in India and then had to make up for vacation by working overtime back in Beijing.

I'm back now, and settled in, and putting pictures of my adventures up on facebook.

Clip Source: www.new.facebook.com

Tags: austin, kashmir, travel, photography, facebook

ATTENTION ALL CLIPPERS IN BEIJING!

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:02:30 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: As you many of you may know, and as the rest of you can now see, I live here in Beijing. I know the city like the back of my hand. (which is to say, better than I know my feet, but not quite as well as I know my chin.)

So if any of you are in town for the Olympics, drop me a line at austininchina@hotmail.com and I can give you advice on anything from where to find the oldest temple or $1 Jager Shots, or the best Cassoulet in town. I can also help you get past those pesky Chinese internet censors.

Also, although I'm being worked like a slave, if our schedules match up, I'm always up for a BEER.

Clip Source: clipmarks.com

ouyangwulong

Real Name:	Austin M. Kramer
Location:	Beijing, PRC
Joined:	2-16-2007

Tags: olympics, beijing, beer, culture, history, bars, restaurants, military police, crack down

Judicial Barbarism

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:15:18 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Although I am an opponent of the death penalty, I think this was the wrong decision.

Why? Because it enshrines barbarism in our legal system. By saying that the death penalty is not warranted unless the victim of the crime was also killed, the justices have defined our legal system as an instrument not of justice but of vengeance.

Justice is the protection of the weak, and the assurance that wrongs, once committed, will not be repeated. Justice should not spring from vindictive passion, but instead from a love for all those in society.

Our legals system is there to protect us from henious individuals who menace society, not to torture them for our own sadistic satisfaction.

If we merely revisit their own crimes back on them, we are not just, but savage, not civilized but barbaric.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON — The death penalty is unconstitutional as a punishment for the rape of a child, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.

The 5-to-4 decision overturned death penalty laws in Louisiana and five other states. The only two men in the country who have been sentenced to death for the crime of child rape, both in Louisiana, will receive new sentences of life without parole.

The court went beyond the question in the case to rule out the death penalty for any individual crime — as opposed to “offenses against the state,” like treason or espionage — “where the victim’s life was not taken.”

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said there was “a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons,” even “devastating” crimes like the rape of a child, on the other.

Tags: death penalty, rape, judicial activism, barbarism begins at home

Hillary's Own Sexism

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:44:09 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Although there is a lot of talk about sexism, and how it is to blame for Hillary's defeat, I think people are barking up the wrong tree.

Obama never campaigned against Hillary on the basis that as a woman she would be "unelectable" because conservative "swing voters" would never elect a woman. On the other hand, she did make that case against Obama on account of his race.

In fact, nobody ever questioned Hillary's ability to lead the country, as a woman or otherwise. The should have: her foreign policy is scary and ignorant.

But the most sexist person in the race was Hillary herself. Her campaign, with the pant-suits and tough guy attitude (especially on Iran) seemed to reflect her own belief that if a woman was going to win, she had to convince people that she was "one of the guys."

I think almost anyone who would vote for Obama would also vote for a woman - if it was the right woman. What I'm not willing to do is vote for any woman simply for the sake of making history.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Racism is deeper, but sexism may be wider in America today.

In polls, more Americans say they would be willing to vote for a black candidate for president than for a female candidate, and sexist put-downs are heard more publicly than racial ones.

We aren't always aware of our own biases.

Some of Clinton's supporters are sure that she was defeated by misogyny, while those who voted against her invariably are dismissive:The reason I didn't vote for her isn't that she's a woman. It's that she's a dynastic opportunist who voted for the Iraq war and...

Tags: hilary, misogony, pant suits, obama, sexism, america, election

Small Claims Court for Countries

Sat, 24 May 2008 02:54:10 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: It's interesting how well the international system works when people aren't busy sabotaging it.

Malaysia and Singapore just settled this international dispute in court, and everyone seems happy.

I think the main reason that countries such as the US or China don't support international courts and authorities is because they don't want to be held responsible for the transgressions they know they've committed.

You have to admit, America has come to demand a certain kind of exceptionalism, placing ourselves above the law by virtue of our own self-aggrandizement. Restoring America's international reputation will begin with ending this repugnant double standard that we hold for ourselves and the rest of the world.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

World Court awards contested island of Pedra Branca to Singapore

THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The International Court of Justice on Friday awarded Singapore sovereignty over a disputed island hosting a strategic lighthouse at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Straits.

It ruled in favor of Singapore's argument that it had exercised sovereign powers over the rock since the Horsburgh lighthouse opened 1851, with no protest from Malaysia until 30 years ago.

Both sides said they accepted the ruling.

"It is a good example to the region of how such disputes can be resolved in a peaceful and amicable manner," said Singapore's deputy prime minister, S. Jayakumar.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim called it a win-win ruling since each side won a partial victory. Resolving such disputes through the rule of law, he said, "will make the world safer."

Tags: malaysia, singapore, international, courts, diplomacy, law, order

The Jew Problem

Fri, 23 May 2008 06:16:15 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Let's see how many people click on that title!

I hope I have your attention now, because this is important!

Some politically active Jews, although certainly passionate, often have trouble telling friend from foe. The belief among Jews that the Christian Fundamentalist Evangelical community is a friend is a big mistake.

