Today's Jackass Comment

read here:

CrookedCEOsAndPols 3/30/2014 11:53 PM EDT justmyvoice: #3.) Some of what Kobe Bryant said may be correct. However, Kobe Bryant isn't really African-American, anymore. He's a member of the wealthy elite where color, ethnic heritage, sexuality, national origin - none of that matters - only the color of your money. He thinks that way, he talks that way, he acts that way. Kobe Bryant is a man who has forgotten where he came from.

So apparently you can earn your way out of 'African-American"! Who knew!!

Apparently if you're broke or at least not rich you're not really "African-American".

Wow.

Had no clue.

Liberal Cannibalism

Being eaten by his own

So apparently Steven Colbert got himself into trouble by using humor to point out how racist (or at least highly offensive) he found it that the Washington Red Skins had decided to curry favor with Native Americans by offering a Washington Red Skins Original American scholarship. Being a comic, he decided to make fun by saying that he would create a Ching Chong Ding Dong Scholarship in order to make up for any offended Asians. Note: Native Americans have a high proportion of Asian genes...

On cue an Asian woman (and I notice it's usually women) got upset about the clearly critical “joke” and decided to start a Twitter hashtag to dump Colbert (or something to that effect).

Seriously.

I am not kidding.

One will hope that Colbert has the spine of one Jeremy Clarkson who made a “slope” joke during the filming of the Burma Special for Top Gear. And Jeremy Clarkson, is known to actually make bigoted remarks from time to time, about a lot of people. But this isn't about Clarkson. This about what I warned people about back when I was on Twitter: The Speech Police on the left.

I warned people many many times of the dangers of the concept of “hate speech”. When we attempt to stiffle people's free speech based on whether it makes us uncomfortable, then any and every speech is in danger of censorship. Furthermore, people are getting fired and other things basically for saying things that other people do not like, regardless to whether what was said is even true or not. You'd think that factual speech, no matter how uncomfortable it makes someone, would be protected. Think again folks.

So there are people wondering why I'm defending a white man. I'm not, I'm defending the right to free speech. I'm defending my right to not be subject to the temper tantrums of people who have little emotional control and of the mobs that enable them. See, I knew that certain groups would never stop at just “leave me alone”. I knew that they would eventually turn on their very own colleagues when the power they got went to their heads. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

My taste of this came at the hands of women who asserted that because I was male nothing I said in regards to gender was valid (unless approved of by a female). I ran into this a number of times. It didn't make sense at all. Certainly there were things I could never speak authoritatively on in regards to women since by not being a woman there were things I would never, ever actually experience. But that doesn't mean that I cannot speak on any of it.

Similarly I saw that with race matters, I told someone on Twitter that black people think that they are the only authorities on racism and that any and every time a black person claims racism it is assumed to be so. I said that such a position was untenable. Why? Because it assumes that black people are infallible. Good luck with that proposition. Atlantic slave trade anyone?

So just as black folks can get racism (among other things) wrong, so to can feminist get things wrong (often) and so can Asians. Colbert wasn't making fun of Asians, he was actually making fun of his fellow white folks, particularly those he considers conservative. If anyone ought to be offended it should be them.

But the Dump Colbert campaign essentially shows how liberal thought and mouth police get some power, nobody is safe from them, not even their own compatriots. Not to emotionally disturbed chick: The “Ching Chong Ding Dong” commentary was supposed to be offensive and it wasn't directed at “ching chongs” either. Colbert actually had your back. Too bad that as far as I know he won't tell you and your supporters to “sod off”. But I will.

Does ‘Ebony’ Magazine Condone Bigotry?

I don't know. What I do know is that they have been a platform for stupid for a while. I stopped with Ebony.com when they printed the "Stop Telling Women How Not To Be Raped" piece. It was perhaps the most asinine article I had read in a long time and to top it off was perhaps one of the most dangerous pieces of writing for women of that year.

I waited for people who I thought were objective and thinking to condemn that piece as the hetero man hating piece it was. Didn't happen. Of course, today, more and more people are seeing pieces like that for the trash that it is. The day's of these folks trafficking in lies are numbered. But the point being is that Ebony.com is run by people, women I assume, who have a lot of degrees but little sense, and apparently, class.

The latest episode of bigotry comes at the hands of Ebony Magazine Senior Editor Jamilah Lemieux. According to their website, Ebony “is the No. 1 source for an authoritative perspective on the Black-American Community…

Well I'll give Ebony.com credit for saying "an authoritative" rather than "the authoritative" but I assure the reader that "authoritative" ought to be in quotes. Large ones.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this exchange is the condescending nature and supposed moral superiority Ms. Lemieux displays when she notes: “Oh great, here comes White dude telling me how to do this Black thing. Pass.”

This condescending tone is unfortunately a way too common trait among African-American women. It is essentially: I have arrive, shut the fuck up. And believe me when I say it, this treatment is not reserved for "white dude" it is for black males, particularly heterosexual ones, who "step out of line" as well. The Twitter exchange is typical of what you will find among women who are afflicted with this disease. I have seen it played out many times (at times been the target of it).

If Ebony.com wishes to be "an authoritative perspective" I would suggest that if it doesn't excise the factually deficient writers on staff, it at least seek out and add people with different positions. Kinda like a library. It just has the books, doesn't mean they endorse everything they hold. And if Jamilah wishes to continue to make an ass of herself in public, she should at least create a pseudonym on twitter (and wherever else) to do so and spare the company the grief of guilt by association.

Kobe Was Right

So apparently there are black folks who object to black folks (and others?) who look at situations, particularly situations black folks find themselves in, objectively. Kobe Bryant has apparently upset those folks

“I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American,” Bryant said. “That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, we’ve progressed as a society, then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”

How anyone, no, any sane and rational person could object to what Kobe said here is beyond me. But there is a lot of insanity floating around presenting itself as intelligence. As a matter of fact if you replace "African-American" with "Woman" or "women", you will make a statement that will upset man so called feminists in regards to rape and domestic violence. But back to the black folks.

Hall of Fame NFL running back Jim Brown told the article’s author Bryant doesn’t understand the African-American culture.

“[Kobe] is somewhat confused about culture, because he was brought up in another country,” Brown said.

Jim Brown needs to have a seat and a muzzle. What Kobe said is what we call proper jurisprudence. It is NOT assuming facts not in evidence. It is about getting the story right. There were people who were upset with The Ghost because I stated early on that I thought the murder charge against Zimmerman would NOT work. I told people the evidence for such a conviction did not exist and that the state ought to center on negligence rather than intent. I was told I was on Team Zimmerman for that. Total bullshit.

Early in the Duke Lacrosse rape case I came to the conclusion that at the very least the woman in question had accused the wrong people and then later decided her story was a complete fabrication. Why? Because I examined the evidence and the evidence proved that her story could not have occurred as she told it. Eventually I was proven correct.

Objecting to black people who objectively look at situations that occur to members of our group is stupid. We already have to deal with the lower median IQ scores and the lower media SAT scores no need to add public statements of stupid on top of all that.

Hobby Lobby, Enumerated Rights, State Privileges And Saying "No" To Women

Currently the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is in the middle of a debate that really ought not even exist. The contraception mandate of the Affordable Care Act combined with a virulent strain of feminism that features a total disregard for the concept of limited government and ignorance of constitutional guarantees and the purposes thereof have combined for a mashup of epic legal proportions. Let's get some basics out of the way.

There are constitutional rights and there are state privileges. There are needs and there are wants. In both cases people often confuse the latter with the former and frequently sane people are not around to disabuse these folks of their flights of fancies. And for good measure, when these differences are pointed out accusations of racist, sexist and/or hate the poor soon follow

The constitution of the United States explicitly lays out the rights of citizens through a varied set of amendments. These are referred to as enumerated rights. You have the right to speak freely without government prior restraint. This is an enumerated right. The government is prohibited from establishing any religion as a state religion AND from restraining the freedom of expression (practice) of whatever religion a citizen may adhere to. This last example is what has sparked the Hobby Lobby suit.

