Open thread?

The question mark is because I got impatient with the last two megathreads, in which we drowned in back and forth banter. Should I keep them?

On a personal note, I need a recommendation for a cheap but decent hotel in Taipei. I am floored at the prices! Also for Shenzhen. All suggestions will be appreciated.

The Discussion: 46 Comments

Yet more stories of mindless Americans…

July 28, 2005 @ 8:04 pm | Comment

You never send your kids to walk around federal highways?

July 28, 2005 @ 8:06 pm | Comment

Only when they’re flying a kite. 🙂

July 28, 2005 @ 8:21 pm | Comment

FYI:
http://tinyurl.com/b66et

July 28, 2005 @ 8:30 pm | Comment

Thanks buddy. Keep up the girl blogging!

July 28, 2005 @ 8:34 pm | Comment

media censorship in the US:

http://tinyurl.com/bzykg

July 28, 2005 @ 8:35 pm | Comment

Yup. Nation of puritans. But that’s only one kind of media: free to air broadcasting that comes under the purview of the FCC. (Network television, in other words.)

Meanwhile, it’s good to know we can still get all the smut we want on cable, home video and in magazines.

Personally, I still have the shakes from seeing Janet Jackson’s tit. Horrible. I may never recover.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:18 pm | Comment

Bngfeng, while it is a form of censorship, it is aimed at what GOP fundie types see as “indecency.” This is a sickness that the Bush people have cultivated and I view it as disgusting and un-American, since it is so subjective and is really an extension of the religious wars. But at least we can say what we want to say,even about Bush and his lieutenants, as long as we don’t say it with dirty words.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:25 pm | Comment

Hooray! Mormons arelosing members faster than they’re recruiting. Talk about evil cults.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:44 pm | Comment

it is aimed at what GOP fundie types see as “indecency.” This is a sickness that the Bush people have cultivated and I view it as disgusting and un-American, since it is so subjective and is really an extension of the religious wars.

Richard, this is hardly something the Bush Administration has cultivated.

Such censorship has been around since this country was founded. It used to be called “public decency”.

One need to look no further than the history of Playboy to view the troubles Hugh faced when he first started his wonderful publishings.

Whether or not you agree with it, to label such censorship as “un-American” is just ridiculous. It’s been a part of America.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:52 pm | Comment

China headline of the day:

Death toll up, disease ‘under control’

July 28, 2005 @ 9:56 pm | Comment

Gotta agree with Gordon on this one. America has a long and fine tradition of getting wound-up about T&A. (Although being strangely sanguine about violence – see Grand Theft Auto 3 brouhaha.) After all, it was Justice Potter Stewart who couldn’t define porn, but “knew it when he saw it”. Must come from our famous puritan streak.

Somehow, I seem to have missed that puritan thing. Must be my decadent, anglo-Jewish roots.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:57 pm | Comment

Gordon, of course you are right, America was founded on this very neurotic Puritan ethic that sees the human body as obscene and any acknowledgement of sex as sinful. But American was getting ever more liberal and open minded, even under Nixon. This obsession with “family values” (code for anti-choice and anti-gay and anti-sex) has never seen a renaissance as it is enjoying today under the evangelical-friendly Bushies, who live to lick James Dobson’s whatever.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:58 pm | Comment

However, in defense of Richard, the Bush Administration are acknowledged masters of puritan righteousness. But half of that is just in comparison with ultra-libertine Bill “Is that a Cigar in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” Clinton.

Damn, but he could give a speech, though.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:59 pm | Comment

Will, our comments crossed. Didn’t know you were one of the Chosen People. We’ll have lots to talk about.

July 28, 2005 @ 9:59 pm | Comment

Kevin, isn’t that exactly what they said about SARS back in 2002, or am I experiencing serious deja vu?

July 28, 2005 @ 10:00 pm | Comment

Chosen? Chosen by whom? Where are my virgins, dammit?

Kevin: Good one. I particularly like this:

Among the 27 new patients, only six had fallen ill yesterday, with the rest having had symptoms for several days.

In other words, over twenty percent of our current patients just fell ill yesterday.

Yep, fizzling out down there. Watch this space for more deceased pig farmers.

July 28, 2005 @ 10:04 pm | Comment

Okay, this should be my last comment before turning in. Be sure to check out the great Paul Krugman’s column on just how great and brilliant the French are. If only we could learn from them. Mon dieu.

July 28, 2005 @ 10:05 pm | Comment

Speaking of today’s China Daily headlines, I also quite like this one:

Mother sells teen girl’s virginity for 10,000 Yuan.

http://tinyurl.com/9e434

In the best local tradition, the original price was 16,000 and the opening bid 3,500. They haggled to 10K. A foreigner probably would have coughed up double that.

July 28, 2005 @ 10:08 pm | Comment

Did they do it on eBay?

July 28, 2005 @ 10:12 pm | Comment

how is the wedding party in the US?

July 28, 2005 @ 10:27 pm | Comment

lack of virgin bride in US?

July 28, 2005 @ 10:28 pm | Comment

Bngfeng, just saw your new girlblogging and that wedding picture! Not bad. Did you ever see Conrad’s girl blogging? Nowthat was memorable. (It’s probably also why his blog doesn’t exist anymore. Ah, the good old days….)

