This ban comes on the 21st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

On June 4, 1989, more than 3,000 protesters and students were killed by the Chinese government for protesting against communism. The incident remains a difficult subject for the Chinese government, and discussion of the massacre or the protests is strictly forbidden in mainland China. This ban, of course, extends to the Internet.

Although information about the event is strictly limited to the official government point of view — even Google agreed to censor the incident from its Chinese search offerings back in 2006 — the rise of social networking has made it more and more difficult to quash all mentions of the topic, especially when the anniversary date approaches.

Last year, in the days leading up to the 20th anniversary of the incident, the Chinese government blocked access to Twitter, Flickr and Hotmail.

This year, protesters got a little more creative, checking into Tiananmen Square using Foursquare and leaving, as Techblog86 calls it, “sensitive comments” in place of tips. What’s interesting is that it appears that the Chinese government may have become aware of how Foursquare was being used because of the re-publishing of checkins to other services like Twitter and Facebook.

In any event, mainland China is now blocked from accessing Foursquare. We assume that in a few days the ban will be lifted, at least until the next unapproved outbreak of discussion.

Via Mashable

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In all seriousness, really?

Yes, really. And they are joined by the Italian American Heritage Commission.

Anyone who’s been to the infamous Jersey Shore knows that most of the coast is, generally, just one big “Guido” playground. The only difference between six months ago and today is that the entire country now knows about the “Guido” subculture that runs rampant on Red Bull, fake tans and greasy hair gel on the Jersey section of the eastern seaboard.

The secret is out.

So the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus and the Italian American Heritage Commission wants the show canceled. Why? To hide a subculture that actually exists. Now not only does everyone within 500 miles of the Jersey Shore know the ridiculousness of it, everyone from Oregon to Hawaii does now as well.

People, let me be as clear as day; the Guido subculture exists and it is flourishing.

As an Italian-American, I’m not going to try to hide the Guido subculture within the Italian-American community. It exists, it is loud, it is large and frankly, if the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus and the Italian American Heritage Commission want to do something about the show, or the representation, how about looking at the parents and the family and community environments that breed the Guido subculture?

If anything, the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus should focus on what kind of environment breeds, let’s see, a Guido male punching a “Guidette” (Guido girl) in the face at a bar? (see video below)

NJ State Sen. Joseph Vitale says,

The image of young Italian Americans conducting themselves in a disrespectful and inappropriate manner at a summer home on the Shore may make for good ratings, but it’s a fabrication that damages our state and cultural reputations…

Ummm, “fabrication?” He’s obviously never been to the Jersey Shore because it is no fabrication. You see, the problem is when older Italian-Americans refuse to acknowledge portions of their own subculture and take any meaningful action to address it.

Portraying Italians as mob-types like on the Sopranos? PREPOSTEROUS! Italian-Americans do not engage in this type of conduct!

Yes, some do.

Partying out of control greasy haired youth? PREPOSTEROUS! Italian-American youth do not infest the Jersey Shore, Long Island and NYC nightclubs with ridiculous and outlandish behavior!

Yes, some do.

To these “stalwarts of Italian-American culture” in the New Jersey State Legislature and heritage commissions: You all need to calm down and get real. The Guido subculture is not a fabrication and you know that (and if you don’t, you’re dangerously out of touch).

You need to focus on running the state of New Jersey and weeding out the corruption in the state government instead of showing your ignorance about your own cultural subcultures.

Let’s hope you are not as out of touch with the state government corruption as you are with reality.

I’m absolutely disgusted by this stupid and ignorant grandstanding. Does anyone even take the Italian American Heritage Commission seriously anymore anyway? Anytime an Italian-American eats a cannoli on TV they put out a statement about stereotypes.

Give me a break and get back to work.

Ps. If you want to see evidence of the Guido culture at work just Google search, Google image search, youtube search…”Guido,” Guidette,” “Guidos partying” etc. etc.

At Parcbench we’re always moving forward. We’re young, we have a lot of energy and we aren’t afraid to say what we think. The fun part about being young and conservative is that we live in an age where we can exercise our first amendment rights anywhere and anytime. We’re sick of Rolling Stone, MTV, Rock The Vote and morons like “Diddy” dominating the youth pop culture voice. As we continue to facilitate the youth conservative voice, we’re asking you to join us.

So now, in addition to the fun and timely ParcLIVE, our staff’s great writings in the featured slider, we have now launched “The Bench,” where invited guests contribute their opinions on their areas of expertise.

From Miley Cyrus to Congressional incompetence, we’ll continue commentating on all of it and bringing you opinions of those who help lead America.

We will also be expanding The Bench in the upcoming weeks and we are putting out an open invitation for anyone who wants to write.

If you want to write for The Bench or want to hop on with our staff writers or have some fun with ParcLIVE just email us and we’ll get started!

