Still Free

Yeah, Mr. Smiley. Made it through the entire Trump presidency without being enslaved. Imagine that.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Lead Poisoning?

Anyone who has studied IQ results for various peoples on the planet knows that Africans score quite low relative to other groups of people. Africans who are in urban areas tend to score higher than those in rural areas. Last night I came across an article in the NYT that was discussing the growing population of African immigrants in the Bronx and I saw the following:
Last year, a baby boy from Kenya came to the emergency room with lead poisoning. After a month of treatment, he did not get better, Lynette Alvarado, the director of language culture for the hospital, said.

She contacted the Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Families, and found out the source of the problem had come from Africa. The kitchen utensils brought to the United States by the boy’s parents were decorated with lead paint.

Aside from the obvious question, why is lead paint being used on utensils? The next thing we have to ask is how widespread is this practice? Lead exposure definitely leads to brain development problems.

If this practice of lead painted utensils is widespread we have to ask how this may impact IQ among Africans. The other thing would be to ask what ELSE is either painted with lead or contains lead in other forms. How much of the litter we see in many photo and videos of African towns has is contaminated with lead that is being breathed in by residents?

Friday, November 27, 2015

Rubio Aide Discusses HBD

Marco Rubio was made to defend his stance on H1B workers. The article mentioned a comment made by a Rubio aide in 2013:
In 2013 when the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza asked why Rubio’s plan contained such large-scale guest worker provisions, a Rubio aide expressed more bluntly what Rubio implied during the CNBC debate.

The Rubio aide said:“One of the problems you have with this, ‘Oh there’s American workers who are unemployed.’ There are American workers who, for lack of a better term, can’t cut it. There shouldn’t be a presumption that every American worker is a star performer. There are people who just can’t get it, can’t do it, don’t want to do it. And so you can’t obviously discuss that publicly because–.”

At which point another Rubio aide jumped in asserting, “But the same is true for the high-skilled worker.” [my underlines]

By saying that there are American workers who "can't cut it". He's not saying anything incorrect. Here's the thing though, since it is true that not all workers are equally skilled or equally intelligent, it means that as lower skilled jobs are removed from the pool of jobs, those persons who "can't do it" will be unemployable. This has implications not only for the current immigration debate, it has huge implications for the increasing automation of jobs. Since human diversity in intelligence will not be going away, what is the government going to do with the increasing number of unemployable people? If you cannot educate them (since clearly not all have the intellectual capacity to do the advanced jobs) any candidate talking about "new job training" is not addressing the problem.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Turkey Shot A Plane Down to Protect....

...All this greenery and what looks to be dirt roads.

Seriously.

There is something very wrong with this story.

The Blue Origin Team

Congrats to the Blue Origin team on their test flight and [especially] landing. Now for the readers. Notice anything "missing" from the above photo?

Was The Downing of The Russian SU-24 a Test of a No Fly Zone?

Woke up this morning. Turned on the news and saw that Turkey shot down a Russian warplane. Turkey is a NATO member and therefore the downing of the plane was as if any other NATO member had done so. You see where I'm going here? But lets look at what has been reported in the NY Times:
Turkish fighter jets on patrol near the Syrian border on Tuesday shot down a Russian warplane that Turkey said had violated its airspace, a long-feared escalation that could further strain relations between Russia and the West.
Question: While I'm certain Turkey has the right to patrol the airspace near it's border, given that ISIS doesn't have any warplanes and Turkey is not at war with Syria, why the itchy trigger finger?
In his first remarks on the incident, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia confirmed that an F-16 Turkish fighter jet had shot down the Russian jet, a Sukhoi SU-24, with an air-to-air missile. But he insisted that the Russian jet had been in Syrian airspace at the time and had never threatened Turkey’s territory.
Now lets make it a given that Putin is going to insist that his plane was on the Syrian side of the border however his claim that his plane did not pose a threat to Turkey is beyond dispute. Again, Russia is not at war with Turkey and as far as I know has no quarrel with Turkey. Therefore, once again, why the itchy trigger finger?
The Turkish military did not identify the nationality of the plane, but said in a statement on its website that its pilots fired only after repeated warnings to the other warplane. Turkey released a map that it said showed that the plane, flying east, was shot down as it transited a narrow finger of Turkish land less than 2 miles wide that juts down into Syria.