There are of course exceptions to the freedom of exercise right. You cannot murder a person via human sacrifice regardless as to whether the person volunteers to be killed. Why? Because your free exercise of religion stops when it runs afoul of laws designed to protect the lives of other people. The number of restraints on free exercise are very few and far between and are very specific because the free exercise clause is pretty clear.

Now if you continue to read the US constitution you will find no enumerated right to contraception. Go ahead and read it. You don't even find the right to education, healthcare or many other things that may be desirable (or not) Therefore any argument stating that somehow these things are rights, as in constitutional rights, are flat out wrong. They may be “moral” arguments but moral arguments are not constitutional arguments.

Back in the 70's SCOTUS overturned bans on abortion on the grounds that it was an unreasonable invasion of the privacy of women. That is, the woman's body was her property and the state did not have the right to tell her what she could do with it. One of the justices pointed out that the only way to bypass such a ruling would be to declare a fetus a person. In such a case, as in my example of human sacrifice, the state would have a legal reason to intervene: preventing murder.

In my opinion, women won a significant victory. If the state did not consider the fetus a person that needs legal protection from murder then why does the state have any right to tell women what to do with their body in which the fetus resides? My body, my choice. That's fair AND falls within constitutional understanding of private property (Your body is your property) and limited government power over individuals and their property. It also rebuffed the idea that a religious group could use the levers of government to impose their rules of living onto persons who do not ascribe. That's a big win for individual liberty and keeping the state free from endorsing a religious view of conception, etc. Fair deal all around.

Under the Obama administration someone thought it was a good idea to include contraception in “healthcare”. Contraception for women that is. Now the first problem is that the contraception mandate is a clear violation of the equal protection clause because it discriminates against men by not covering condom purchases Birth control is birth control. Cover all of it or cover none of it. How that escaped the geniuses in Washington is beyond me but there it is. Apparently it also didn't occur to these folks that such a law would also run afoul the “free exercise” constitutional guarantee of religious individuals and institutions.

Then again, it probably did. Many people on the left are hell bent on fucking with those of certain religious convictions. Having grabbed onto the levers of power they have gone to great lengths to disenfranchise those individuals and groups under the ruse of “hate”. Those people have “hateful” ideologies and ideas and therefore they don't get protection. Mind you I disagree with many of the views held by religious people and institutions however my position is that I give them wide berth, don't spend my money or time with them BUT make sure their rights are protected as much as I want mine to be. And I said “rights”.

One of the things that is dear to a number of religious people and the institutions they create is that they do not believe in contraception. Some go as far as to say none at all and some say anything that prevents implantation or disrupts development after implantation. It doesn't matter whether I think that's BS or not. It doesn't matter if 99.9% of the people in whatever religion actually use those methods of birth control. The matter of fact is the constitution explicitly allows for those persons to have said beliefs and to practice them freely. That also means that the state cannot compel them to participate in such things that run counter to their beliefs. To do so would run afoul of the free exercise clause.

How did contraception get to be thought of as a right? Cue feminists. At some point in recent history it became the idea that to oppose just about anything a woman wants is sexist and oppressive. This bullshit has run up the political mainstream because there are a number of men in power who are literally scared to death of their wives and women in general. Men generally are trained to seek female approval and if a woman says “hey pay for my shit!” these men ask “how much do you need?” rather than “why the fuck should I?” or “Pay for it yourself since you, you know, work.”

If you read statistics you will see that it is claimed that women “influence” the majority of purchases. I've always asked myself what exactly that meant. I would think a grown man with his own money who wants to buy something wouldn't be asking for permission or approval to do so but apparently this is not the case. Even Microsoft had an advertisement a few months back where persons (male) would fill out a form letter asking their “honey” to allow them to buy an X-Box One. The only objection raised in the media about it was that the advertisement was “hetero-normative”. Not that is was blatantly sexist and implied that men need approval of women to spend their money. My reaction to that is, if I have 4 bills to drop on an X-Box and my bills are paid and investments funded, I'm buying one and nobody can tell me otherwise. If my “honey” doesn't like it, she can have a seat and fix her face. I don't expect my “honey” to pass her entertainment plans by me for approval and I don't expect to do so either. You want it, you got money for it, knock yourself out.

I take the same stance with contraception. Why should I be on the hook for your lifestyle choices? Why should the state, who women rightfully got out of and off of their bodies, now want to the state to force other people to pay for or otherwise provide for their contraception? I believe a woman should have the right to contraception. No state should be able to prohibit women from getting contraception forms of their choosing. What I don't believe is that the state should be able to force any other individual, male of female, to pay for or provide it for them. And there is no basis in the US constitution to do so.

If the State wishes to provide contraception to its citizens at no out of pocket (or little out of pocket) cost to them, then the state should do so via it's own program (and I note here that with Single Payer this would not even be an issue). For example the state could provide tax deductions for the cost of contraception via the yearly taxes. It could do so under a monthly program much like tax collection. It could set up a program with pharmacies whereby the state is billed for contraceptives sold by them. Whatever way the state chose to (or not to) provide free or low cost contraception would still not prohibit women from getting contraception. So there is no threat of the state denying women access to contraception regardless of what certain parties wish to be the case.

But then we run into the entitlement problem. Due to the inability of government of late to simply say “no” to women in fear of being tarred with the “sexist” brush, certain groups think they are entitled to make other people finance their personal sex lives. They are upset that Hobby Lobby, etc. refuse from doing so against their beliefs. They say that Hobby Lobby is 'denying” women their “right” to contraception coverage. First, we explained already that there is no such right. Secondly Hobby Lobby, or any other person or organization should not be on the hook for financing the personal sexual lives of it's employees anymore than it should be dictating how their employees engage in their personal sex lives.

What these groups are arguing is that they have the right to force those who object to finance their personal sex lives. That is unsupported by any reading of the constitution. There are no civil rights at stake here. This decision should be simple for the SCOTUS. But that requires saying “no” to women. Do the men on the court have the fortitude to do so? Do the women of the court have the sense to understand that they are treading on very dangerous legal grounds by endorsing such an entitlement mentality among their gender peers?

Personally, I doubt it.

The Hobby Lobby case has brought up arguments about those who wish to oppose things such as blood transfusions and whatever other medical procedures they find objectionable on religious grounds. Let's end this line of thinking quickly. The difference between the contraception argument and the “we don't like blood transfusions” is that the former is not a life saving medical intervention while the latter is. Hobby Lobby cannot (and is not) saying that they can or should dictate to a hospital what forms of life saving medical treatment an insurance company can provide. And it should not be able to. If Hobby Lobby had the right to tell a hospital that it cannot provide a blood transfusion to a patient or to prohibit a medical insurance company from covering a blood transfusion, Hobby Lobby would find itself on the receiving end of wrongful death lawsuits galore and soon find itself out of business.

Similarly, Hobby Lobby cannot put itself between an employee who may object, on religious grounds, blood transfusions and demand that a hospital give a patient one over the patient's objection.

Similarly, if Hobby Lobby is against living wills that contain DNR orders, it cannot compel an insurance company or hospital to ignore the DNR order from a patient's family.

In other words neither Hobby Lobby or anyone else can (or should be able to) stand between a doctor and life saving medical treatment. Contraception is not life saving medical treatment and should not even be discussed in the same breath as those procedures.

Lastly, Hobby Lobby is not a person. This is agreed upon by even those on the Left who are pushing to [further] impose the state on Hobby Lobby. As a non person, Hobby Lobby is therefore the property of it's founders. It is the expression of the free will of the founders and should therefore be protected like any other property. Who's property is it? The Founders. What do the founders want to do with their property? Not provide for contraception. Why? Because it's a religious conviction of the property owners. End of story.