For participation inquiries, please email Parcbench’s editor, Sid, at editor@parcbench.com.

Thanks everyone and your feedback is always desired. Hate Parcbench? Love it? Email contact@parcbench.com to let us have it!

Congressman Lee Terry (R)-NE

I recently had the opportunity to interview U.S. Congressman Lee Terry from Nebraska. He’s been in office since 1999 and since I have never met anyone from nor been to Nebraska, I didn’t know what to expect.

So naturally when I googled him and saw that he had been on the Colbert Report and knew it would be all good.

I naturally couldn’t wait to ask him what he thought about the Doug Hoffman / Dede Scozzafava (aka, grassroots v. party) battle for NY-23 and the rest of the Nov. 4^th elections.

Kellen: What did you think of the conflict between Dede Scozzafava and Doug Hoffman? From the youth point of view, we’re excited about the change going on in the political landscape.  Frankly, we’re sick of the old school parties not letting any of us into the process unless we do what they want and play by their “hierarchy.”

Congressman Terry: Really good point. And well it was a battle between a moderate and a conservative. I have a Conservative rating in the mid 90’s and overall we are escatic about all the elections. But let’s be real about those elections, people are frustrated with the democratic leadership, the third trillion dollar bill in the house…“

“We need to develop our message. I’ve always been one that talks about fiscal responsibility and we need to live within our means. The youth are going to get stuck with the bill.”

Kellen: Although not anywhere near Nebraska, who did you support? Everyone from around the country chimed in, what say you?

Congressman Terry: “I support the person with the best chance of winning. So Scazzafava, then Hoffman when Scazzafava bowed out.”

Kellen: In some areas around the Country there is growing tension between the Tea Party and the GOP. Is there any conflict between the GOP and grassroot activists in Nebraska?

Congressman Terry: The answer to that is no. Our moderates are probably your New York City right wing. Nebraska’s GOP is the party of the Tea Party.

Kellen: What was the single best moment, or a moment that you vividly remember from the Healthcare Townhall meetings?

Congressman Terry: That one’s easy, the passion. At one townhall we had 500-1000 people. We did a survey and they were 9-1 against the healthcare bill.

Kellen: Pop culture. It’s been a problem for Republicans to break into it. You went on The Colbert Report, props for going on there, but what else can Republicans do? Perez Hilton, Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore, all these celebrities, or overly loud buffoons as we like to call them, continue to influence the American youth in very large ways. While not always turning up at the voting booth at young ages, they certainly do later in life. What should conservatives be doing?

Congressman Terry: The liberal side is more creative. We’re not that hip. We just have to keep expressing ourselves and continue to explore it.

Kellen: And Colbert?

Congressman Terry: He’s amazing. We spent over 2.5 hours taping that segment and just talking. I was really impressed with how knowledgeable he was on the issues. He studies. And he researched me a lot. He knew things about me that I had forgotten.”

Kellen: Colbert, Jon Stewart, everyone’s commented on the White Houses War on Fox news. What are your thoughts on it?

Congressman Terry: It’s extremely disturbing; using the presidency to shut down free speech. Amazing to me the hypocrisy that they stand up and talk about free speech but anyone who shows a different view gets squashed.

Kellen: Gotta ask it, do you watch the new hit show Glee?

Congressman Terry: Haven’t seen an episode.

Kellen: Finally, since we’re a website, what are your favorite websites?

Congressman Terry: Husker Illustrated, Drudge, Red State….and now Parcbench.

After I found out that the Congressman was a die hard Cornhuskers football fan, I couldn’t broach the topic of Tim Couch, at least on our first interview. For those of you who don’t know about Tim Couch…google.

I do want to say that Lee is someone I want to hang out with. He was down to earth, laid back and seemed like a normal person. Since we need normal people in Congress and not anymore narcissistic spend-o-crats, this is a good thing.

A great guy who likes football, was on The Colbert Report and is doing good things for the conservative cause, what’s not to like?

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey talks to newly elected New York State GOP Chairman Ed Cox.

Former House Majority Leader and FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey spoke at TeaParty365’s New York City “Tuesday Tea Party” last night, Wednesday, Nov. 10th to over 100 New York City Tea Party Volunteer Leaders.

What made things interesting is that newly elected New York State GOP Chairman Ed Cox spoke right after Dick Armey, wanting a chance to address Tea Parties and learn more about the Tea Party movement. Remember that little congressional race called NY-23 a week ago? They both do as Dick Armey was up in New York campaigning for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman while the Republican Party’s candidate Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the race to avoid a split vote loss. This occurred anyway.

Armey did address this;

I’ve been here for 20 years, the typical reaction in New York is that the Conservative Party sees that the Republican has a chance to win and they stand down in deference.  This is a time when the Republicans should have stood down in deference to the Conservative Party. They didn’t do that.