Some worry that Obama is part of the nation of Islam, or Palestinian, or that he won't help Israel. But they think the GOP will.

But what is the Christian Right's agenda in helping Israel? Clearly, right-wing evangelical fundamentalists like Hagee have no tenderness or fondness for Jews.

They believe Israel is simply a part of God's ultimate plan leading to the apocalypse. Although they support the Jews returning to Israel, they also believe it is Biblical prophecy that there will be continuous warfare, so they don't support peace, but an Israel besieged. Many believe this is the prelude to the final destruction of the Jews by a wrathful God.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

But the resistance toward Obama appears to be rooted in something more than factual misperception; even those with an accurate understanding of Obama share the hesitations. In dozens of interviews, South Florida Jews questioned his commitment to Israel — even some who knew he earns high marks from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which lobbies the United States government on behalf of Israel.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Senator John McCain on Thursday rejected the endorsement of the Rev. John Hagee, a televangelist, after a watchdog group released a recording of a sermon in which Hagee said Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God's plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine.

The latest Hagee remarks to surface may strike at the heart of McCain's efforts to reach a critical group of voters, Jews, some of whom have viewed Obama with suspicion.

Tags: jews, israel, christianity, fundamentalism, hagee, obama, racism

McCain: A Critical Weakness on Foreign Policy

Thu, 22 May 2008 11:18:54 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: McCain's critical weakness on foreign policy is that he knows next to nothing about it.

Although I have a lot of respect of McCain, I think he falls into the typical trap of myopic patriotism. Many people love their own country so much that they are blind to the reality of the world outside their borders.

The outside world is a place where America is a pretty good nation, but has certainly seen better days. The outside world is a place where our enemies occasionally have legitimate points, and certainly have lives and families much like our own.

In the reality beyond our borders, the US isn't guaranteed to win every fight, especially when we go in on shaky ground.

In the reality beyond our borders everyone has to talk, whether they like it or not, because in the end, nations, like people, are created equal.

McCain knows everything about the US Military, but knows nothing about our enemies. With a perspective like that, how can we expect to win?

Clip Source: www.iht.com

The question of how to engage controversial foreign foes has emerged as perhaps the central dispute between McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Obama, his likely Democratic opponent..

McCain accused Obama on Tuesday of shifting his position on normalization of relations with Cuba, saying he voiced support for it previously but was now offering caveats. In doing so, McCain homed in anew on Obama's stated willingness to conduct a dialogue with controversial foreign leaders.

"Now Senator Obama has shifted positions and says he only favors easing the embargo, not lifting," McCain said. "He also wants to sit down unconditionally for a presidential meeting with Raúl Castro. These steps would send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators — there is no need to undertake fundamental reforms, they can simply wait for a unilateral change in U.S. policy."

Tags: mccain, war, diplomacy, iran, cuba, dialog, appeasement

Was WWII Necessary?

Thu, 22 May 2008 10:43:02 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Yes.

Even though I'm a Buddhist. As a pacifist, of course, I believe that killing can never be morally justified, and even while it can be necessitated, we still will suffer the moral consequences of life-taking. However, I would be willing to accept those serious moral consequences for myself in the scenario of stopping the Holocaust.

What disturbs me about WWII is that it never would have happened simply to end the Holocaust. In fact, I suspect many allied politicians were sympathetic to Hitler in general, and specifically anti-semetic. Think Lucky Lindy.

Could it have been averted? Yes, by not creating a belt of failed states. It wasn't the harshness so much as the indifference, as Germany and Eastern Europe spiraled out of control, despotism was bound to take hold.

Irresponsibility made the crimes of the Nazis possible, and now those like Buchanan advocate to even greater global irresponsibility.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

More is coming along the anti-Churchillian lines. Patrick Buchanan, the conservative commentator and two-time presidential candidate, launches a sustained attack on Churchill in a new, lengthy book, "Churchill, Hitler, and 'The Unnecessary War': How Britain Lost the Empire and the West Lost the World," which will be out later this month.

Let's, in light of this trend, examine for a moment the idea that the United States should have stayed out of the European war. If that had happened, the Hitlerites surely would have conquered all of Europe, minus Britain. There would have been more mass murder of "inferior" peoples. There would also have been no morally tainted alliance with Stalin, no 40-year Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, no firebombings of German cities like Hamburg and Dresden, and no deaths among American soldiers.

Tags: holocaust, wwii, jews, crimes against humanity, indifference

THE 6 CUTEST ANIMALS THAT CAN STILL DESTROY YOU

Thu, 22 May 2008 06:06:21 GMT

clipped by: tanyamm
clipper's remarks: They seem so sweet, some are cuddly some are big but sooo.. adorable. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Go to the sight to find out why.

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

The 6 Cutest Animals That Can Still Destroy You

If animals could talk, they would spend most of their time calling us dicks and telling us to get off their land. The traits we think of as "cute" are often simply tricks animals have developed to get tourists to throw them food.

Here are six animals that you'll probably want to steer clear of, no matter how adorable they look on that wall calendars.

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)

Duck-Billed Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)

Dingo (Canis lupus dingo)

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Swan (Anatidae Cygnus, dozens of subspecies)

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)