CECIL THE LION AND MISPLACED PRIORITIES IN THE WEST

The death of Cecil the Lion is a terrible story but it has been completely overreported far outside of its significance and the viral storm it has created is yet another example of the misplaced priorities of the West. Imagine if people put as much as effort into caring about world hunger or war or for that matter when a back man or woman is executed by US police forces. Imagine if people put as much effort into helping a homeless person get on their feet then buying stuff for their cats or dogs. But that's the West morally bankrupt and uncaring about its fellow man. When Iread someone say I care about animals than people or I relate better to animals than people, I just think you need to see a psychiatrist.

The whole thing becomes ludicrous. Was trolling the #CeciltheLion hashtag on Twitter today

All US currency should be changed so it bears the face of Cecil the Lion.

Cecil the Lion's radio collar is going to go on a tour of US cities so people can touch it. 

President selfie will be speakng out on Cecil "He was like my son" 

All houses of worship be they Christian Muslim Hindu etc. should be forced to teach the life story and teaching of Cecil the Lion.

The US flag should be changed so it bears the likeness of Cecil the Lion.

Cecil the Lion's corpse has suddenly claimed the lead in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Ted Cruz wants a meeting. 

True story - Cecil the Lion once saved a family of 12 from a burning building.

True story - Cecil the Lion invented a cure for cancer but was killed before he could share it with people

 True story - Cecil the Lion was the one who found Bin Laden

Cecil the Lion's radio collar is going to go on a tour of US cities so people can touch it.  It has healing powers - the blind can see, the crippled can walk. 

Cecil the Lion's body should lie in the capital rotunda for 30 days so people can pay respects and then it should be buried in Arlington Cemetary.

I am changing my facebook photo so it is Cecil the Lion and I am going to keep it that way for the next two years like I did for Steve Jobs.

CULTURE OF VOLUME BY EAST INDIA YOUTH

CULTURE OF VOLUME the second album by William Doyle who records as East India Youth is a significant improvement on his debut TOTAL STRIFE FOREVER. The main reason being that while STRIFE was almost half instrumentals, only three of CONTROL's tracks are.

The rest showcase Doyle's strengths - An 80's synth pop sound driven by slightly noisier NIN/Eno type eruptions and equalized by his pretty vocals which remind me of a mellower Marc Almond.

Faster tunes like End Result and Beaming White really get his groove on while the gorgeous Carousel bring to mind the Soft Cell track Youth or some of Erasure's ballads.

The facelessness behind this music, that is the lack of the cornball over emoting and big cheesy melodic shifts of the new romantic movement of the 80's, is neither overly good or bad. Doyle would be better served by slightly honing his songcraft although CULTURE shows excellent growth.

I hope his next record is nothing but songs - no instrumentals or noodling weirdness.

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT CURTIS MAYFIELD

Been listening to a bit of Curtis Mayfield recently. Not big fan of his prior band the Impressions but Mayfield’s early to mid 70’s solo records and movie soundtracks are superb especially his debut record CURTIS. Every song a stand out – Move On Up, The Other Side of Town, (Don’t Worry)If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Gonna Go.

The string arrangements in particular are razor sharp and every song here has a large instrumental presence. Mayfield lyrically blends socio-conscious lyrics with faith in the service of good (perhaps from going to black churches as a kid) and a love that is expressed in more romantic rather than vulgar terms.

The subsequent albums ROOTS, BACK TO THE WORLD, and SWEET EXORCIST is Mayfield locking into a formula started with CURTIS. They are less successful versions of his debut record.  However, EXORCIST is a consistent record whose immaculate production makes every song a realized moment. WORLD finds Mayfield in a slightly looser frame of mind. If I Were Only a Child Again is one of his greatest songs. 

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE AMERICA TODAY is maybe Curtis Mayfield’s most underrated record because every song is slow in speed, no “Move On Up” here but it is superb - really thick wah wah guitar, clavinet, brass arrangements, and complex melodies, intelligent lyrics, and Mayfield’s beautiful falsetto. Not as immediate as CURTIS but an excellent, clever record. 