“The aircraft entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yaylidag, in the southeastern Hatay province,” the statement read. “The plane was warned 10 times in the space of 5 minutes before it was taken down.”

Read this carefully. Turkey is saying "unidentified plane" as if we do not know that there are Russian planes flying over Syria. I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that I bet that the Russian planes are NOT unmarked. I call a total lie on Turkey not being able to identify the plane.

Secondly, we are talking about a strip of Turkish land that is two miles wide that is wedged into Syria. Let me put this in perspective. I can run 2 miles in under 13 minutes. A professional runner can run that distance in about 8 minutes. A car moving at 60 MPH will cover that distance in 2 minutes. A plane moving at 200 MPH can cover that distance in less than 30 seconds. Turkey is saying that a plane on a legitimate mission against a warring party on the ground posed a threat to a 2 mile strip of land that takes all of 30 seconds to traverse? Really?

And this plane was warned 10 times in the space of 5 minutes? It doesn't take 5 minutes to traverse this distance? How did a pilot warn a plane for 5 minutes unless that plane was not in Turkish space at the time of the warnings?

A Turkish official repeated that, saying, “In line with the military rules of engagement, the Turkish authorities repeatedly warned an unidentified aircraft that they were 15 kilometers or less away from the border.”
15KM is about 8 miles. 8 miles away? How does Turkey get to warn a plane, flying in Syrian airspace that it will be shot down? Why was Turkey so willing to kill a Russian pilot for allegedly flying over 2 miles of land that takes less than 30 seconds to traverse?
Tensions had been building recently over Russian bombing in the area. Last week, Turkey summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrey G. Karlov, to discuss Ankara’s concerns over the bombing of Turkmen villages in northern Syria and called for an immediate end to the Russian military operation close to the Turkish border, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

“It was stressed that the Russian side’s actions were not a fight against terror, but they bombed civilian Turkmen villages and this could lead to serious consequences,” the statement said.

Ankara has long called for the protection of Turkmens, who are of Turkish descent, in Syria.

Aha! Turkey has designs on some of Syria's property. We have seen during the US 2016 debates that there has been calls for no fly zones and claims that Russia is bombing civilians and has no regard for US backed "rebels". The US doesn't want to confront Russia and therefore, IMO, Turkey is being used to test the waters. How Russia responds will set the tone for the future conflict in the region. Even IF the Russian plane was about to on was transiting the two mile strip of land, I cannot see how a state that does not wish to start a war would shoot down such a plane without evidence of some action being taken, about to be taken, or had been taken against it's property. particularly given the situation after Paris, this looks very much like support of ISIS rather than against ISIS. It is all VERY BAD timing.

Remember that if there is no response by Russia, Turkey will be emboldened to be more assertive in that area and may in fact try to claim that it will act in protection of people within the sovereign state of Syria. If Russia takes on Turkey, NATO will have to get involved per its pact. And ISIS will be having a good laugh.

In the realm of unlikely but not totally unexpected: A Turkish plane finds itself downed in Syrian space after "being warned repeatedly of being within 15km of the Syrian border. Putin however is a pretty masterful player on the international scene, I'm sure this scenario is an amateur move to him. I expect something far more devious.

Monday, November 23, 2015

MPesa

Was this on 60 minutes last night.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Meanwhile In Nigeria....