July 28, 2005 @ 10:31 pm | Comment

Okay, I promise, my very last comment. I just want you never to forget why Republicans suck. (To be fair, as the article says, some conservative Republicans are actually opposing this vile legislation. The ones sponsoring it, like my own Senator Kyl, suck some serious ass.)

July 28, 2005 @ 10:36 pm | Comment

Hey Pest, that’s a bogus link.

July 28, 2005 @ 10:48 pm | Comment

Will said:

Mother sells teen girl’s virginity for 10,000 Yuan.

To borrow another commenter’s comment from a different forum:

Another example for the of how China isn’t communist anymore and is now capitalist. Will miracles never cease?

July 28, 2005 @ 11:05 pm | Comment

Commenter’s comment? I really need to start getting more sleep….

July 28, 2005 @ 11:06 pm | Comment

Regarding Will’s post above, a few months ago, finding myself (most uncharacteristically) in one of Wan Chai’s infamous disco dungeons, I met a pretty Filipina maid whose own mother, I came to learn, had sold the girl’s virginity to a visiting Japanese when she was 15 years old.

Sadder still was the fact that the girl was still remitting the bulk of her Hong Kong wages back to her mother in the Philippines.

July 28, 2005 @ 11:08 pm | Comment

In China the selling of a daughter’s virginity to a foreigner will result in a loss of face for the family.If she is sold to a Chinese it is simply good business sense.

July 28, 2005 @ 11:33 pm | Comment

Oh man, you guys got to the virgin daughter thing too! Just when I thought I had something original on my blog.

July 28, 2005 @ 11:44 pm | Comment

if her virginity had been sold to a japanese man, now that would be a real problem!

July 28, 2005 @ 11:46 pm | Comment

Conrad/Adolf? Don’t flatter yourself.Conrad/George Lincoln Rockwell perhaps.

July 28, 2005 @ 11:58 pm | Comment

Kevin, don’t sweat it. It’s worth a multiblog.

Plus, thanks to TFH’s explanation above, I now realize why I can never get *my* virgins for 10,000.

July 29, 2005 @ 12:39 am | Comment

If you are flying to Taipei via Hong Kong and only need 2 – 3 nights in Taipei, your best bet is to buy a package from HK which includes both accomodation (2-3 nights) and a roundtrip ticket for HK-Taipei. It would cost you about USD 350 and you get to stay at a very decent brand-name hotel.

July 29, 2005 @ 1:03 am | Comment

And speaking of child abuse………………..My wife and I named our son Jon Benet.He just celebrated his 2nd birthday and he’s already exhibiting some rather odd behavior.He’s very aggressive to small animals.He loves to dress up like Elton John. And he claims that Andrew Cunanan is his Hero.J.B. also has a Versace fetish and loves to travel.We’re a little worried that he may turn up on China daily soon.His written Chinese is impeccable.He just makes trouble wherever he goes.We love our little J.B. but don’t believe a word he says.He’s the devil’s spawn.

July 29, 2005 @ 2:27 am | Comment

Will, I’ve had “Emotionally Handicapped”(read: 6 letters starts with r) virgins at that price but you don’t see too many of those lying around China. They’re actually quite good value.If you can find em’.

July 29, 2005 @ 2:35 am | Comment

Thanks Gordon, I deleted the comment, which was probably spam or a prankster.

July 29, 2005 @ 8:18 am | Comment

“It was a wonderfull moment when the coach said:`Come on Steffen, undress, let’s go.`”
(Steffen Freund, German football player)

July 29, 2005 @ 9:16 am | Comment

Yes, statistics. But are there any reliable statistics? According to statistics every fourth human is a Chinese, but I see no Chinese playing here.
(Werner Hansch, German football commentator)

July 29, 2005 @ 9:24 am | Comment

Thanks Gordon, I deleted the comment, which was probably spam or a prankster.

Eh, which one was that? You lost me.

July 29, 2005 @ 11:29 am | Comment

That bogus leak about a football video. Not important

July 29, 2005 @ 11:32 am | Comment

Anybody interested in Life Eternal?
Seems a guy from that nice, sometimes a little rainy island north of mainland Europe (-as every good Chinese knows that Taiwan one day will return to the motherland, we good Europeans also know that one day those islanders will happily join us-) has a cunning plan:
http://tinyurl.com/8jjkw

July 29, 2005 @ 12:17 pm | Comment

Have you heard of Ramond Kurzweil? He, too, believes we can live forever, and has stated he intends to never die. He is no quack either. He is a brilliant inventor and genius, though I have to admit he strikes me as somewhat off the wall.

July 29, 2005 @ 12:42 pm | Comment

I am not shure if living thousand years is realy that desirable. Could become a bit boring. Perhaps not enough fantasy.

July 29, 2005 @ 12:55 pm | Comment

Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.

July 29, 2005 @ 12:56 pm | Comment

Yeah, that may be true.
Good night. Have to support my local pub owner.

July 29, 2005 @ 1:04 pm | Comment

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.