In the end the SCOTUS should remember that it's primary function is to uphold the constitution and the rights enumerated therein. Enumerated rights always come before acts of congress granting state privileges. Hobby Lobby has an enumerated right to the free exercise of it's founders religion and it's expression through it's businesses and it's business practices. Women and men who do not care for the offerings made by Hobby Lobby should be and are free to not work at Hobby Lobby. Perhaps Hobby Lobby will lose out on very talented people as a result of it's decision. That's Hobby Lobby's loss. But the government ought not be involved with that. The SCOTUS should be very careful in enforcing state created privileges over enumerated rights.

Here's the bottom line: Not a single woman will be unable to obtain birth control as a consequence of Hobby Lobby's actions. They may not be able to afford to buy it, but “affordability” is not an enumerated right.

A decision in favor of Hobby Lobby will not give them control over a woman's body. In fact it maintains the very correct legal idea that a private company AND the government has no business IN the body of a woman.

Some women may be inconvenienced by Hobby Lobby's policy. Convenience is not an enumerated right and should not be the basis of law and definitely not an argument against an enumerated right.

The limits of an enumerated right should be few and far between with maximum deference given to the right. There is only one party in the Hobby Lobby case that has an enumerated right and therefore should be given great deference by the court. We rightfully circumscribe free speech in cases of screaming fire in a crowded theater because such speech endangers the public. We rightfully restrict exhortations to violence in circumstances where such exhortations can predictively precipitate violence against other citizens. And even then, saying things like “I wish someone would run my boss over with their car” is protected speech even though it is a clear “exhortation”. Absent the likelihood that someone would actually act on such a statement is why it is protected. But make that same statement while surrounded by amped up persons willing to commit such an act and it's an entirely different thing. That's a narrow definition.

Declining to pay for someone's contraception does not in any way meet such a high bar of “danger to the public”. This is clear.

Weakness You Say?

"Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbours, not out of strength but out of weakness," the president said. The US also has influence over its neighbours, he added, but: "We generally don't need to invade them in order to have a strong cooperative relationship with them.

Cuban Missile Crisis anyone?

Bay of Pigs anyone?

Panama anyone?

Seriously.

We're supposed to be stupid right? But fine then. Let Russia decide to drop a few nukes and ballistic missile "shields" into say, Venezuela and Cuba and see what happens. Anyone up for that?

But let me agree with Obama for a moment though. He is right that Russia has been and is showing weakness. Russia allowed itself to be surrounded by NATO. It allowed countries bordering it to allow opposition troops closer than the US would allow if it were similarly situated. That NATO has been allowed to spread to the extent that it had does show weakness on the part of Moscow. As a matter of fact, that Russia and to an extent China, has allowed the US to run roughshod around the world without any opposition by them is also a sign of supreme weakness. I believe that both the Chinese and the Russians know this but neither of them are strong enough to do anything about it.

For example. If Russia was so opposed to NATO in Libya, why didn't it float it's own fleet into the Mediterranean and fly some planes in opposition to the NATO warplanes? If China and the Russians so objected to the actions of the US in Iraq, why didn't they run some ships and planes over there and present a threat? Why didn't they make it clear that unless the actions in these countries were stopped they would fire on any ship or plane that so much as pointed a turret in the wrong direction?

Because both the Chinese and the Russians know they are not really up for that kind of conflict. The Chinese has a vested interest in keeping the US "happy". US consumers make the Chinese a lot of money. They aren't going to shit on that over the Ukraine, Iraq, Syria or wherever. Those countries currently cannot make up for the money they get from the countries they would piss off if they actually went to bat over the issues they point out. The Russians are in even deeper mess because they are right on the border of western Europe and they too would have serious business losses, among other things, to deal with. However; the Russians DO have an interest in securing their borders and that means taking aggressive actions with nations that border them.

So yes, in a sense Obama is quite correct about the weakness of Russia. Putin knows this too.

About That Noah Movie

I used to watch The Ten Commandments every year. I looked forward to seeing that movie. Especially that whole wall of water and all the drowning Egyptians. And who could forget the talking burning bush and the fire blasted tablets of the 10 commandments. Then I got wise to the wholesale robbery of ancient Egyptian theology that was actually the source of the great Moses story and lost interest in watching that particular piece of fiction. Since today is the day of the hanging of the sun (god) on the cross (equator), I figured I'd weight in on the latest piece of fiction from Hollywood: Noah.

There are a few scientific facts that we have to discuss in order to understand why Noah is a complete white washing of anything that could remotely be possible with Noah. First is that White people, AKA Caucasians are a genetic recessive population. Their skin color is a result of a form of albinism that was favored in the northern climate where there was little sunlight and vitamin D fortified milk had not been invented yet. Similarly the narrow noses were a favored adaptation to the cold of the northern climes as it provided a means of warming cold air before entering the body better than the relatively flat nose of the African. But the most important thing to understand is that Black skin comes first for the human and all others are derived from it. Strictly speaking you do not get the African from the European but you get the European from the African. It's a long explanation which I won't get into here. If you're that interested in it, you can visit your local, honest evolutionary biologist. Emphasis on honest.

With that in mind we enter the Noah story. From the Bible we are to believe that the flood killed everything that was not on the ark. Humans, animals, everything. Dead. That would mean that whoever was on the Ark would be the new Adam and Eve (I know...just go with it). Noah's family would necessarily be the progenitors of the new humanity. Well if that is the case how could Russell Crow be Noah? No, seriously. White folks can't make black folks. Noah couldn't be a Caucasian. His wife couldn't be Caucasian. Because if either one of them was, there would be none of the blackest of the black people on the planet. it is simply a genetic impossibility... well no, highly, highly, highly improbable.

And no, no English accents either.

Let's be clear Noah's wife should have been, oh, Lupita. And maybe, maybe Henry Lennix as Noah. Of course, if they did do that, millions of white people would be unable to identify with the character for the same reason the Middle Eastern "skin like burnt bronze" Jesus happens to look like a "surfer dude" with blue eyes in the recent Jesus movie to cause much weeping in theaters.

a more accurate Noah

Noah's wife better portrayed by her

Yes, pick your mouth off the floor. Don't hate me, hate the genetics of it all.

But Hollyweird is like that. I constantly see movies, TV shows and commercials with families that are impossible to create. Wither it be politically correctness, wishful thinking or a "you know we can't sell this with THOSE folks starring", Black folks get cut out of stories that should have them front and center. Or if it "our" presence must be there, then get the most ambiguously "black" person you can find. One Drop Rule to the rescue. Duly excepted: Fat black women. Whenever they are needed or called for, they can find the blackest and fattest one. For real though, how often do you see a light skinned mammy?

Let Hollywood tell it, there are few fat white women and even fewer mixed ones. I guess Lupita got the call because Solomon was pretty clear about what she looked like. But back to Noah.

If you actually adhere to that bible story, well I suppose you can overlook this one rather obvious flaw, Kinda like I had to stop from hurling every time I watched Thor (all due respect to Idriss). But if you're like me and recognize the only sun being crucified is that yellow one in the sky today perhaps you should demand that these folks at least make an attempt to make it believable. I do hope there are no domesticated cats or dogs on that Ark cause then we're dealing with time travel too! Cats from the future in the ark!! Now that would be an interesting twist.

If You Can't Pass A Written Test....

If you can't pass a written test and you're white. Well next time you study more.

If you can't pass a written test when you are black you complain that the test is discriminatory (because who in their right mind would expect black test takers to be able to pass a written test. I mean DAMN to expect black people to WRITE? What kind of racist thought is that?!!!).

Then you sue because the law says that if your dumb black ass can't pass a written test then it must be unintentional discrimination against your barely literate self and NOT because you should take your ass to a library, classroom or somewhere, anywhere where you can get your writing skills up.

When a white official refuses to treat you like an illiterate child and demands that you put in the work like everyone else is expected to in order to make the grade, you call that person racist and sue for some more money.

Eventually a sympathetic white man will come to your defense and pay you for your troubles because it simply isn't right that black folks who can't pass a written test like everybody else has to actually be held responsible for their own failures.