The solo record Mayfield is most famous for is the soundtrack to the film SUPERFLY but soundtracks have limitations. Even the best soundtrack's primary focus is the movie it is accompanying not the artistic intent of the musician(s). Mayfield imprints his style and lyrical subject matter here and there are a number of striking songs but I prefer his individual solo albums. They are more about who he is and what he envisioned musically.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL, US PRISONERS IN IRAN, JONATHAN POLLARD

I have always said that I could care less if Iran has a nuclear weapon (might help bring a balance of power to the Mid East). Also I am not convinced that Iran is necessarily as close to developing one as people say. I don't see the evidence (for one thing Iran does not have enough highly enriched uranium. I guess this is a good deal. Anything that stops war is good but I also think the next president will likely rattle the sword again - Iran is a convenient enemy and America always needs an enemy. I don't blame Iran for being hostile and feeling paranoid about US intentions and feeling like they need something like a nuclear device.. American imperialism stuck them with the Shah, a tyrant, for decades by engineering the coup of the democratically elected Dr Mossadegh for the crime of supporting the sharing of Iran's wealth with its people. Also Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranians during the Iran-Iraq War. These weapons were given to the Iraqis by the US (as the US gave weapons to Iran as well). And let's face it as long as Israel has the fourth or fifth largest nuclear arsenal in the world and uses chemical weapons like phosphorus on the imprisoned population of Gaza, this is all one big joke.



One of the main criticism I have been hearing the last few days is the deal does not address four American prisoners being kept in Iran. Robert Levinson is a CIA contractor who was arrested while seemingly on a sabotage mission. I say "arrested" but it's not really known who has Levinson - if it's the Iranian authorities or a private group. In other words, he was a spy trying to destroy Iranian infrastructure. How do we know this? The CIA paid his wife 2.5 million dollars so she won't sue and force them to release the details on what he was doing to the public (Most likely damaging oil pipelines and machinery ). Jason Rezian and Akmir Hekmati are both US citizens of Iranian descent - Rezian was a journalist and Hekmati an ex-solder on vacation. Most likely they are spies too, they have been accused of espionage although they have not been outed by the USA as such yet. The last detainee, was a Christian missionary Saeed Abedini who was arrested while trying to convert Iranians. Iran like many Muslim countries has an anti-proselytization law which is common knowledge. If you go to a country and knowingly break the laws of that country, you should not be accorded any sympathy. I say let them all rot especially Levinson the terrorist.

And speaking of prisoners, Obama's gesture to placate Israel by releasing Jonathan Pollard., an unstable drug addict who also attempted to sell information to China, Pakistan, and apartheid South Africa (one of Israel's greatest friends)) and whose main motivator as much as love of Israel was money is shameful and also pointless. The Zionists are happy making Obama a public enemy for Jews even though he bends over to kiss their ass - Most Zionist Jews are racists as well I've found.  Releasing Pollard won't change that.

THREE REASONS WHY ZIONISM IS THE MOST DANGEROUS IDEOLOGY IN THE WORLD TODAY PLUS FOUR WAYS TO COMBAT THE INFLUENCE OF ZIONISM IN THE UNITED STATES

Watching Israel pull the leashes of their American lapdogs to get them to oppose the president's Iran deal is disgusting. They are traitors and should be tried as such.

Zionism is far more dangerous to the world than Islamic fundamentalism. It is in fact the most dangerous ideology in the world today. Here are three reasons why.

1.) Zionists have unique influence in the United States. Many Zionist Jews serve in the government and the legislature in numbers that far exceed their numbers in the general population. They are all pro Israel to the last man and manipulate US foreign policy in a way that is not helpful to anybody - The USA, the world at large, and increasingly Israel itself. (I am leaving out the influence of Zionists as the head of large banks and corporations as well as newspapers and television stations as that should really be addressed in a separate blog entry)

2.) Zionism is a supremacist hate philosophy in which those that are not Jewish are deemed to be inferior and either treated as such or lied to and misled. One only has to see how little value Palestinian lives mean to Israelis to show this. Zionist history is one long story of mass murder of Arab civilians and land theft Their holy books are full of this type of teaching and Zionism takes it one step further framing it in a land stealing supremacist Nazi like ideology.  The Goyim as cattle and slave to the Zionist.