Two female suicide bombers launched a deadly attack that killed an estimated 15 people at a packed mobile phone market in Kano, Nigeria, on Wednesday. Kano is the largest city in Northern Nigeria. The explosion ripped through Farm Centre market just after 4:00pm local time and comes only a day after a terrorist attack killed 32 and wounded 80 in the Northeast city of Yola.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/11/18/female-suicide-bombers-strike-nigeria-second-mass-casualty-attack-two-days/
At least 105 soldiers of the 157 Battalion, including their commanding officer, are feared missing after they came under intense attack from Boko Haram insurgents at Gudunbali, Borno State, on Wednesday, military sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201511190671.html

Clearly Nigeria needs more flowers and candles.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

"And A Little Child Shall Lead Them"

So there's this video floating about where a "French" man and his son "discuss" the recent happenings in Paris. I put "French" in quotes because the man and his son are clearly Asian. He can speak all the French he wants but his ancestors are not The Gauls. But that's not the point here. The point here is how the son in this video is the onliest one speaking with any common sense. Check the transcript:
Father: No, don't worry, we don't have to move. France is our home.

Boy: But what about the baddies, Dad?

Father: There are baddies everywhere. There are bad guys everywhere.

So far so good. Yes there are baddies everywhere. You don't move because of them. What DO you do?
Boy: They've got guns. They can shoot us because they're very, very bad, Daddy.

Father: They've got guns but we have flowers.

Say what? You have WHAT?
Boy: They've got guns. They can shoot us because they're very, very bad, Daddy.

Father: They've got guns but we have flowers.

Sigh. This wussified so and so. The proper response to this is, "we have guns too son." Meaning "we will defend ourselves." Even the kid knows that the statement is bullshit.
Boy: But flowers don't do anything. They're for... they're for... they're for...

Father: Look, everyone is laying flowers here.

This kid, not yet brainwashed into believing up is down and left is right, knows that flowers ain't shit to a gun. He knows flowers are not a means of defense. See how quick the father tries to cover up his clear cowardice. Look! Flowers!
Father: Look, everyone is laying flowers here.

Boy: Yes.

Father: It's to fight against the guns.

Boy: Is it for protection?

Father: That's right.

Boy: And the candles too?

Father: They're so we don't forget the people who have gone.

Boy: Oh. The flowers and candles are there to protect us?

Father: Yes.

Journalist: Do you feel better now?

Boy: Yes, I feel better.

The boy is saying he feels better because he WANTS to believe that the grown ups aren't lying to him. But they are. HE KNOWS that flowers and candles don't protect anyone. This is why he made his statements earlier. And here's the thing, WHEN the next attack happens this boy will look his father dead in his face and ask about the flowers and candles and the father will know he is full of shit, but will lie to his kid again. This is what liberal socialization is about. Lying to children and not preparing them for the real world. Leaving them defenseless against those who would harm them. This guy is lucky his kid didn't ask him why the policemen have guns.

I'm certain I'm not the only one who noticed this.

RE:Dr. Ben Carson: The Most Dangerous Man in Politics

When I first read this Huffington Post piece I honestly thought it was the work of a black writer. When I was done I scrolled to the top looking to see "who was this Negro here?" But it wasn't. And that annoyed me. Much. First let me get the following out of the way: There are large portions of the piece that I agree with. I do not think Carson is qualified to be president and it has nothing at all to do with his past with a hammer and knife. Nor is it due to inconsistencies or outright lies about offers of scholarships to West Point since I have seen many a President, Senator, Congressperson, Secretary of State, etc. lie on way more substantial matters. So for example I agree with this general statement:
He has compared Obamacare and abortion to slavery. He believes the great pyramids were grain silos.
I'll throw in his complete non-understanding of the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution. The latter being a major issue due to his alleged expertise in the field of medicine. So on these grounds I agree with the author. Where I depart from the author is the typical "black conservative straw man" arguments.
Carson's popularity among white and black conservatives is a dire threat to racial and social justice. Like Clarence Thomas and other black conservatives, Carson advances the myth that we live in a post-racist society.
While I cannot speak for Justice Thomas I know that Carson does not believe we are in a post-racial society. In fact this meme actually started up by left leaning writers. Carson's position is that while racism definitely exists, it does not excuse what Dr. Claude Anderson referred to as "Inappropriate behavior" exhibited by too many black folks. Carson believes, as I do, that black people are not children and should be held to the same standards of behavior and expectations (academically, socially, etc.) as every other race of people. To think otherwise is to believe in inherent black inferiority. Because if black people are capable of the same things that every other race is doing, then they should be expected todo so. So no, we don't live in a post-racial society, but we are also not living in "back of the bus", "get out of town by sundown", slave patrols and manumission papers times either.

