idiot gets published
Just based on my buddy’s description of Hill as a self-proclaimed “naughty feminist” who thinks men should be allowed to cheat on their wives because the brawnier sex is hardwired to be promiscuous, I assumed Hill was nursing a severe heartache. A little googling – cherchez l’homme! – and the truth came out.
A few years ago, Holly Hill left her job as a psychologist in Sydney, Australia, at the request of her married investment-firm-owner boyfriend, who wanted a full-time mistress. Everything was AmEx black cards, La Perla underwear, and hot sex, until her lover got the guilts and went home to his wife. Hill was left with a broken heart, a half-written novel, and a mortgage she couldn't afford…
So after a devastating breakup that left her an emotional wreck, this 35-year-old former psychologist posted an ad for herself as a mistress who would cook, clean, converse and put out for an allowance. A year later, and she’s gathered enough material...
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seriously why?
I have been holding off on writing this post for a few weeks now, but since my recent diet of articles about the shitty circumstances of Chinese women isn't doing much for me, I am gonna have to go ahead and let this pot boil over.Why, when I post a link to an article on slate.com about "omega males" on my Facebook page (and it's my fucking Facebook page, you jerks, not even this blog, which is arguably more public) do my male "friends" leave asinine comments like "retool this" (the runt of the litter); "yeah well you show me a woman who wouldn't be happy if her man stood up for her" (you illiterate ass that's what the article was about, men who have basically thrown in the towel -- and picked up the because the "traditional" masculinity isn't working for them anymore); and some ridiculous, puerile rant: "the image of the american woman has changed 50 times? oh yeah? that's cause american women change their clothes 50 times before they go out only to realize they're still fat in no matter what they wear"? Why? WHY?
It's my Facebook page, where we go through the stupid formalities...
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Retail therapy
If a man can't make you feel worthwhile, maybe a new pair of shoes can! Don't think for a minute that you could locate your sense of self worth inside yourself or base it on your personal achievements and talents. Don't even bother developing hobbies that could make you feel like a better person. All you have to do is buy your way into a new look and eventually, a new love. Then you'll really be happy! Unless, of course, that relationship ends.A survey conducted by Clothes Show London "revealed" that women like to go shopping after a break up. Just how a survey of 74 women revealed anything that made international headlines and was worth reprinting in the China Post baffles me, but the conclusion is a platitude.
"The survey revealed that after the heels and the dress, the most popular items purchased after a break-up were: sexy underwear, designer bags and high-end make-up."
I will reveal something to you: last time I was going through a break-up, I signed up for French lessons and drove my scooter around Taiwan. My confidence went through the roof and my current relationship has never been better. If you want to make yourself feel good, get a life, not shoes.
Why BusinessWeek is wrong about Foxconn
I read an article in BusinessWeek this morning on "Why Apple and Others are Nervous about Foxconn."Gene Grabowski, who chairs the crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications, says this could be a Nike moment for tech companies, referring to the public outcry in the early 1990s over working conditions at Asian shoe factories. He says one way to minimize any Foxconn-related PR trouble would be to follow the strategy of U.S. toymakers. In 2007, after their Chinese manufacturing partners were found to be allowing lead paint into products sold in the U.S., companies sent inspectors to watch over the plants and invited national media to monitor improvements. "It sent a signal to the Chinese companies that their work was being constantly monitored, and it reassured families around the world that toy manufacturers had got the message," says Grabowski.
More audits are exactly that: a PR stunt. Increased monitoring of Chinese factories sends a PR-signal to American consumers, not Chinese factories. I've been interviewing people for an article on manufacturing and the rising cost of labor and nobody thinks that auditing the factories is actually very helpful and some have some very negative things to say about the process....
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Poor is not stupid
The LA Times had a very insightful piece on the rash of suicides and otherwise-classified deaths at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen. It was really well written; Barbara Demick and David Sarno made a number of observations that make total sense if you've been following the story -- which is hard not to do if you spend most of your time reading and writing China news.Unfortunately, even as these events are making headlines in the US, the workers continue to jump to their deaths. At 11:20 last night, as I was sitting on the bus on my way home, the 10th employee to jump was confirmed dead.
The Times article draws a parallel between the string of suicides and the national rash of school killings and other murders that have recently occurred, which ties in with Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou's assertions that the company is dealing with the fallout from a broader social problem and working conditions at the factory are not directly to blame.
I have read the report from the Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour and it presents a more nuanced stance. Caught between the lifestyles of their impoverished rural parents and those of their well-paid...
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Who let the jerks out?
I'm being unfair; it really was only one ridiculous woman who said that.
But, honestly, really gritty sexism is so mainstream at the nexus between expats and local residents, and so intertwined with issues of culture and economics, that there are many more opportunities to get really and truly furious. For instance, I stumbled across the Asian Sex Gazette yesterday, a confounding mix of articles about the sex trade and ads for porn sites. I'm not putting up a link because I think it's the most heinous site I've come across unintentionally and if you want to waste your time reading it you'll have to find it for yourself. It's not safe for work: the logo on the homepage is a picture of a hooker's legs clad...
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too funny not to post
Unrelated to gender specific, I though the viewing public might enjoy reading about the new Obama nightclub complex opening in Shanghai -- it's revolutionary, just like our dear leader! Look at that leg -- o!
And after you're done smiling maybe you would like to get annoyed. A Chinese man living in the States is gaining fame through his talk show "Don't Come to the US". Poor Brother Sway regrets his decision to move to the US, where he has had to settle for the life of a blue-collar worker running a food concession.
"I could have done bigger things, had bigger achievements had I stayed in China," he says. "I left China to pursue a better life. I had no idea that China would have developed so fast, and grown so strong and powerful."
Let that be a lesson to all the talented Chinese folks who thought immigrating to the US would bring you more happiness and a higher quality of life! Not a chance: Chinese economic growth is unparalleled, opportunities abound, and there is more freedom in China!
The tone of the article is obviously cheeky Chinese government-speak, trying to convince...
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for the love of all that is holy i am not going to talk to you again you dummy
I am never going to win a pissing contest without the hardware, but I would like to point out that if I stop arguing with an idiot it's not because he's right, it's because he's a damned fool and I would sincerely rather address my cuticles and chew on my plastic straw than waste my breath on him.Read More!
Tony Perkins is a horse's ass
Look at this nastiness that I got in my junk mail the other day:Stop Obama's Crossdresser Protection Bill
From: Tony Perkins (reply@frc.org)
Sent: Wed 1/06/10 11:08 PM
To: ---------------
Family Research Council
Sign our petition to tell our elected leaders we oppose the so-called "Employment Non-Discrimination Act" (ENDA)
Stop Obama's Crossdresser Protection Bill
January 06, 2010 | Share with Friends
Dear ------,
On New Year's Eve, when most Americans were waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square, the Obama Administration dropped another bombshell in its agenda to radicalize America by appointing its first openly "transgender" person to a high federal post. "Transgender" is an umbrella term for anyone who "expresses" a "gender identity" contrary to their biological sex at birth-in other words, men who claim to be (and dress as) women, and vice versa.
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Child bride gets a divorce
Can you believe this shit?Parents married their ten year-old daughter off to an "old, ugly man" and didn't expect him to have sex with her. She was raped, physically and verbally abused, and now's she an outcast because she's divorced. Her family wants more money from her publicity and she can't even afford to attend the private school where her tuition's already been paid.