3.) The Zionist nation Israel has nuclear weapons. They are willing to risk a world war with Iran and perhaps Russia to keep control of the Middle East. There is a lot of evidence as exposed by released Pentagon memos that ISIS started out as anti-Syrian force trained by both the USA and Israel.

How can the influence of the destructive philosophy of Zionism be minimized in America?

This is not my writing, my ideas but I agree with all four points here - How to stop the influence of the foreign government of Israel in America

1.) Require AIPAC to register as a foreign agent and thus cut off their political contributions.

2.) US citizens with dual citizenship (espc. Zionist Jews like many in AIPAC )must choose one or the other. if they remain Israeli citizens they must not be allowed constitutionally to hold office, nor be allowed to vote.

3.) Zionist Jews who choose US citizenship must sign a loyalty oath based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1953, which requires renunciation of allegiance to a foreign country. With this in place AIPAC could no longer draft 'Israel first' legislation for all their bought hacks to pass.

4.) All synagogues issuing appeals to financially support Israel must also register as foreign agents or lose their tax deduction status. No church is allowed to do this much less plot the overthrow of governments and establish a country of their own through theft, fraud, murder and war.

THE MOST IMPORTANT UNDER REPORTED STORY OF 2015

The most important ignored story of 2015 is Russia and China setting up their own economic alliance incorporating a whole host of other entwined organizations and countries such as India, Venezuela, Iran. The last two nations also seeking protection from US imperialism.

Russia and China will also be setting up their own version of the World Bank, the NDB, that will use the Chinese renimbi so it will be essentially a separate economic system in competition with US banker hegemony.

This will also provide a counterpoint to a unipolar world. If the Iran deal falls through either because of Republican intransigence in the legislative process or the election of a less friendly presidential administration in 2016 be they Republican neo-conservative or a neo-liberal like Hillary Clinton, a Russia/China alliance will protect them from America belligerence.

Behind this belligerence is Zionism and Israel. This new alliance will of course be less friendly with Israel, in fact will be diametrical ly opposed to their goals of domination  and control of the Middle East. China recently announced it would not allow its workers to work on projects within the occupied territories particularly new settlements.

A force, an alliance, in the world more on the side of working people, on the side of countries to pick their own leaders without outside interference, is desperately needed. This agreement is banking and militarial (All the participating countries will be part of a joint military organization like NATO) but also transportation - High speed rail connecting the countries of Eurasia.

And last but definitely not least will develop political power and clout through access to natural resources that member states share for example Iran's oil and Russia's natural gas.

A unipolar world where the dominating force is predatory capitalism hiding behind terms like austerity which is really just cutting programs for poor people in order to cut taxes for rich people coupled with the tendency of the USA to invade other countries it does not like or agree with or undermining democratically elected governments (like those in the Ukraine and Honduras) with coups - This is why the world needs this new alliance. Hurray for Russia and China!

More about the specifics here  http://www.thenation.com/article/the-geopolitical-big-bang-you-probably-dont-see-coming/  

         

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, EXAGGERATED LANGUAGE, AND THE NEXT ICE AGE

The term "climate change denier" is hyperbolic and ridiculous and should never be used by anyone wanting to be taken seriously. It equates climate change with holocaust denial through suggestive language and like a lot of the discussion of climate change from those who believe in it (and I do not consider it settled science) it is so over the top.

I believe that climate change is real. That is I belive pollution obviously mad made has effected climate but what I don't believe in because I don't think this has been proven is that we are on the verge of the apocalypse. Many of the most alarmist predictions on rising sea levels and retreating pack ice have been proven wrong.

The problem is climate change was hijacked as a political issue by unscrupulous politicians like Al Gore and by Hollywood inhabitants seeking to push their own careers (too many to name).

So what should should be done about climate change? Well there's a bigger problem in my opinion and that is the next ice age. If past patterns of ice age time spans, their start, their period of existence, are predictors, we are due for one.