And seriously there are people who think this ruling is a good thing.

Ron Paul: What’s the big deal?

Ron Paul asks the right questions on Crimea:

Why does the U.S. care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land thousands of miles away?

Why indeed?

Critics point to the Russian "occupation" of Crimea as evidence that no fair vote could have taken place. Where were these people when an election held in an Iraq occupied by U.S. troops was called a "triumph of democracy"?[my emphasis]

Yes. Where exactly were these people?

Perhaps the U.S. officials who supported the unconstitutional overthrow of Ukraine's government should refocus their energies on learning our own Constitution, which does not allow the U.S. government to overthrow governments overseas or send a billion dollars to bail out Ukraine and its international creditors.

Yes. Why does a White libertarian and Black Pan-Africanist understand the constitution and international law and those who's job it is to uphold the constitution and supposedly are for self-determination and democratic institutions and rule of law do not?

"Below Average Scores in Mathematics"

From FiveThirtyEight

Conventional news organizations on the whole are lacking in data journalism skills, in my view. Some of this is a matter of self-selection. Students who enter college with the intent to major in journalism or communications have above-average test scores in reading and writing, but below-average scores in mathematics. Furthermore, young people with strong math skills will normally have more alternatives to journalism when they embark upon their careers and may enter other fields.4[My emphasis]

This is very, very true. You will notice that here at The Ghost we deal with direct quotes (not paraphrase or cut and pasted sentences from different paragraphs to make a point that does not exist), long form pieces and where appropriate, mathematical explanations as to why certain things are or are not the case. I would argue that not only are many people in the "soft science" fields not only lacking in "mathematics" but that they are lacking in the area of logic (related) and knowledge of other forms of hard sciences. For example those persons who claim there are no such thing as human races, even though the evidence is quite clear that there are. These people do not know that there can be a social construct that is "unscientific" while there is a biological construct that is quite scientific. Those persons are lacking in the basics of logical thought and instead try to "intuit" and feel out there arguments. Since many people (most?) are susceptible to emotional arguments they fall for these arguments even when their own eyes tell them that what they think is the case, is not.

Similar issues abound with comments about "rape culture" and the like (as it pertains to Western democratic societies). Even though the actual statistics do not bear out their claims, not even by a long shot, these claims are still allowed to be made in mass media because who wants to be the guy saying "it's not that bad" to a person who may have been a victim? How many men have the guts to stand up to a woman that he wants approval of, and many, many do, and say, that is bullshit? There are not many takers.

Similarly when we discuss the high levels of black crime. There are those who wish to shift the responsibility onto white folks, guns, poverty, and whatever else other than the fucked up parenting (which of course would also be blamed on white folks), the lack of black folks opening small businesses in their own communities that serve as the first line of employment for young people. Of black flight from black neighborhoods (for good intentions, who wants to deal with crime). When we cannot have discussions about police targeting black males without discussing the very real fact that in many metropolitan areas, homicide is an overwhelmingly black problem. That statistically speaking, if there is a murder in, for example, NYC, the most likely suspect AND victim will be a black male and that white folks have absolutely NOTHING to do with that free choice made by that killer.

Of course one of the reasons for this failure to be scientific in regards to such things is the "opinion journalism" that many people take as absolute truth. This failure is also pointed out in the linked article:

My disdain for opinion journalism (such as in the form of op-ed columns) is well established, but my chief problem with it is that it doesn’t seem to abide by the standards of either journalistic or scientific objectivity. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to abide by any standard at all.

This is absolutely true. If anything shows the absolute truth of this one simply has to look at the recent coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. I have made numerous "so and so thinks you're an idiot" posts because all of them simply failed the simple fact check. But this is what much reporting has come down to. There is no objectivity there is partisan-ism, advocacy and in many cases snark and name calling fronting as intelligent writing.

Because of the above we generally cannot have proper discussions on these topics because generally, the people who are writing and speaking on these things are not good at math. The audience is not good at math and so it's the blind leading the blind leading the deaf. They don't wanna hear it. They don't wanna see it. And if you bring it up you're a sell out to black folks and a woman hater and rape apologist to the women. But the one thing they cannot call you is a liar.

Chokwe Lumumba and Real Nationalism

Chokwe Lumumba, mayor of Jackson MS. died. One comment in a NY Times report:

To the white business establishment, he had evolved into a surprisingly pragmatic politician who promised to fix the potholes and the sewers and passed a sales tax increase to help do it...“The expectations when he was elected were not very high, and he surprised everybody pretty dramatically.”

Why was it surprising? I'll tell you why. So called black nationalists and other assorted "pro-black" "afro-centric" persons usually spend their time and energy trying to get paid to talk about white folks, ingratiating themselves to white folks OR trying to get paid working in institutions built and/or run by white folks. Exhibit A:

Temple University took on the wrong adjunct professor when they terminated Dr. Anthony Monteiro’s contract, without warning, in January. And Dr. Molefi Asante, the proponent of “Afrocentricity” who Monteiro and his student and community allies propelled to the chairmanship of the African American Studies Department after a bitter struggle with the administration, last year, chose the wrong man – and the wrong movement – to stab in the back.

That article goes on to discuss the "struggle" to get Temple U to "do the right thing". Meanwhile back in Jackson MS. Lumumba was actually about running things. I have often said that most of the people who call themselves activists have absolutely no idea about building and running institutions. Calling white folks names does not fix streets or schools or bring down crime rates. African-American studies departments at HWCI's only give those non-black institutions that much more of a reputation. It does NOTHING to build up the reputations, clout and eventual high value teachers to black institutions of higher education.

This is why Garvey was opposed by many African-American "leadership" when he was around. African-Americans have long since been singularly focused on white folks and being accepted by them to the detriment of their own economic and community development. But to get back to Chokwe and the statement.

See the actions of persons such as those at Temple are why it was "surprising" that Chokwe got to "running things" business. Real nationalists are about running things. This is why Garvey was interested in Tuskegee. Booker T. Washington, like Garvey understood that the long term solution to black dependence and exploitation was to own and control our own resources. That no group that is economically dependent upon another group has a secure future.

But the masses of African-Americans weren't and still aren't trying to hear all that. Booker T Washington is widely seen as a sellout. When we are taught about Booker T Washington we are told that he was a sellout because he made a speech to white folks in Atlanta where he "approved of segregation" with his famous "hands and fingers" speech. Booker T and build your own: Bad. Dubois and the Talented Tenth: Good.

So the people of Jackson MS. had to live under the ideology that if they appealed to white folks and the expertise of the talented tenth long enough, they would prosper. That didn't work out so well.

Enter Chokwe. Not Anthony Monteiro. Not Cornell West. Not any of the Popular Negroes(tm) with lots of degrees from Ivy League institutions or books on Afro-centricity or shows on popular cable shows. Here he comes talking about running things which includes taxes and fixing potholes. Real. Nationalist. Business. The rest of y'all can stay in the street protesting HWICs to re-instate degreed negroes. After all, positions for the talented tenth in HWIC is a very important thing.

Salute Chokwe

Wrong Headline

NY Times leads with:

Defying West, Putin Declares Independent Crimean State

Of course the proper headline would be:

Crimean voters declare independent Crimean Stats

As the late great Kwame Ture said: History is made by the masses of people, this is clear. [note: NY Times changed the headline in the actual story link. We see you NY Times]

The Gall and The Hypocrisy

The Gall:

The US and the European Union have retaliated over the Crimea referendum by targeting sanctions against Russians and Ukrainians.

Just like in Palestine. People exercise their democratic right to vote on their own self-determination and "Europe" decides that it's not valid.

The Hypocrisy:

European foreign ministers imposed EU-wide sanctions on Monday against 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials linked to unrest in Crimea. Washington followed up an hour later with a list of its own, targeting seven top Russian government officials and politicians and four Crimea-based separatist leaders accused of undermining the "democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine".