As for oft maligned Thomas I have already pointed out that he has turned out to be one of America's most prophetic voices as it pertains to "high tech" lynchings in the form of crybullying as seen from many left leaning persons and groups. I wrote:

This is of course what Thomas meant when he said:

it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you.

The events of the past few years would justify modifying this statement to read:

it is a high-tech lynching for uppity [straight, generally male, generally Christian], who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to [the new] order, this is what will happen to you.

Isn't this what Steve Nelson is engaging in here? Rather than keep his critique of Carson in the realm of policy, where it belongs, he takes it to dictating what a black man (or woman) SHOULD be thinking. How is this any different than the old "We know what is best for the Nigros" of days past? How is this any different than the teachers that tell/told black boys how they don't want to be doctors because he's good with his hands? In essence Steve in engaging in the well worn "tell negroes what's best for them" habits that have been a hallmark of whites in America.
Aside from embellishments, his genuine rise from poverty to prestige is precisely the kind of narrative that keeps the foot of oppression on the necks of black men and women.
Look at this twisted, upside down vision Steve presents. It is OPPRESSIVE to use yourself as an example to black boys if you overcame disadvantages and bad attitudes to become a super successful neurosurgeon. It is OPPRESSIVE to tell black children that it is better to shun the company of people who aren't about shit, to get and stay in your books, to keep your eye on the long term game, to be respectful of your parents and elders. Better you look at, oh I dont' know...Rappers! Seriously, how does a white man get away with publishing such bullshit? But wait there is more:
His "up by the bootstraps" story is the very rare exception that allows conservatives to deny the rule. If he made it, anyone can. Carson is like a shipwreck's lone survivor who is used to argue that the shoals of injustice don't exist.
Whoah, That many, many, many black folks have overcome circumstances, racism included, to become extremely successful is "very rare"? And it's the 'rule" that black folks can't overcome? That's the RULE? What did I say about having the same expectations of black folks as is expected from every other race? Exactly. Essentially Steve here is saying that as a rule, black folks are failures and that they/we are so incapable of confronting and beating racism (without the help of good white folks). Why doesn't think guy come out and say that Black folks are, as a rule, inferior to everyone else? I won't even get into his "lone survivor" theory and his disappearing of successful black folks that he doesn't know about. And let me be clear, I'm not talking about Oprah successful. If you are self sufficient, taking care of children you created you are successful. One doesn't need to be a neurosurgeon, lawyer or whathaveyou.
Donald Trump trots out "political correctness" whenever diversity or racism is mentioned, but at least we can identify the source: a rich, white, clueless boor who insults everyone. When Carson calls anti-racist work "political correctness," how might one challenge him?
Count me on Donald's side on this one. Often left claims of racism are bogus or way out of proportion to the actual offense (see Mizzou and Yale). Just like Clarence Thomas warned. It is PC and you would be clueless, to use Steve's words, to not recognize it. It's the kind of PC bullshit that claims that black lives are under more threat by police than by other black people. Doesn't square with the facts. In dissident right circles this is referred to "hate facts". Steve hates hate facts so he rather try to sully the character of the messengers.
When Carson says black folks are playing the "victim card," what can be said?
Because black folks don't play victim cards? Ever?