Winters are getting shorter but they are also much more intense. - Colder more extreme weather that does not last as long as past winters. Climate change and ice age are bumping up against each other.

Not much can be done about that. I do think America's over reliance on everyone owning an automobile instead of building better public transportation systems including rail lines, subways etc. is a problem whether or not you subscribe to ice age or climate change as the bigger problem.

One thing countries should do is avoid dumb deals like the Kyoto Accords in which countries like China and India avoid doing anything serious under the pretense of being an "emerging economy'" while the West bears the brunt of change that may also end up costing jobs for working people.

Climate change should not be used as a tool to disable the power of unions and weaken the rights of working people....A seemingly liberal issue used to further conservative goals.

For me, climate change exists, it's real but it's not the end of the world. It should not be a top priority for the US government. A bigger priority, something that damages both the environment and also humanity, is war. I would like to see more of an emphasis on ending conflict and on the drawing down of the American empire.

ELECTION 2016 - WHERE BLACK LIVES MATTER FAILED AS A POLITICAL FORCE (BERNIE SANDERS)

I support Black Lives Matter. I believe and have written about on my blog in the past that we are living in a time where modern technology makes it impossible to hide police brutality itself a product of overpolicing, lingering racism, and a paranoid militarization of local police forces. Too much deference to cops and a reluctance to pursue criminal case against them is also part of the problem.

However, the protest against Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley at Net Roots Nation seemed silly and counterproductive. This especially true in both the attitude and treatment of Sanders who was an activist for civil rights in the 1960's marching with MLK and even getting arrested . While I am not a fan of Sanders due to his love of Israel and other hawkish foreign policy stances and his conservative views on gun control, he is unimpeachable on these issues.

The Black Lives Matter protesters that I saw interrupting and being rude to people whose support they should be attempting to coordinate with came across like spoiled,entitled children not serious activists interested in positive social change.

In addition, the response of the Black Lives organization to Hillary Clinton's polished, focus tested statement two days later was lacking. Hillary Clinton was not present at the net roots nation event but has a terrible record on these type of issues as I wrote about here http://rgdinmalaysia.blogspot.com/2015/06/hillary-clinton-and-confederate-flag.html
While Sanders was marching for civil rights, Hillary was a Goldwater girl, supporting Barry Goldwater. However, the Clintons are the ultimate political opportunists. I fully expect by the time the first Democratic debate rolls around, Hillary will take a moment of silence at the beginning and stand with her fist in the air in a back power salute like the athletes at the 1968 Olympics.

If Black Lives Matter really wants to be take seriously, they should protest at Republican events as well as Ms. Clinton's campaign stops. After all, many of the roots of today's problem with overpolicing started in Bill Clinton's administration.

ELECTION 2016 - THE BIDEN ALTERNATIVE, IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY DINNER, JOHN KASICH'S SECRET?

1.) The fact that they are resurrecting talk of Joe Biden running indicates the Democrat Party leadership knows Hillary Clinton is a candidate with a lot of negatives and despite a feeling of inevitability, there are a lot of doubts about her in a long campaign. I remember reading about the same kind of doubts in 1999/2000 with Al Gore when his primary opponent Bill Bradley was endorsed by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Bob Kerrey, Robert Reich and other prominent Democrats. .

2.) Watched the five Democratic candidates give speeches at the Iowa Democratic dinner. With the exception of Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb, none of them mentioned foreign policy (Chafee is kind of like Dennis Kucinich - Right on everything but too "out there" to get a foothold and while Webb is right about Iraq and Libya he is wrong about Iran)). However, the influence of Bernie Sanders is they all now talk about income equality. I actually think Martin O'Malley does a better job of addressing the inequality issue than Sanders. He is a much more organized and lucid speaker. Clinton looks really uncomfortable talking about this issue - Not coming from the heart . The one thing that struck me was that Chafee, O'Malley, Sanders, and Webb are all on record opposing the Iraq War before it happened. Hillary Clinton supported it. There are are many reasons why Hillary should never be president but that by itself should preclude her ever running for president (or any office for that matter). In the greater sense, I think there is a real opener for an anti-empire anti-war candidate in either of the two parties 2016.