Dick Armey’s charm was ever present as he talked about the importance of standing for principles and individualism and never for “a party.” He took a dig at the NY Giants (which was a good-spirited way to open) and also talked about Thomas Sowell’s genius and Howard Roark from Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead, (as a former architect, a personal favorite).

Armey also took a dig at Obama and Europe:

“I always laugh at one of the books that President Obama wrote, he wrote like five before he wrote a bill, was The Audacity of Hope, I don’t know about the hope but there’s sure helluva lot of audacity…”

“…now america is special, I would like to point out to people, especially all these people I run into that are whining that we must be morally or intellectually deficient because we’re not more like the Europeans. We’re not more like the Europeans because they got it wrong.”

After Dick Armey, recently elected New York State GOP Chairman Ed Cox spoke right after Dick Armey and quickly made it clear that he was not NY State GOP Chairman while the Scozzafava / Hoffman battle was brewing. Unfortunately, the Cox speech wasn’t taped but it was good.

He was appreciative in speaking and stated his awareness of the tension between “party” and “principle.” Chairman Cox speaking for the NY GOP appears dedicated to bridging that divide and reaching out to independent grassroots organizations like the Tea Party movement that have no allegiance to a political party but instead, to the values of fiscal responsibility and common sense governance.

Having met with Chairman Cox a few weeks ago, he seemed to really understand what the Republican Party in New York State has to do to attract independent and non-partisan grassroots organizations. He showed his willingness to face the fire by making an appearance at our Tuesday Tea Party Volunteer Networking social and telling over 100 TeaParty365 New York City Volunteer Leaders what his goals are in New York State.

We are still waiting for a response to my email to Democratic Party State Chairman Jay Jacobs.

Radio host and Xtreme Media CEO Kevin McCullough spoke briefly thereafter with wit, succinctness and purpose; a perfect way to end the 20 minute speech segment of our event. Then everyone networked, enjoyed an adult beverage of their choiceand got down to brass tacks: how to hold elected officials in New York City accountable for wasteful spending.

As TeaParty365, the New York City Metro Tea Party, moves forward, we don’t see the impenetrable fortress that most outsiders see. We see the reality that like other regions in the country, New York City does indeed have many opportunities to elect representatives that will practice fiscal responsibility. It is our job to make TeaParty365 a household name in New York City and let all New Yorkers know that there is an advocacy group fighting for fiscally sound use of their tax dollars when no one else will.

All pictures via Facebook.

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Kellen Giuda and David Webb are the co-founders of TeaParty365 Inc., and Kellen sits on the Board of Directors of Tea Party Patriots Inc.

They can be reached at info@teaparty365.org.

TMZ.com

Kiefer Sutherland (who we all know as American hero Jack Bauer) spent $700 at a bar between the hours of 7am-1pm.

Sutherland, who has two DWIs under his belt, used a designated driver this time.

In all fairness, they had been busy filming all night and were celebrating.

24 starts in January!

Follow me on Twitter @StevenRosenblum. If you don’t, Nancy Pelosi will nationalize your Facebook account!

And that’s what you can expect from Steven Rosenblum’s and Daria DiGiovanni’s political radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Conservative Republican Forum; a relaxing, informative and fun time discussing politics in today’s world. There’s always a slight twist of humor and a sense of ease that is rare in this climate of intense, aggressive and populist radio shows.

As a disclaimer, I’ve appeared on the show a handful of times so color me biased. But what can I say, I just like talking about politics in a more laid back environment. But you don’t have to take my word for it, just look at the guest list:

Michelle Malkin will be on the show on November 21st, Congressman Thaddeus McCotter has appeared along with Fox News contributors S.E. Cupp and Ellen Karis and Congressional candidates Lieutenant Colonel Allen West and Robert Lowry.

The guest list pretty much speaks for itself: a hot up and coming show every Saturday night from 6-7pm.

CRF is different than appearing on Fox News, Fox News’ Strategy Room or other radio programs where you have to fight for every word, elbow your talking points in and compete with hosts who are trying to win the “most words” battle.

Steve usually wraps up the week’s political happenings for the first 10 minutes then Daria with all her energy will hop on and they will both dive into the guest for the rest of the show.

What I’ve found is that the hour goes extremely quickly simply because it’s just relaxing. It’s my type of speed and style.

So every Sunday night, get at it. And call in, they love it.

Blog Talk Radio Link: www.blogtalkradio.com/stevenrrepub

“He grabbed me at a baseball game in the U.S. A big guy came up to me and said, ‘Excuse me, the President would like to speak with you.’ I went over, and it was George W. Bush, and he said ‘Hey Carlos, when are you coming out of that coma? All I can do is watch that show of yours. Are you coming back?’ I was like, you don’t have anything better to do?”

Hmmmm, President’s can’t watch TV?