With the leaked video and audio tape of the clear complicity of both the US and EU in the internal affairs of Ukraine including breeches in the Ukraine constitution, how can anyone keep a straight face at claims of "undermining the democratic processes and institutions in the Ukraine".

If the UN was anything more than a showpiece for people with no useful skills in life and who therefore pontificate on law, order, sovereignty and humanitarian intervention, it would declare these "sanctions" what they are: acts of war against a people and illegal under the UN Charter and exact the proper penalties to those signatories.

Let's just say this now: Ban-Ki-Moon is a stooge for Europe and the United States and the faster he is gone from his position the better.

"Absolutely No Reason"

Ukraine appointed Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk:

This is absolutely and entirely unacceptable in the 21st century, to resolve any kind of conflict with tanks, artillery and boots on the ground.”[My Emphasis]

You know what? I would agree with this fellow 100%. I think the UN should take Yatsenyuk's statement very seriously and apply it to every conflict that started as of 2001.

Either that or it was comedy hour(s) at the UN "The Rules Apply Only To Certain Countries" Security Council.

NY Times STILL Thinks You're An Idiot

The publication of record writes:

n Moscow, the military acknowledged significant operations involving armored and airborne troops in the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions abutting eastern Ukraine, where many ethnic Russians have protested against the new interim government in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, and appealed to Moscow for protection. A day after a deputy minister denied any military buildup on the border, the Defense Ministry released a series of statements beginning early Thursday that appeared to contradict that. They outlined what was described as intensive training of units involving artillery batteries, assault helicopters and at least 10,000 soldiers.[My Emphasis]

Except that the was no such denial. From the Russia Times:

Antonov said that Kiev had never asked for one before, and that Moscow was "under no obligation" to allow it immediately. “We have decided to allow such a flight. We hope that our neighbors are assured that there is no military activity that threatens them on the border.”[Underlines substituted for original italics]

The key here being "that threatens them on the border". That statement does not deny any military activity. It simply states that, at least in the opinion of Antanov, that the activity is non-threatening.

So exactly how does that amount to a "denial"? The actual denial was of the following:

Antonov vehemently denied a statement Tuesday by Igor Tenyukh, defense minister for the Kiev coup-appointed government, that Russia had amassed more than 220,000 troops, 1,800 tanks and over 400 helicopters in regions adjacent to eastern Ukraine.

Which the NY Times failed to report on. I wonder why.

Of course If there was a government bordering the US with questionable intentions, I'm quite certain that the US military would simply sit back and relax. Right?

Let's Not Misinform The Public

One thing about The Ghost, We don't deal in misinformation. One thing the reader will note is that here we take direct quotes from whatever source we point to so that you the reader don't have to take our word for it. The reader may strenuously disagree with the conclusion but the reader will never be able to say that The Ghost has mis quoted any piece of information for it's own purpose.

Today on Counterpunch we find a piece that does not stand up to that level of integrity. Roger Harris has a post on Venezuela where he writes the following:

To find a script for the violence to come in Venezuela, one need only go to the Brookings Institute’s January 23rd memo1 to President Obama suggesting “inciting a violent popular reaction” could “oust the radicals and president.” In the polite doublespeak of the Washington consensus, the memo deplores violence at the same time it welcomes its possibilities including a “traditional coup” in Venezuela.

Eager to see the actual documentation of what would have to have been one of the stupidest pieces of advice in recent memory I looked at the Brookings memo To find such a statement. Here's what I found:

The risk of a violent outcome may still be low, but it will rise as the true extent of scarcity in Venezuela becomes apparent in the coming months. The threat to the Maduro administration may come from popular unrest, an effort by moderates in the government to oust the radicals and the president, or (least likely) a traditional coup. A now unified national opposition continues to emphasize elections as the solution, but the playing field is hardly level, and elections are not scheduled to take place again until 2015.[underlined text represents the quote taken by Harris]

What the Brookings Institute was laying out was the likely threats to the Maduro administration from inside the country (whether assisted by outsiders or not). This was not a suggestion to Obama to do the ousting (though I'm sure that the Institute and Obama would love to do so.

Furthermore:

Economic mismanagement in Venezuela has reached such a level that it risks inciting a violent popular reaction. Venezuela is experiencing declining export revenues, accelerating inflation and widespread shortages of basic consumer goods. At the same time, the Maduro administration has foreclosed peaceful options for Venezuelans to bring about a change in its current policies.[underlined text represents the quote taken by Harris]

Again, her the incepting a violent reaction is a statement of fact and not a suggestion to Obama to do anything (again not that Obama or Brookings would be averse to the idea).

You simply cannot put together two partial sentences from two different paragraphs to make an argument that a memo says to do something it clearly does not. This is not to defend the Institute. I don't agree with it's advice to "work with other countries in the region". I would hope that those countries know better by now. But just because one supports Maduro doesn't mean that one gets to make up claims about the opposition.

Disturbing to Who?

The NY Times article reads: China's Disturbing Defense Budget. Why is the editorial board of the NY Times, a US company concerned about the defense budget of China?

China is causing new anxieties in Asia with a defense budget for 2014 that totals $132 billion, up 12.2 percent over the previous year. These numbers should not be used as an excuse to ratchet up America’s military spending. But they do raise legitimate concerns about China’s motives that Beijing should seek to dispel, especially at a time when regional tensions are rising.

Although China’s overall economic growth rate has declined, the new defense budget reflects the biggest increase in three years and continues a several-decades-long trend of double-digit increases. Many experts assume that the real total is higher. Even so, the budget is far below that of the United States, which was $526.8 billion for fiscal year 2014 and finances the world’s largest, most expensive and advanced military program. It is reasonable to expect that as the world’s second-largest economy, China, over time, would invest more on defense to protect its security and economic interests.[My Emphasis]

So the editorial board of the NY Times a company based in the United States; the same United States that they write:

the United States, which was $526.8 billion for fiscal year 2014 and finances the world’s largest, most expensive and advanced military program.

is "disturbed" that China is raising it's defense budget. Surely this is bizarro world. That's like a bully declaring that he or she is "disturbed" that it's potential targets have decided to invest in self defense classes and perhaps a knife or two. How many sovereign nations has the US run into and toppled the government? Isn't there a commercial in which the Navy tells us point blank that they are on patrol everywhere? Aren't there hundreds of US military bases all over the world? And the editorial board is concerned about China's defense budget?

The Times thinks that the problem is China's aggression with it's neighbors. *cough* Cuba! *cough* *Cough* Panama *cough* *cough* Grenada *cough* *cough Venezuela *cough* *cough* Nicaragua *cough*

I can do this allllllllll day.

U.S. envoy: Crimea crisis solution needs to address Russian concerns

* Warning! This post does not contain numbered lists of points. It presumes you have a sufficient level of reading comprehension to know when a new point is being introduced. * When I read this title on the LA Times website I thought that perhaps there was at least one person in the Obama administration with some actual sense in his head.

KIEV, Ukraine -- The United States continues to rule out military action to eject Russian troops from Crimea and acknowledges that a diplomatic settlement needs to address Moscow’s interests in the strategically important peninsula, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said Monday.

You'd think that this guy actually read the Ukraine Russia Friendship Treaty and saw that such a statement was a part of it. Literate people in the White House? Shocking thought after the things that have popped out of the mouths of the "leadership" in the past few weeks. Of interest though is the blatant example of empire delivered to the public:

In a sign of how seriously the U.S. takes the crisis, President Obama has invited acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk to Washington this week for a meeting at the White House.

Any serious student of history knows that when an empire wants to exert control and "legitimacy" it brings in the vassal "king" to the court to show his fealty to his emperor. For a more vulgar example of how this works, one could watch the recent "300" film series. Here Obama is Xerxes and Yatsenyuk plays a very feeble Leonidas who in this drama actually accepts the offer of being warlord of Ukraine. It's nice to know that the game of thrones still works the same way.