3.) Re: John Kasich's presidential run which is supposed to be announced next week. This is a bit gossipy I know but interesting in the context of where the Republican party is in 2015. In 1996 while Kasich was Budget Committee Chairman in the House of Representatives, Bob Dole by his own admission came very very close to picking him as his VP nominee as did Bush in 2000. Bush also considered him for both Budget Director and Treasury Secretary but passed. Kasich considered running for the presidency in 2000 as well but after attending a few events ultimately didn't do it. Why? There used to be a persistent rumor, big enough that CNN's Inside Politics did a segment which I remember watching that Kasich is either gay or bisexual. He lived with his male chief of staff through his time in the House until his very sudden marriage in 1997 (after Dole didn't select him). Also a lot of sightings of him and personal anecdotes - nothing substantial but perhaps enough to spook potential bosses. It could be that Kasich, now the governor of Ohio, feels comfortable enough to ignore those stories in a more open America, maybe they weren't true to begin with but you got to consider presidential vetters go deep into a person's past. Interesting to see homophobes like Huckabee and Santorum address this if it becomes a story and/or if a Kasich campaign catches fire. A much worse story is that Kasich worked for Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crash.

WHY REDDIT WAS RIGHT TO GET RID OF ELLEN PAO

I am not a big Reddit contributor more of a lurker in some of the sub reddits about political philosophy and comic books but I do appreciate Reddit especially its freedom and its ability to provide a place where all kinds of people can interact with each other.

I think Reddit made the right choice in getting rid of Ellen Pao as their interim CEO. She was not up to the job and many of the business decisions she made were bad. The arguments she was let go due to sexism seem to me silly at best.

In particular,

1.) Pao was only interim CEO. She was never confirmed. By its very title, that is a temporary position.

2.) Pao's efforts to "clean-up" Reddit by tackling hate speech and other problems failed miserably. In addition to stifling free speech, her efforts were very haphazard - For example groups making fun of fat people were banned but those making fun of skinny people were allowed to stay. Also very little crackdown on Islamophobic postings.

3.)The firing of Victoria Taylor was a travesty. She did an excellent job with the AMA events and overall was one of the good guys at Reddit. Pao may not have been directly responsible for her firing but she is CEO so the buck must stop somewhere.

4.) A number of the corporate decisions she made were questionable at best especially eliminating salary negotiation ability for employees under the ridiculous premise that this is sexist..

Pao's sexual harassment suit against her prior employer Kleiner Perkins seemed to me totally bogus and without merit. The court's decision was right in that case as there seemed to be no evidence to back up her version of events. In addition, her husband is a grifter who has his own history of filing bogus lawsuits as well as running a Ponzi scheme.

The irony of Ellen Pao's lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins is she felt they deliberately sidelined her when she could have been a great manager. When she got the chance to run Reddit she did a terrible job. Hopefully she won't blame this on others like she blamed everything else in her past.

Reddit has great potential. Here's hoping they can find someone to maximize it.

WHY I DO NOT LIKE SERENA WILLIAMS

In the wake of Serena Williams winning her 21st grand slam and being the current holder of all four grand slams (although not in the same calendar year), I have noticed again a wave of articles condemning all of us who are not fans of the Williams sisters as racists among other pejoratives.

I have no problem saying that when Serena ties Steffi Graf's record of 22 grand slam titles and likely surpasses it particularly if she does this in the same calendar year that she is the greatest female player in history (although I still think Graf was a better mover around the court and had an even more surgical forehand).

But I still don't like her.

The main reason for this is she is a terrible sport refusing to acknowledge her competitors, attempting to physically intimidate them, insulting them. Tennis is not boxing. One of things that makes tennis great there is still a degree of decorum. It's not racism to ask the number one player in the world to show a little class.

It's not racism to criticize Serena Williams for threatening a much smaller lineswoman with violence at the 2009 US Open (which she should have been at least suspended for at least).

It's not racism to criticize Serena Williams for attempting to hinder Samantha Stosur's play at the US Open and threaten and insult an umpire when she was penalized for this.

