FROM Zach Love, Head Ghoul, the LAIDP, Los Angeles, USA:

Hey there, mischief makers!

Three items on the stiffs.com agenda we wanted to pass along to you, and hopefully you'll give a crap about one of them. Firstly, there will be a segment on the nationally syndicated C-Net television show known as TV.com airing this very weekend, which features interviews with our own Commissioner Love and Julie (that bitch). We would have told you sooner, but we didn't get much notice ourselves. Anyway, to find the airtime and channel in your neighborhood, point your browser to http://home.snap.com/main/channel/item/0,4,home-7372,00.html, and set the VCR. We understand the show includes a particularly hideous and embarrassingly candid moment involving said Commissioner and an acoustic guitar.

We also wanted to re-emphasize the fact that August's Lee Jr. contest features a grand prize of $1000.00, a jump in potential winnings of over 300%, which has somehow caused the number of entries to actually drop since last month at this time. We know that math can be confusing, and that our PR Director's attitude can be intimidating at times, but we're still a tad nonplussed at the idea that a bigger first prize has somehow scared players away. Here's how it works, as we see it:

• More players=More prize money
• More prize money=More players
• More players=Even more prize money, which is good for you, unless you cling to some romantic notion that poverty is somehow charming, or, even worse, if you think that you can't win. Hell, Julie's not even playing in The Lee Jrs. Well, maybe you're just not interested no matter what prizes we offer, and that's fine, but we just wanted to point out that your cost vs. risk ratio was never any better than it is right now, and if you're not making notes and planning your list, you're an idiot.

Last, and possibly least, we're still tinkering with the new look of the site, and hoping to find the right balance between navigational ease and out-and-out Dead Pool grooviness, so bear with us. Our latest bit of tweakage is to rename the section we originally called "Start Here" to "The Nuts & Bolts," which probably won't make any difference to anybody, but Drew thought it up and we're trying to be nice to him. By all means, feel free to offer your own thoughts, feelings, ideas, complaints, suggestions and gripes at http://stiffs.com/vote.html, and we promise not to tell you-know-who. Okay, we're done.

Over and out,
Zachariah Love, Commissioner
Drew Scharlatt, Two-Time Champion
and Greg Hicks, Bartender
The Lee Atwater Invitational Dead Pool
http://stiffs.com

Nice of you to say so, but....

Just ran across your article. Well spoken. I'm attempting to get out more to other counties. I'll move to Hong Kong for work in China. I was just there recently and went into villages where I was the probably the only westerner that they'd ever seen firsthand. I think though it was more of an eye-opener for me than for them. So now I must adjust to living where I'm the minority, not just being caucasian but also American.

Anyway, thanks for the writing it helped to confirm the idea that change is good and that most people wouldn't do this, therefore if I pass up the chance I'd have to be crazy.

Cheers,
Lucas G.


ROD RESPONDS: Lucas, Thanks for writing! It's *always* wonderful to hear from someone who's actually read one of my articles, and is willing to share their own experience. But I have one question for you, I've been writing on the 'Net for about three years now, for various publications, so *I don't know which article* you're referring to. Was it for NRV8, Suite 101, or my own magazine, G21? And which article specifically. (I kindah hope it was one for the G21, of course. ;=) )

Back At Me

The first article that I read wasn't at this sight, it was somewhere else lost in the 10 zillion bookmarks I have.

This sight is great! Kind of like an NPR for the web. It will be this kind of stuff that I will be relying on while living in Hong Kong because unfortunately the mainstream press is bad enough in the states and the English papers in Hong Kong seems to be just as tabloid. And I think that the writing is just bad. The Economist seems to be decent and available. Although it has the money stint to it.

Anyway, nice sight. I'll be back again.

Cheers,
Lucas


And ROD RESPONDS: Lucas, Thanks for getting back to me on this. Sounds like your talking about the piece I did about Americans being clueless and unconcerned about issues abroad, which I wrote for NRV8 two-three years ago.

Glad you like the G21. "NPR for the Web"! Wow! That's quite a compliment. BTW, *do* feel free to keep in touch with me while you're in Asia. I'm always looking for on-the-ground insight there. As with today's dilemna I have on my Cambodia piece, a G21 alumnus(living in Thailand) dispatched me early a.m. that Ranariddh and Rainsy held a joint press conference saying they'd boycott the new parliament. New York Times today has nothing, ditto Bangkok Post, yet AP and Reuters both confirm Kim's information. It's this type of thing that gives us our edge.