Then there is this:

Pyatt accused pro-Russian forces of trying to stir up public dissension and tension in Ukraine, and of trying to provoke Ukrainian troops in Crimea into retaliating violently.

You would think that since the Nuland video went public that nobody from The West(tm) would even attempt to make such a silly statement. But then again the White House thinks we're all idiots. 60 minutes thinks we're all idiots too. Their report on Ukraine last night had to be one of the worst interviews they've done. They did do us a great favor in showing that the boxer guy ought not be allowed anywhere near the presidency of Ukraine. But for a "news" organization that claims to do investigative reporting how did they completely miss the Nuland video? How did they mention the snipers and none of the recordings of the Estonian foreign affairs minister. It is not as if this material is unknown. Certainly even if the CBS organization did not believe the allegations it had a duty to report the FACT that both police and protestors were apparently shot by the same third party. Whether that third party was a part of the protesting factions or undercover Russian agents is yet to be definitively determined but to act like that important fact doesn't exist is poor reporting on the part of 60 Minutes.

Rio’s Race to Future Intersects Slave Past

The newly arrived slaves who died before they even started toiling in Brazil’s mines were hauled to a mass grave nearby, their corpses left to decay amid piles of garbage. As imperial plantations flourished, diggers at the Cemitério dos Pretos Novos — Cemetery of New Blacks — crushed the bones of the dead, making way for thousands of new cadavers....

cholars say the scale of the slave trade here was staggering. Brazil received about 4.9 million slaves through the Atlantic trade, while mainland North America imported about 389,000 during the same period, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, a project at Emory University.

Rio is believed to have imported more slaves than any other city in the Americas, outranking places like Charleston, S.C.; Kingston, Jamaica; and Salvador in northeast Brazil. Altogether, Rio received more than 1.8 million African slaves, or 21.5 percent of all slaves who landed in the Americas, said Mariana P. Candido, a historian at the University of Kansas.

How and Why Did Chokwe Lumumba Die?

Yet, the Mississippi state coroner has refused to perform an autopsy on the body of Chokwe Lumumba, who was elected by a landslide in June and died last Tuesday after checking into a hospital. The coroner says only that the mayor succumbed of “natural causes.”

Since We're Speaking of "lawful"....

Article 18 of the 2004 Ukrainian Constitution (currently in effect):

Article 18[edit] The foreign political activity of Ukraine is aimed at ensuring its national interests and security by maintaining peaceful and mutually beneficial co-operation with members of the international community, according to generally acknowledged principles and norms of international law.

The recent revelations of Victoria Nuland's telephone conversations, among other released communiques puts the US (among other parties) in direct violation of Article 18 of the Ukrainian Constitution. By fomenting the removal of the democratically elected president the the US did notmaintain "peaceful...co-operation with members of the international community nor did it ensure Ukraine's national interests.

Article 105[edit] The President of Ukraine enjoys the right of immunity during the term of authority. Persons guilty of offending the honor and dignity of the President of Ukraine are brought to responsibility on the basis of the law. The title of President of Ukraine is protected by law and is reserved for the President for life, unless the President of Ukraine has been removed from office by the procedure of impeachment.

Impeachment you say? What are the legal means of removing the President of Ukraine?

Article 108[edit] The President of Ukraine exercises his or her powers until the assumption of office by the newly elected President of Ukraine. The powers of the President of Ukraine terminate prior to the expiration of term in cases of: resignation; inability to exercise his or her powers for reasons of health; removal from office by the procedure of impeachment; death.

Article 111[edit] The President of Ukraine may be removed from office by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by the procedure of impeachment, in the event that he or she commits state treason or other crime. The issue of the removal of the President of Ukraine from office by the procedure of impeachment is initiated by the majority of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. To conduct the investigation, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine establishes a special temporary investigatory commission whose composition includes a special Prosecutor and special investigators. The conclusions and proposals of the temporary investigatory commission are considered at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. For cause, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, by no less than two-thirds of its constitutional composition, adopts a decision on the accusation of the President of Ukraine. The decision on the removal of the President of Ukraine from office by the procedure of impeachment is adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by no less than three-quarters of its constitutional composition, after the review of the case by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the receipt of its opinion on the observance of the constitutional procedure of investigation and consideration of the case of impeachment, and the receipt of the opinion of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to the effect that the acts, of which the President of Ukraine is accused, contain elements of state treason or other crime.

Where was the "state treason" or "other crime"? Where was the court case proving either of these? Take a look at Article 106 and tell me what, under those powers Yanukovych violated.

Now as far as the protestors:

Article 37[edit] The establishment and activity of political parties and public associations are prohibited if their program goals or actions are aimed at the liquidation of the independence of Ukraine, the change of the constitutional order by violent means, the violation of the sovereignty and territorial indivisibility of the State, the undermining of its security, the unlawful seizure of state power, the propaganda of war and of violence, the incitement of inter-ethnic, racial, or religious enmity, and the encroachment on human rights and freedoms and the health of the population.

Political parties and public associations shall not have paramilitary formations.

The creation and activity of organizational structures of political parties shall not be permitted within bodies of executive and judicial power and executive bodies of local self-government, in military formations, and also in state enterprises, educational establishments and other state institutions and organizations.

The prohibition of the activity of associations of citizens is exercised only through judicial procedure.[My emphasis]

The evidence speaks for itself on this point.

Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are pushing for harder language on sanctions. The wording on Georgia and Moldova is important for them as a warning to Russia that it will not be allowed to pick off countries wanting closer links to EU. Diplomats tell me that the demand for “quick steps towards the dissolution of any paramilitary structures” could be dropped because it would also apply to Kiev groups, particularly the far-Right nationalist groups that are the backbone of the new government there.[My Emphasis]

Ukraine-Russia Treaty (1997)

You may find it here:http://www.jstor.org/stable/41036701?seq=11 Since the US State Department is calling out Russia in part based on the said treaty, let's understand what part of the treaty has Russia concerned.

Each of the Parties shall abstain from in,or High Contracting participation support of,any actions whatsoever directed against the other High Contracting and itself not to enter into with third countries Party, obligates any agreements directed the other Neither of the Parties will its to against Party. permit territory be used to the detriment of the other Party's security

With some of the "new government" parties cooperation with NATO and NATO aligned countries which have been, since it's inception, directed at one of the "High Contracting Parties" (guess which) the alignment with the US particularly with the taped evidence of one Victoria Nuland puts the current Ukraine government in direct violation of Article 6 of said agreement.

In the event that a situation should arise which,in the opinion of one of the High Contracting Parties,creates a threat to peace,violates the peace,or affects the interests of its national and territorial security,sovereignty integrity, it may appeal to the other High Contracting Party proposing immediately consultations. The Parties shall exchange information appropriate information and,where necessary ,take agreed-upon or joint measures in order to resolve such a situation.

The coup in Ukraine was a definitive "situation" that "creates a threat to peace, violates the peace," and "affects the interests of it's national and territorial sovereignty." The US being caught on tape admitting to spending it's time and money in creating an uprising to overthrow the democratically elected leader of the Ukraine with talk of who it wanted in power in a state that borders Russia pretty much defines, threat to national and territorial sovereignty.

Since Russia considers (considered) Yanukovych to be the lawfull leader of Ukraine (as do I) Yanukovych was the "High Contracting Party" legitimately able to confer with Russia. The US is free to dispute that assertion, as it has, but that does not make Russia's claim false. Furthermore claiming that Yanukovych was declared by Russia as politically dead does not make him non-legitimate (under the Ukraine constitution). It does mean that he would not have won a legal and fair democratic election.

The Parties shall use the necessary means, including ratification of appropriate acts,on their territories for the prevention and termination actions that constitute instigation of violence, or violence against individuals or groups of citizens that is based on national, racial, ethnic,or religious intolerance.

Two words: Right Party. The US State Department says that there is no evidence of violence against Russians (or other groups). Given how quickly Russia put it's boots on the ground to prevent such actions I'd say "duh".

