Richard Bluestein’s Weblog

(thanks wayne)

Bicyclemark just interviewed Bhagdad Brian’s wife. Brian was imprisoned yesterday for videotaping a protest in Beijing. This is ridiculous. First China deports vloggers for doing the same thing. Now they’ve upped the ante by imprisoning the vloggers. Is it because they know Americans don’t give a shit? Please listen and spread the word. America cannot allow China to imprison American citizens for doing what America is supposedly all about: speaking freely.

Consider the impact of America allowing China to imprison AMERICANS. THink of what this means for the future of China’s influence on America. Consider how much they own of American corporations and especially mortages.

This post is hastily written and may have errors.

And to make matters worse, now the post office is notifying all of my utilities that I have moved house and they are in turn changing my address in their systems.

Yesterday the Orifice of the Postmaster General finally replied to my query of last week. Below is their email to me and my response to their response.

Dear Mr. MacCloskey,

Two more mail delivery times have passed since you sent me this email and I have still not received any of my mail. Additionally, I have contacted the number for my local Consumer Affairs Office that you gave me below and the line is disconnected.

More than two weeks have passed since I have received my mail properly from the USPS and I have missed many important pieces of mail. Additionally, your agency has notified some of my utilities that I have moved house permanently and these utilities now think I live somewhere else.

My next step is to contact my representatives in Washington D.C, since apparently even The Office of the Postmaster General itself is unable to resolve my mail delivery problem.. I will be doing this tomorrow (Thursday) Morning. I would appreciate it if you would please email me right away with a list of all the steps you have taken to resolve my mail delivery problem thus far.

If you do not respond before I contact my representatives in Washington, I will assume that you have not taken any actions to resolve this very serious issue. I will gladly discuss this matter over the telephone with you if you call me at my number listed below.

Regards,
Richard Bluestein
Phone: 773.xxx.xxxx
email: richardbluestein@gmail.com

cc: The Honorable Jack Potter, Postmaster General
The Consumerist Web Site

On Aug 12, 2008, at 10:20 AM, CA RESPONSE TEAM wrote:

August 12, 2008

This is to acknowledge your recent email to the Postmaster General about your concerns over the forwarding of your mail.

We will be working with our local managers in our review of this issue as they will have first-hand knowledge. Please understand we remain involved, but the managers with immediate authority over your local area will be able to move swiftly to review this matter and develop a response. For any future Postal Service issues, please feel free to contact the Consumer Affairs Office nearest you at 312-983-8351. .

Thank you for contacting the United States Postal Service.

Sincerely,

R. MacCloskey
Postal Service Headquarters

UPDATE: Situation (apparently) resolved by Chicago Post Office HQ. All they had to do was make a change in the computer but it takes upper management to get that.

noneck’s links:
Twitter
Qik Video
Blog
Huffington Post Article

He will be interviewed tomorrow on Democracy Now and Friday on our friend Mikeypod’s podcast.

from Marije Meerman, the wife of my friend Michael Schaap from Amsterdam:

Coming Tuesday the 12th of August, the documentary China Prep will be broadcasted by PBS - Wideangle at 9 PM (ET). The film is produced by the Dutch company Submarine (www.submarine.nl) and originally made for an European audience. A co-production with the American PBS made that a different version of the film will be presented to an American television audience. And although the American version is different than I would present it to an European audience, I am proud to announce it and hope you will have a chance to watch it. It was an enriching experience to work on the film. We had the chance to follow the daily lives of 5 very smart Chinese kids in Chongqing, Central China, during their final exam year in highschool.

Hope everything is well and I’m always curious to hear what your thoughts on the film are…

More info: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/china-prep/introduction/810/

Best Marije

Press release:

WIDE ANGLE: China Prep
Tuesday, August 12 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings)

As the world’s attention turns to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, WIDE ANGLE reports on how the next generation of Chinese leaders is being molded. China Prep follows five Chinese students through their final high-pressure year at an elite high school in Sichuan Province. Eighteen hundred students vie for spots in Beijing’s top two universities. Last year only 59 made it. Studying Monday through Saturday from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, the students’ lives are regimented almost every minute of the day as they prepare for the end-of-year exam that can determine their fate. For many students from poor or rural backgrounds, a strong performance on the test is the only way to climb the social ladder and excel without connections. Competition is fierce and the majority of high school seniors will be relegated to vocational schools. We meet Zhang Lie, who wants to study law and become a Communist Party elite like her father; Mei Jiachin, a genius mathematician from a farming family; Chen Zhibo, a misfit science student with big plans to become China’s Bill Gates; and Gao Mengjia, a dedicated student who loves money and aspires to be a hedge fund manager. Nicknamed the “I want” generation by the Chinese press, these only children – the sole focus of their parents’ and grandparents’ nurturing under China’s one-child policy – will be the new class of corporate managers, lawyers, and civil servants who are expected to propel 21st century China to surpass the United States as the largest economy in the world. How do the ambitions of these teenagers reflect the realities of today and tomorrow’s China? Who among them will be most likely to succeed – the daughter of the Party official or the farmer’s son? Who will be the boss?

At the conclusion of the film, WIDE ANGLE host Aaron Brown will speak with Vanessa Fong, author of Only Hope: Coming of Age Under China’s One-Child Policy and assistant professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

credits
directed by Marije Meerman
interviews & research by Floris Jan van Luyn
camera by Maasja Ooms
sound by Rik Meier
edited by Gigi Wong
music by Coparck
produced by Janneke vd Kerkhof
production by Bruno Felix & Femke Wolting (Submarine)

UPDATE: Check your local listings for the TV Show called “Wide Angle”. The show is playing at different times in different markets.

Mess,

Andy Melton is still fat. You were supposed to help him loose weight but you FAILED MISERABLY. I can see why your boss hated you. You probably didn’t do your work. And seriously, do you think I would *ever* operate my show(s) based on what one person thought/said? We started censoring the comments on ETHS because I chose the feelings of a friend over those of a bunch of douchy listeners whose mimicry of my own style of insultry humor serves no purpose anyway. Sometimes, we have to make tough choices. I chose friendship over nameless douche bags. Sorry about that. Not really.

Now, if you don’t want to listen to my show, that’s your business, but YOU MUST HELP ANDY LOOSE WEIGHT OR YOU HAVE FAILED MISERABLY AT LLIFE AND ARE A SHAM AND MISREPRESENTATION OF A HUMAN BEING. FAILURE FAILURE FAILURE! HIPPOCRITE! All that.

Apathetically
Madge (Not Richard, you twit!)

On Aug 8, 2008, , Brett wrote:

Richard,

I think you should reconsider censoring comments. That is completely unlike the person you promote yourself to be and the opposite of what you demand from others. You were an inspiration for change and to be censoring undermines your credibility. I have told a vast number of people to listen to your show because of your integrity and standing up for the little guy… now, not wanting to so much.

Thanks.