K.O. Called Out... By--A Colleague?

Re: K.O. and Marv,

Jeez, I never thought... not in a million years, that I, A regular G-21 writer, and the person who first brought K.O. to the attention of Rod, our esteemed editor, would feel the need to write in to publicly take issue with K.O.'s ranting.

Oh, I expected to put up with his anti-New York bias, but I know that it stems from the "championship envy" typical of Red Sox fans (I mean, between Babe Ruth and Bill Buckner, you simply have to excuse the bitterness... a biterness so deep, in fact, that even memories of Celtics-past, or doubling their Prozac perscriptions, cannot ease their minds.

But this time K.O. has gone too far!

Marv Albert, the man, the legend, the one and only true voice of the New York Knicks, has served his time and is coming back (assuming Billy Hunter and David Stern can put an end to their billion-dollar pissing match before Michael Jordan is eligible for social security) to his rightful place behind the mike.

Tut-tut, K.O., for your Typical New England puritanism in casting aspersions upon the sexual habits of this giant among men. What Marv does behind closed doors is no business of yours, and, for the record, (to paraphrase Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry) 'Bitch set him up!

Besides, having shared a house with K.O. during our final year of law school, I can only say that none of us, not even our two gay housemates (not that there's anything wrong with that) wanted to so much as guess what he was doing in his room.

K.O., now that you have a weekly column, I'd think that you have more important issues to sink your teeth into than Marv's personal life... like, for instance, the fact that your Sox continue to alienate their lone superstar and now-likely free- agent (Mo Vaughn). Don't worry, K.O., someone will pay him what he's worth. You'd just better hope that it isn't the Devil Rays.

In closing, I have to say that the return of Marv, will be the single best thing to happen to the league in 1998... or whenever it is that they get around to playing ball. And as for you, K.O., stop gnashing your teeth over the fact that Boston will never be as great a city as New York, and keep your biting commentary out of Marv's private affairs.

- adam


ROD RESPONDS: Adam, sorry to disappoint, but K.O. could not respond by our deadline. From what I understand, he'll have PLENTY TO SAY about your missive in this Sunday's issue. And knowing K.O., I hope you're wearing a bulletproof vest.

Maybe so, But Matt Drudge gets Many, Many More Hits

Two very thought provoking articles tying the past and the present, with some speculation about the future of Kampuchea. I'd be interested in the feedback you get, particularily since now, only four days after the new York Times publishes it's concerns in the article on Thursday July 23, they have a glowing article by Seth Mydans, "Defying Bitter Past, Cambodians Vote Peacefully", which seems a tad too idealistic. In fact, is he on drugs? Why be so compelled to paint a picture of zombie like tranquility?

Lar copied me on the final questions. I liked her comments on the clothes, "I have plenty of time to change my outfit. . ." There should be a place for that in the history books. Thanks too for the acknowledgement. But, it is very clear that you really put the time into researching this.

ROD RESPONDS: You're way too kind. I'm just the messenger on this story. I wish the Mouthpiece Media in this country were more willing to include U.S. citizens in THE WORLD.


FROM Aplexus, [NO CITY PROVIDED], USA:

Read this and help spread the words!

No International Community or even the US itself can understand precisely what cause all the killing, the suffering, the confusion in Cambodia for decade. Only a handful pocket of Cambodian educators can deeply understand our national turmoil problem. So what is our problem??? Let's get to the point here???

THE PROBLEM IS THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT INTERFERING IN CAMBODIA FOR MANY YEARS. Why did we Cambodian people blame Vietnam whenever we kill each others???

Here is the answer: The VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT, has long been trying to swallow up Cambodia.

But they couldn't, because us Cambodian are so damn smart like them too. We united and divided into several POLITICAL resistance groups from the Thai's borders since 1979 to fight the Vietnamese invaders troop in Cambodia. We sabotage them. We force them to allow their puppet Hun Sen to negiate at the GENEVA's table. We rallied around the world for help. We sided with all the big players: the U.S., China, France, Canada, Britian, Germany, Japan, Australia and other nations to sanction and cripple the Vietanmese Hun Sen install government. And so they losed their battle with our brave resistance big time. They kicked and Killed many American Service men during the so called Vietnam War and they claim they won the war. But when it come down to us Cambodians brave and honest people, they lose their battle against us.