It's not racism to criticize Serena Williams for doing a "crip walk" when celebrating a victory thus bringing gang culture to tennis.

It is wrong to criticize her for her body. It isn't much fun to see a much larger woman beat up on a smaller woman but Justine Henin showed that there were ways to blunt Williams's power. Navratilova also had a strong build and she is one of my favorite players of all time.

In the end, there are a lot of us who would like a woman's world number one who didn't carry on like this. Sports Illustrated once ran an article about Ivan Lendl when he was the number one player entitled "The champion that nobody cared about". That's how we who are Williams haters feel about Serena.

ELECTION 2016 - DONALD TRUMP EDITION

The candidacy of Donald Trump is both a blessing and a curse for those who view it as a way to tarnish Republicans. Trump is a literal gaffe mine who cannot be taken seriously but Americans as a whole are easily swayed by celebrity candidacies (Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California). It is possible to seeing him win the presidency although more likely he'll flameout and pull a Perot (I'm out of the race, Larry!).

I watched his NBC News interview and I dislike Trump in every way not viscerally but more in the way you dislike the villain roles in professional wrestling who boost themselves with phony boasts and trash talk. Wrestling is a good analogy as the way Trump slapped around the interviewer also reminded me of the WWF.

But one can see how people could like Trump. He speaks very directly and is filled with confidence and is unafraid to go after his opponents. On at least two issues he comes off as sane - Stating he was opposed to the Iraq War and only kept quiet about it after President Bush told him to and his opposition to bad trade deals that hurt American workers.

It is also funny to see Republicans support a man who not that long ago supported gun control, universal healthcare, and gay marriage.

Trump is a jackass and a buffoon and Everything he says is a joke- For example about what successful business man he is but has declared bankruptcy and lies about his net worth. His personal life I imagine is full of skeletons. He is offensive and deliberately so in speech but Democrats should net get too excited - Trump could win.

Be careful about what you wish for it might come true.

ELECTION 2016 - THE DEMOCRATS - SANDERS, DEBATES ETC.

1.) Apparently, Bernie Sanders is doubling down on his prior position that NATO should be expanded right up to the Russian border which puts him to the right of many Democrats. This is a guy who used to have the Russian flag on his wall when he was Mayor of Burlington. A socialist neocon is the strangest of beings. Backs up what I have always believed about Sanders. He's a phony who will say what he needs to say to get elected (like most other politicians! ) Also he has a terrible record on gun control. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/05/bernie_sanders_on_guns_vermont_independent_voted_against_gun_control_for.html He's starting to remind me of Brother Theodore from the David Letterman Show.









2.) Everyone's talking about the Republican Party debates and they should be great entertainment if nothing else but I have a question....When are the Democratic Party debates? They have scheduled the locations of the first two (Iowa and New Hampshire) but no debate dates yet. It's not a coronation for Hillary - The voters should get as many debates as possible. Also I'd like to see a debate between all the third party nominees. Larry King did this a few times on his show in the past. A multi-party system created by campaign reform (money restrictions, public financing, term limits etc.) is the only way American can fix itself short of violent revolution.

3.) Speaking of debates, Hillary Clinton needs to be careful. Her performance in the 2008 primary debates were definitely a contributing factor to losing the nomination to President Obama. She came across as angry, bitter, tired, and worst of all entitled, a feeling of entitlement to the Democratic nomination. The true ugly spirit of Hillary Clinton is always in danger of revealing itself like here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWoHV0w051s

4.) James Webb's full throated defense of the confederate flag and his ass kissing to Israel have the effect of discontinuing my interest in him as a candidate. Who is he appealing to with positions like that? Certainly not Democrats.

5.) I still think Martin O'Malley would be a weak general election candidate but one attack I've heard of him recently I don't think is quite fair. Yes, O'Malley did subscribe to some of the Broken Indows policing methods endorsed by Rudy Guiliani but Baltimore is very different from New York in that a much larger number of police are African-American in Baltimore. Thererfore it becomes a bit more like community policing and a bit less like racial profiling although a violation for civil liberties.