Lastly let me address Steve's [mis]use of a Malcolm X quote:

In 1963, shortly after Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, the more radical Malcolm X warned about black men whose stature within the white community afforded a level of privilege, a phenomenon going all the way back to slavery. Such a man, he said, "doesn't identify himself with your plight whatsoever," and slows progress toward racial justice.
Increasingly the black with stature "within the white community" is the black liberal. Increasingly the black liberal is advocating and creating environments that are detrimental to the black community. Black feminists join white feminists (and get paid) to say things like all men are rapists and must be taught to not rape. As if by making such statements they don't endanger black men who are already seen, due to their own disproportionate violent behavior, as dangerous.

They advocate education reform that allows black boys and girls to act a total fool in school without fear of repercussion.

They assault democratic ideals such as freedom of speech and association by getting campuses to create and enforce speech codes to protect their feelings. In doing so these people have pushed those of us who have different, and often moderate, views out of the realm of "respectability". They shut down real, fact based debate and leave that ground open to those who are far more extreme. So IF you think Carson is way out in right field, then the blame is with the left who created the environment.

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Not The First Time

I was reading this piece in The Guardian about AI and robots and noticed a comment that needed addressing:
However, without rethinking the relationship between work and society, the result could be a growing disparity between economic winners and losers.

“We are in danger, for the first time in history, of creating a large number of people who are not needed,” he said. “The question should be, what sort of economy do you want, and to meet what human needs?”

Actually this is not the first time in history where a large number of people became "unnecessary" economically. When the United States ended slavery and picking cotton was mechanized, African slaves became unnecessary. Although many Africans filled a niche in the auto industry and other relatively low skilled labour areas, as industrial work disappeared African-Americans were hit extremely hard.

Yesterday I posted about the pimp trade in Milwaukee where it was stated that less than half of the adult black male population was "formally employed". Indeed if we want to know what is likely to happen as people are no longer needed or wanted in the "formal" work market, all you have to do is look at various "inner cities". Here's the second thing:

Beijia Ma, the report’s lead author, said that over the past 200 years and more, societies have eventually found ways of turning technological developments to their advantage.

She said the best advice for people fearing the rise of the robots is to polish up their skills. “It’s not meant to be a doom and gloom report: one of the ways we think people could help themselves here is through education.”

The people so motivated and intelligent enough to be [currently] out of reach of AI, will have already done so. John Derbyshire has a piece on "magic dirt". This idea that simply placing people in certain places will make them perform better. The same thing applies here. These people who keep saying that people can re-educate themselves into jobs that AI doesn't do, clearly do not understand how intelligence works or is distributed in any given population.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Why The White Sorority Doesn't Want Black Members

The last post came from Amren which had the following image. I didn't see it in the linked piece but I'm posting it here:

I want to draw the reader's attention to point one. Casting aside the "y'all racist" lets answer the question: There are 3 major "Black" Greek Letter Organizations to which African-American women can join. WHY would they want to join another type of non-academic organization (I purposely left out Scholar societies. Now I think this is a question best directed to black women (and men) who did not grow up in a predominantly black community and were likely one of the only black people in their elementary schools and therefore have developed tastes and affinities that skew heavily white. The Ghost is not your "average negro" by any means, but wouldn't have even CONSIDERED a non black organization to join. But having seen other people who grew up under very different circumstances, I can see how such a question would be puzzling in the least.

"Thug Should Not Be Associated With a Black Person"

This is a case of a person not realizing how glassy the house they live in is.

And not to leave the ladies out:

And a wild card:

Nope. Never associated with a black person. Ever.

She called for more education on “cultural intelligence,” and supported screening of SMU events.
I call for someone to tell her to STFU. [Update!]
He objected to the use of an image of a black man with glasses that reflected stacks of money and black women dancing provocatively.
Because black men ought not get paid? Because black men should be ashamed to show they are paid? Really? Explain this to me.