SO WHY DO WE STILL BLAME THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT since they already withdrawn their troop from Cambodia??? WHY??? LET ME TELL YOU WHY??? THEY THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST DID NOT AND HAD NOT FULLY WITHDRAWN THEIR TROOP FROM CAMBODIA AT ALL.

THEY SIMPLE CHANGED THEIR UNIFORMS INTO CAMBODIA CIVILIAN UNIFORMS THAT'S ALL. THEY DISGUISED AND HIDE THEMSELVES AMONG THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE. MANY OF THE VIETNAMESE TROOP THAT STAYED IN CAMBODIA FOR THE LAST 19 YEARS ARE SPEAKING CAMBODIAN FLUENTLY.

THAT'S WHY WE CAMBODIA ARE HAVING A HARD TIME FACING WITH THEM. WE LOOK AROUND AND SEE ONLY CAMBODIA. BUT WE NEVER QUESTION WHAT IS THEIR REAL IDENTITY. THESE ARE THE VIETNAMESE RED ARMY SECRET AGENTS. THEY ARE THE ONE THE ASSASSINATED CAMBODIAN POLITICIANS. THEY ARE THE ONE THE THROW THE GRENADES. THEY ARE THE ONE THAT DISTRUB THE ELECTION. THEY EVERYWHERE IN CAMBODIA. THEY EXIST FROM HUN SEN'S OFFICE ALL THE WAY TO THE FARMERS AND THE BEGGERS. THEY THE REAL KILLER SPY!!!

THE VIETNAMESE SECRET AGENTS IN CAMBODIA ARE THE ONE THAT MAKE DECISION. THEY ARE THE ONE THAT RUN THE COUNTRY. THEY ARE THE ONE THAT TELL HUN SEN AND THE REST OF THEIR VIETNAMESE SLAVES TO DO WHAT THEY WISH.

HUN SEN IS NOT THING, BUT A PIECE OF SHIT!!! HE SAY EXACTLY WHAT THE VIETNAMESE WANT HIM TO SAY. LOOK AT HIS TRANSLATOR CLOSELY. ISN'T HIS TRANSLATOR IS ONE OF THE TOP MOST VIETNAMESE SECRET AGENT POLICE??? HUN SEN IS NOTHING BUT A VIETNAMESE SLAVE AND A CAMBODIA KILLER.

Last of all, Let me tell you: As long as the U.S. and the European nation and the ASEAN do not understand this deep problem in Cambodia, the Vietnamese government will continue to interfere in Cambodia until the next 20 years, that's when they have enough Vietnamese multiply in Cambodian and have an equivalent population as much as Cambodia.

Hope you understand our explantion now. Feel free to response to me.


ROD RESPONDS: Thanks for visiting the G21, and for writing. We very much appreciate reader response to our reporting. Part of our Mission, obviously, is to report on situations around the world and help U.S. citizens, who don't get real world news, take an interest and take action.

You very correctly point out that the story, which I personally reported, does not emphasize enough the involvement of the Vietnam in Cambodia politics. But neither has any other coverage I'm aware of. My intention, while trying to not give a pedagogical history lesson, is to bring that angle in as this story unfolds.

But in fairness to G21, I hope you'll agree we have given balanced, accurate, timely and in depth coverage, thus far.


FROM Darryl C., Hershey, PA, USA:

Well, Kenneth Starr and the holier-than-thou-group has now spent $42 million of our tax money to tell us than Bill Clinton is not a particularly honorable fellow. Who among us did not think that he and Ms. Lewinsky had had an affair and why would anybody with sense enough to come in out of the rain think that Clinton or anybody else who cheats on their spouse should tell the truth about it? I did not vote for Clinton in 92 nor 96 and I would not vote for him if he was eligible to run again as the new millenium candidate in the year 2000, but I think that all this stuff about Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky is a crock. Do I believe that people have the right to lie under oath? Yes, I do. I emphatically believe that you have the right to lie under oath when you are being questioned about private matters that have no material bearing on the issue at hand. Governments lie all the time so why would anyone expect the people not to lie on occasion.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch the Cambodians elections are a sham and the New York Times - the best right wing paper in the country - assures us that every is okay and National Public Radio doesn't even bother to cover the story. The New York Times is a sanctimonious, hypocritical journal whose owners, editors and writers (especially the ones who write about such subjects as jazz and politics) love pretending that they are passing on the fruits of perceived wisdom. I have pretty much stopped listening to NPR and I refuse to contribute another dime to my so-called local public radio station.

Enough ranting for this morning!

FROM Yona C. R., San Francisco, USA:

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