In the end the facts of what is happening on the ground are really not in dispute for those interested in them. What we are seeing is politics. Personally I cannot understand how a country 5000+ miles away can claim interest in and penalize a country that borders a place that just had a coup for taking actions to protect it's interests. But saying Russia to an American is like waving meat in front of a hungry dog. Never fails in getting them to act a fool.

Threat To Who?

n a message to Congress, which is working on separate sanctions legislation that would give the president further sanctioning powers, Obama said: “I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the ‘order’) declaring a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the situation in Ukraine.

Do you know where the Ukraine is? Do you know where the United States is? How exactly is what is going on 5,687 miles away from the United States a "threat to the national security" of the United States?

And, if what is going on is a "threat to the national security" of the United States then how much more of a security threat is the situation in Ukraine to Moscow which is 500 miles away from Kiev? Who exactly has more at stake, national security wise, from the goings on in Ukraine?

Are you an idiot?

And what "foreign policy" is threatened? Oh, the overthrow of governments the US does not like? Say, is it now the fact that international law is whatever the US decides it to be?

Are you an idiot?

At a press conference in Sevastopol, Rustam Temirgaliev, the Crimean vice-premier, said the referendum was being held purely to ratify the decision of the Crimean parliament to join the Russian Federation, and the parliament had appealed to Russia to assist with this.

He said Crimea was Russian with immediate effect: “From today, as Crimea is part of the Russian Federation, the only legal forces here are troops of the Russian Federation, and any troops of the third country will be considered to be armed groups with all the associated consequences.”

The referendum was immediately denounced as illegitimate by the new government in Kiev.

Since this isn't Russia Times and therefore "unbiased" (hearty laugh) then lets take it for truth shall we. This is a game changer. Remember Kosovo? They up and decided to declare themselves an independent state with the US' blessing. How now can the US make any complaints about this declaration having already approved of the same action done by others?

Oh right, it's the whole "governments we approve of" thing. Silly me.

And how ironic is it that the "new government" in Kiev, itself a result of a unilateral decision to unconstitutionally oust it's prime minister and breech an agreement brokered with the EU, to up and declare what other parts of Ukraine is or is not legitimate.

Report: Hillary Clinton compares Russia to Nazi Germany

I see. And so the Neo Nazi's walking around Kiev are what then? Hillary Clinton is proving that she is qualified to be president of the US by showing that she too thinks you're an idiot.

Gun Barrel What?

U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, during a visit Tuesday to the Ukrainian capital, accused Russia of gun-barrel diplomacy and brutish behavior more befitting the war-racked 19th century. Moscow, he said, has chosen aggression rather than one of the "countless outlets that an organized, structured, decent world has struggled to put together to resolve these differences so we don't see a nation unilaterally invade another nation.

"It is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve," Kerry [my emphasis]

Really?

Really?

Kerry truly believes we're all idiots.

The Guardian UK Thinks You're an Idiot. Are You?

So to round out our analysis of Western "free press" we have the Guardian UK with: Five fibs from Vladimir: how Putin distorted the facts about Ukraine Fib? We're talking about a possible civil war going on in Ukraine and The Guardian uses the term "fib"?

1. The unidentified armed men who took control of Crimea were local self-defence units Although the uniforms did not have insignia, they were easily identified as Russian army issue. The men also seemed suspiciously well trained. Putin argued that anyone could have bought Russian uniforms: "The post-Soviet space is full of such uniforms." Yet the military-grade weapons that the troops were carrying, from Kalashnikovs to Dragunov sniper rifles to bazookas, are not as easy to explain away. Also, Guardian reporters have seen unidentified troops taking over Crimean airbases driving in military vehicles with Russian plates, which the foreign ministry has admitted are moving around the peninsula.

I suppose Alec Luhn does not know that: a) Russia has and been had their own soldiers in Crimea. b) That even with Russian troops there that does not mean that self-defense forces made up of locals and defectors are not also engaged. And given the friendly terms between Crimea and Russia, why wouldn't local groups not have access to Russian goods?

2. Western-backed forces carried out the coup Putin said that the downfall of former president Viktor Yanukovych's government had been backed by western countries and incited by people "sitting in America doing experiments, like on rats", adding: "I think that this was all well prepared. Of course there are military units and they are there to this day, they are well-prepared and in this the western instructors did well." While western donors have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups campaigning against Yanukovych's regime, there is no evidence that either the US or UK have trained opposition forces militarily. The so-called "self-defence units" which took part in the pro-European protests did not appear to have any military training, displaying instead some poor discipline and relying on improvised equipment such as motorcycle helmets and table legs.

Two words: Victoria Nuland. And the amount SHE said was $5 billion. Next!

3. Protesters in Ukraine were killed by former opposition snipers The president said that the dozens of anti-Russian protesters killed by sniper bullets were victims of their own leaders. "There is the opinion that [snipers shot] on the orders of one of the opposition parties," he said, despite eyewitness accounts of police snipers shooting protesters. While Putin cited "freely available information" to back his claim, there is also video footage of snipers in police uniforms shooting at people.

I have read similar rumors that there were plants in the protestors (or state agencies) that also did sniping. I actually don't even understand the point of this one. The state is supposed to have a monopoly on violence so if they have been authorized to shoot then they have been. But in regards to the "fog of war" I point the reader to the following:

As it turns out, political analyst, F. William Engdahl has done a bit of research on the group and gives a rundown in a recent article titled “The Rape of Ukraine; Phase Two Begins”. Here’s what he says: “The question unanswered until now is who deployed the snipers? (who shot into the crowd in Maidan Square) According to veteran US intelligence sources, the snipers came from an ultra-right-wing military organization known as Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense (UNA-UNSO).

And I'll leave you to judge for yourself.

4. Pro-Europe demonstrators shot and burned former ruling party employees Putin claimed that protesters had shot one employee of the former ruling party and set another on fire. In reality, protestors threw stones and Molotov cocktails at a Party of Regions office on 18 February, after which a fire broke out. Emergency services rescued several people but were not able to save one office worker who died in the blaze. There were no credible reports that anyone had been shot

So Putin was lying, but this guy then runs down the scenario but tries to discredit it by saying the reports were "not credible". Essentially this guy is saying that because he chooses to not believe the reports therefore Putin is a liar. No. For Putin to be lying (in this instance) he would have to know that the report was false and still present it as truth.

5. Yanukovych is the legitimate president of Ukraine When it came to the ousted Yanukovych government, Putin seemed to want to have his cake and eat it . On the one hand, the Russian president said he agreed with protesters that Ukraine's previous regimes were all "crooks" and admitted Yanukovych had no power and no political future. On the other, he still insisted Yanukovych remained the legitimate president.

Does this guy know what a coup d' etat is?

So yup. The Guardian UK thinks you're an idiot. Are you? [Update 3-5 9:26AM] Apparently someone at the Guardian decided to "fix" the headline to make it more professional. They dropped the "fibs" and replaced it with "untruths" (as is in the original html link). That does not change the fact that the information [sic] that was presented is any better with the new title.

Time Inc. Thinks You're an Idiot. Are You?

Time Magazine has posted an article on the situation in Ukraine 4 Reasons Putin Is Already Losing in Ukraine. First thing: A publication with the longevity and reputation such as Time ought NEVER, EVER post an "X things why" article. That shit belongs in tabloids and other pop culture, IQ lowering publications. Anyway lets looks at the list:

At home, this intervention looks to be one of the most unpopular decisions Putin has ever made. The Kremlin’s own pollster released a survey on Monday that showed 73% of Russians reject it. In phrasing its question posed in early February to 1,600 respondents across the country, the state-funded sociologists at WCIOM were clearly trying to get as much support for the intervention as possible: “Should Russia react to the overthrow of the legally elected authorities in Ukraine?” they asked. Only 15% said yes — hardly a national consensus.

What is this? What. Is. This?