Because Black women can't dance provocatively if they so choose? Because black men cannot like seeing black women dancing provocatively if they so choose? Look, if Fisher isn't into displaying his wealth and doesn't appreciate "a girl that can fill a pair of jeans" (quick! Name that song.) That's his business. Just as I don't think anyone should dictate to Fisher how to display his wealth and whether he should look at women dancing, I don't think he should be passing judgment on those who do. Just don't participate.

Hub of Human Trafficking: Underground Sex Trade Thrives in Milwaukee

From The Guardian

Unpublished data reported to the Guardian by a local trafficking prevention project, Proactive Outreach for the Health of Sexually Exploited Youth, counted 133 minors who had been trafficked or were suspected of having been trafficked or exploited over the course of 2014.

The youngest child to have been trafficked between 2010 and 2012 was 12, according to a 2013 review of Milwaukee police records by the Milwaukee Homicide Review Division, while most of the 77 young people identified as trafficking victims in that period were between 15 and 17. The vast majority were African American...

While young people face obstacles being heard and supported, O’Leary said, Milwaukee’s “embedded” pimp culture throws up other barriers to escaping it. “In the same way that there are cop bars, there are pimp bars, and people know it.”...

O’Leary described a thriving underground economy, in which people depend on different aspects of the sex trade directly or indirectly. Providing security, driving people, and doing hair for women who work at clubs were all kinds of informal employment O’Leary listed that can be enmeshed with the sex trade. Likewise, when pimps are brought to court, O’Leary said that their supporters will often fill half of the room, which can intimidate a victim’s family and friends

And now comes the kicker of the piece. Now I want you to keep in mind the underlined section above.
Wisconsin was recently found to have the highest African American unemployment rate in the nation. Fewer than half of the adult African American men in Milwaukee, a majority black city, are formally employed.

Adding further to a dismal economic picture, In These Times reported that the city had lost 80,000 jobs in manufacturing since the 1970s while median wages dropped by nearly 22% in the decade between 1999 and 2010.

And this here:
State Representative LaTonya Johnson of Milwaukee has introduced a “safe harbor” bill that would decriminalize sex work for minors, but she acknowledged that even if the bill were to pass, obtaining the funding needed to put the necessary social and health services in place would be “an uphill battle”.
Lets work our way backwards. Less that one half of the adult males are "formally employed" meaning that less than 1/2 of the adult black male population is engaged in work that generates tax revenue. LaTonya Johnson thinks it would be an "uphill battle" to get funding. Where would this funding come from? WHO would this funding come from? Certainly not out of the pockets of the less than 1/2 the adult black male population that is formally employed. What about the informally employed? Well apparently a good number of them are the cause of the problems.

Backing up we see something very sad. The community can create jobs that supports PIMPING but cannot create jobs that provides for stable families and neighborhoods free of crime. Think about that. It may be the case that pimping is a (the?) major job creator in this town. How sad is that?

by this idea of addressing and changing the deep, deep economic inequality that exists in our system. We address it by actually reducing the incidence of sexual violence.”
But WHY is there a "deep economic inequality" in the first place? Lets ask the Garvey question:

Where is your steamship line? Where is your factory? Where are your men of big affairs? Is not the "deep economic inequality" largely to do with the lack of creation by the residents of that area? Factories don't just fall out the sky. Jobs in those factories do not appear out of thin air. People had to come up with an idea, finance it and manage it. If the means of addressing "deep economic inequality" means getting non-black folks to "create jobs" for black folks then that is an admission of inequality of ability.

This is the reason I wrote the piece for Mayweather. It's time for black millionaires and billionaires to start putting money into black communities. And I'm not talking about shelters and non-profit entities and all that non wealth building BS. If black folks cannot or will not employ themselves (Ahem Tidal. Ahem Harpo....) then for those who can see, we look mighty foolish.