Betzee said...

Betzee at 09:15 AM JST - 20th April

George W Bush is well remembered in China by the average citizen because he did not denounce Beijing's response to the Tibetan protests last year and did not cancel his visit during the Olympics after some suggested he should owing to Beijing's most undemocratic crackdown. Yet here comes Jackie Chan…

Posted in Jackie Chan's China comments prompt backlash at 09:15 AM JST - 20th April
Betzee at 08:35 AM JST - 20th April

Nobody is being forced to speak out on politics (and most Chinese don't). There's no reason to believe these comments from either Jackie Chan or Tony Leung are insincere.

I was in China earlier this month and, while sending off a package in a post office on the outskirts of…

Posted in Jackie Chan's China comments prompt backlash at 08:35 AM JST - 20th April
Betzee at 08:00 AM JST - 20th April

Jackie Chan should have remembered the flap caused by Tony Leung, another Hong Kong actor (and heart throb!) As Wiki recounts, *During the promotion of the film Hero, some politicians and commentators in Hong Kong attacked Leung for expressing the view that the Tiananmen Square demonstration crack down was necessary…

Posted in Jackie Chan's China comments prompt backlash at 08:00 AM JST - 20th April
Betzee at 10:10 PM JST - 19th April

So it's the democrats fault that there was a fatal shooting spree in California.

Never mind Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Republican. Or Orange County, which Long Beach abuts, was one of of the earliest centers of "Goldwater Republicanism."

Colorado was a Republican state when Columbine occurred, should we hang…

Posted in 3 dead in California hospital shooting at 10:10 PM JST - 19th April
Betzee at 09:55 PM JST - 19th April

Bushlover,

One could criticize other posters here for bashing Jackie Chan's "politically incorrect" viewpoint in posts such as this "Jackie Chan's image just took a big hit" where there's no attempt at all to engage the issues he raises.

Instead you tacitly acknowledge his views are anathema, but blame it…

Posted in Jackie Chan: Chinese people need to be controlled at 09:55 PM JST - 19th April
Betzee at 01:55 PM JST - 19th April

The action hero complained that Chinese goods still have too many quality problems. He became emotional when discussing contaminated milk powder that sickened tens of thousands of Chinese babies in the past year.

This is the result of a weak regulatory environment. The response to such tragedies is for the…

Posted in Jackie Chan: Chinese people need to be controlled at 01:55 PM JST - 19th April
Betzee at 10:14 AM JST - 18th April

Statistically, the chances of being the victim of gun violence is small. But the NRA can't make that argument; it would appear callous in the face of the very real suffering of the victims and their families. Plus, they need the fear factor which they feel will win people over…

Posted in 3 dead in California hospital shooting at 10:14 AM JST - 18th April
Betzee at 10:35 AM JST - 14th April

Spector, 69, who had long lived in seclusion at his suburban Alhambra “castle,” was out on the town in Hollywood when he met Clarkson on Feb. 3, 2003, at the House of Blues.

I remember being surprised to read his "castle" was located in Alhambra. That's more ranch-home territory. Sure…

Posted in Phil Spector found guilty of 2nd-degree murder at 10:35 AM JST - 14th April
Betzee at 12:29 PM JST - 4th April

"..white supremacist who decided to kill a few immigrants." Actually the perpetrator was asian...an asian supremacist....

Ethnicity is far less important than the fact he was in lawful possession of the firearms he used to kill 14 people (including himself).

Posted in Gunman kills 13, then himself at New York immigrant help center at 12:29 PM JST - 4th April
Betzee at 12:24 PM JST - 4th April

"No one said it was."

But you wrote anyone advocating resrtricting gun ownership had to guarantee the safety of those who now rely on personal firearms to do the job while conceding guns themselves offer no such guarantee. Time to cut to the chase here: you lack a consistent argument…

Posted in Gunman kills 13, then himself at New York immigrant help center at 12:24 PM JST - 4th April