Of course the citizens of Russia reject the notion of overthrowing the legally elected authorities in Ukraine. Of course since what we just witnessed in Ukraine was a coup, the current "authorities" in that country are not the "legal authorities". Small and minor detail I'm sure. I'm sure they learned the meaning of the word coup from the same school that the NY times did.

That seems astounding in light of all the brainwashing Russians have faced on the issue of Ukraine. For weeks, the Kremlin’s effective monopoly on television news has been sounding the alarm over Ukraine. Its revolution, they claimed, is the result of an American alliance with Nazis intended to weaken Russia.

This is brainwashing? Time REALLY thinks you're an idiot. If the Kremlin has been sounding alarms about an impending coup in Ukraine and it happens. How is that "brainwashing"? Seriously, explain that to me. Since we have Victoria Nuland ON VIDEO claiming how the US has spent $5 billion or so on "opposition parties" which include [neo] nazis; how is that "brainwashing"?

The real question here is WHO is trying to brainwash who? Are you an idiot?

The blatant misinformation and demagoguery on Russian television coverage of Ukraine seems to have pushed Russians to go online for their information.

Seriously? Someone at Time Inc. thought that this was actually acceptable journalism? I have a whole slew of posts that shows that John Kerry, Obama, the NY Times and now Time Magazine are in fact the purveyors of actual misinformation and demagoguery.

Again. Time thinks you are an idiot. Are you an idiot?

The economic impact on Russia is already staggering. When markets opened on Monday morning, investors got their first chance to react to the Russian intervention in Ukraine over the weekend, and as a result, the key Russian stock indexes tanked by more than 10%.

This is called economic warfare. Look it up. Prepare to see more of it. Ukraine is in such dire straights and as far as I know has no businesses that would have a significant impact on any fortune 100, 500 or 100 company. Ukraine could disappear as a country tomorrow and very, very few people outside the country would see any change in their ability to make a lot of money.

Are you an idiot?

Even Russia’s closest allies want no part of this. The oil-rich state of Kazakhstan, the most important member of every regional alliance Russia has going in the former Soviet space, put out a damning statement on Monday, marking the first time its leaders have ever turned against Russia on such a major strategic issue: “Kazakhstan expresses deep concern over the developments in Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry said. “Kazakhstan calls on all sides to stop the use of force in the resolution of this situation.”

What the Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry said is dead on and the desire of any sane observer of this situation. That includes Russia who I must remind the idiots at Time, removed themselves from Ossetia when the threat there was over.*ahem*

Are you an idiot?

As I've said before, the US based media has shown itself to be totally inept during the events in Ukraine. I have yet to read a single factual and unbiased article on the subject from any large mainstream publication or video news [sic] outlet. It makes it a joke when these so called news [sic] outlets talk about "state controlled media" of other countries when these same news [sic] organizations engage in the same misinformation they claim to be free of.

Shame on Time Inc. for posting that bullshit. They need to get the uneducated, misinformed tabloid writers off their staff and pay some real journalists and scholars to write for them.

Now For The IMF

The loans will be part of a larger international aid package coordinated by the U.S. and European allies, and distributed largely through the International Monetary Fund. The money is needed to close a gaping budget hole left when the Ukraine opposition deposed President Viktor Yanukovich and rejected a loan package from Moscow. Experts say the new government needs roughly $20 billion to fill the gap in the current fiscal year. In a statement released Tuesday, Lew said the U.S. and its partners will work to “provide as much support as Ukraine needs to restore financial stability and return to economic growth, if the new government implements the necessary reforms.” Obama on Monday said a speedy approval of the deal would send a strong message to Russia, which the U.S. has accused of breaching international law by seizing control of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in the wake of the coup.[My Emphasis]

In comes the International Money Fuckers with their "necessary reforms".

The NYT Thinks You're An Idiot. Are You?

Yesterday I posted the definition of a coup d'etat known commonly as a coup:

coup d'état noun \ˌkü-(ˌ)dā-ˈtä, ˈkü-(ˌ)dā-ˌ, -də-\ : a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence.

Ukraine had a democratically elected president and representatives in parliament. It had/has a constitution with specific rules on how and when elections are held. It has rules for removing a president or any other member of parliament. Ukraine had elections scheduled in 12 months. All those democratic means for removing the president were bypassed by a crowd of protestors with grievances (valid or not) that were latched upon by the US to bypass the democratic processes of removing the president. The crowd brought arms in Maidan (and were bringing much more) in order to force the government to capitulate.

Now go back and read that coup d' etat definition.

What we saw was a definitive coup. No If, ands, buts or maybes.

So why is it that the NY Times put "coup" in quotes as if that was not in fact what happened?

Let's be clear, the NY Times (as well as much of the mainstream media) thinks that the American people (among others) are complete idiots. Just yesterday they posted a piece in which Angela Merkel of Germany said that Putin was detached from reality. Who exactly is detached from reality? When a clear coup is described as anything but a coup then those actually detached from reality are Obama, Kerry, Merkel and the rest of the people in the so called "west" who wish to manipulate an uniformed public into backing their own political, military and economic aims.

What we are witnessing today is a fully naked view of the real US media-state apparatus being used to shape public opinion. Whereas the press is supposed to play the role of truth teller. Where journalists investigate all sides of a story, what we see now in plain view is the US press as the arm of the state.

What good is a "free press" if the "free press" can't even call a definitive coup a coup?

The NY Times thinks you are a total idiot. Obama thinks you are a total idiot. John "swift boat" Kerry thinks you're an idiot. Are you one?

Coup d' etat

coup d'état noun \ˌkü-(ˌ)dā-ˈtä, ˈkü-(ˌ)dā-ˌ, -də-\ : a sudden attempt by a small group of people to take over the government usually through violence.

Since it's clear that a lot of people have no clue what a coup d' etat is.

Stating The Obvious About Ukraine

Third, and perhaps most important, is the fact that the putsch government in Kiev is absolutely illegal under international law. Yanukovich, whatever negative things could be said about him and his government (and there are many), was never defeated in a democratic election. Rather, he was chased out of the country by a violent mob that has now been consecrated by the much touted “international community” (read US-EU-NATO) as the recognized government. This is a blatant violation of Ukraine’s Constitution, not to mention international law and the accepted principles of modern democracy. With Yanukovich having taken refuge in Russia, and still being the legal President of Ukraine, isn’t it fair to say that Russia is acting as the guarantor of international law, rather than its enemy?… Of course, the fundamental question with regard to all these conflicts is the question of US interests. Were there Americans directly under threat by the Gaddafi government? Certainly not. Was the US Navy in danger of being seized by hostile forces in Somalia or Nicaragua? Of course not. Were the American people under threat from Saddam Hussein or Slobodan Milosevic? Undeniably no. And yet, somehow these “interventions” were deemed acceptable, but Russia’s attempt to protect its own people and military installations in the face of a clear and present danger is a crime and breach of international law?

A point not even in the discussion in so called "free" and "independent" "western" mainstream media. How is it that such a "free", "independent" media in the US is incapable of stating these obvious facts to the citizenry? We expect the governments of the EU, Russia and the US to state whatever their political positions are. We expect those bodies to put forth whatever propaganda best suits their wants. What we should NOT expect is for so called "free" and "independent" "news" bodies to parrot those propaganda pieces as fact.

It's pretty sad that I have to read no less than 4 different news outlets in order to get actual information and I get the least information from so called "free" and "independent" news media. You'd think it would be the other way around.

Kerry On Proper Pretexts for "asserting interests"

“You just don’t invade another country on phony pretext in order to assert your interests,” John Kerry said during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press. “This is an act of aggression that is completely trumped up in terms of its pretext. It’s really 19th century behaviour in the 21st century.”

I saw Kerry make the same statement on ABC's This Week. He wasn't referring to Saddam's weapons of mass destruction either.

I do believe that speech and the war that followed occurred in the 21st century. Please do feel free to correct me on that.